Friday night at the Jazzhaus started off fine, with a small crowd of avid Grateful Dead fans enjoying the skillful covers of the tribute band, Jerry Pranksters. Unfortunately the night did not continue on with the few old hippies dancing in front of the stage with the rest drinking and cheering from their seats. When preppy folks found the Foster the People show at the Bottleneck was sold out, they decided to swarm the hip, dark Jazzhaus en masse, not even noticing the live band performing. The Jerry Pranksters' valiant efforts fell up on deaf ears through most of the second set, as the bleach blondes and backwards baseball hats seemed more intent on talking over each other and drinking than hearing quality music.
A handful of old hippies - that is literally so few you might count them with one hand - and a few young ones too, danced and cheered to the jam band that is the Jerry Pranksters. The Grateful Dead covers and other jams the old five-piece band played were a showcase of talent and practiced teamwork. The guitar solos, chords on the keys and energetic drums brought the spirit of the Dead into the Jazzhaus like a musical séance. Beyond their rote renditions of the Grateful Dead's best hits, the veteran minstrels performed their own jams that took the crowd into exploratory adventures in positive vibes.
When the set break hit, the bar was already starting to fill up to a respectable crowd, but not the crowd any Grateful Dead fan would expect to find at their kind of show. Maybe the Jazzhaus has become too well-known as a cool, chill bar where the best local bands play for the best local crowds. Or it might just have been the overflow of indie-pop hipsters who couldn't get tickets to Foster the People playing around the corner at the Bottleneck. It could also be that the mid-west equivalents of the Jersey Shore ran out of reality tv shows to watch and just had to go get wasted. Whatever the reason, a tidal wave of folks who may not even know a single Grateful Dead song washed over the bar and filled every seat in the house, not even clapping when the band resumed the stage and played on past 1 a.m.
Granted, with the influx of a big crowd, came a few more grateful fans, who danced on the open dance floor, ignoring the deaf audience behind them. Still, it was a tragic sight to see such talent go so unappreciated. The few true fans of the Jerry Pranksters will be hoping and praying that the band plays again soon, maybe somewhere the bros and hoes won't blindly invade.
Now for Previews:
Tonight The Stone Sugar Shakedown will play the Jazzhaus for $4, the funky jam band is coming from St. Louis to show us a good time, so don't miss the party!
Sunday Dumptruck Butterlips will be back at the Jazzhaus with Funk Tank, playing their epic Speakeasy Sundays jam session.
Tuesday night March Fourth Marching Band will play the Crossroads in Kansas City for FREE! This show is free to anyone who clicks on "attending" on the facebook event page. The band is famous for their stilt-walking dancers strutting through the crowd, so this show promises to be a real spectacle.
Wednesday the Crossroads takes the cake for best show around again, with Old Crow Medicine Show! The old-school, folksy, roots band will be performing for $25, a worthy price for a worthy band. This is a must-see for all bluegrass fans!
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