CONCERT REVIEW: "Change Rocks" and The Dead Live at Penn State

Story by Ben Corbett

Photos by Ben Corbett and Pete Rosato

“I think it was Hunter Thompson,” said Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir to the packed arena during The Dead's October 13th reunion held at Penn State, “You remember Hunter Thompson? Shortly before he checked out, he said something that caught my eye. He said, 'If every Deadhead in the state of Florida had voted in the 2000 election, it would be a very different world today.'” Weir, playing despite a few broken ribs, urged the assembly of 16,000 to, “Think about it,” before launching into a rousing encore of “Touch of Grey.” 

Conceived of a month prior to the event when The Dead volunteered the idea of a reunion to the Obama campaign, the show was a sensation, selling out in something like six minutes. Slated to occur in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania, Obama's strategists double-billed The Dead with The Allman Brothers Band for the newest version of the “Change Rocks” campaign benefit, tucking the show into the rural hills of State College, PA. A brilliant marketing success as well as a truly memorable event, the concert only helped advance Obama’s cause in Pennsylvania, where, on the day of the show, he already enjoyed a 13-point lead in the polls over McCain.

At a modest $50 donation per ticket, Deadheads of every persuasion flew and caravanned in from coast to coast. And, unlike February's two-night reunion benefit for Obama at San Francisco's Warfield Theater (which doubled as a send off for the fabled old venue – now closed), the Penn State concert included drummer Bill Kreutzmann and marked the first time the entire band played together since their 2004 tour. Oddly, however, neither the Allman Brothers nor The Dead would affix their respective brand names to the Obama campaign, opting to bill the show with a roster containing each band member's name. Rumor had it that the bands couldn't attach their musical trademarks with a political endorsement, but whether this was a legal snafu or simple math matters little.

Guitarist Warren Haynes (the world's hardest working rocker), pulled two shifts that night, playing two hours first for the Allman Brothers, then donning his other hat for two hours with The Dead, while a bumper sticker slapped on to the front of his amp felt more like a theme: “McCain't Gonna Happen.”

While it was homecoming week for Penn State, it was also a political homecoming for The Allman Brothers Band, the first group to ever play a political benefit for any presidential candidate. The idea echoes back to 1978, long before the Rock the Vote movement, when the band got behind democratic candidate Jimmy Carter, doing a string of concerts for the soon-to-be president under similar economic conditions, and on the heels of the pullout from the very unpopular Vietnam War.

Now, 30 years later, the Allmans got behind Obama, and the show was straight up ripping good fun. The Allman Brothers, naturally, kicked it off with, “Revival,” reflecting both Gregg's return to the road after being laid up for months, and Obama's optimistic outlook for America's future. The sweet southern anthem, “Statesboro Blues,” followed, before the band segued into Howlin' Wolf's “Who's Been Talking,” followed by “Midnight Rider,” “One Way Out,” Van Morrison's “And It Stoned Me,” and probably the hottest version of “Dreams I'll Never See” since the 2001 departure of former Allman guitarist Dickey Betts.

After a guest performance with Susan Tedeschi doing an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's “Don't Think Twice,” guitarist Derek Trucks was in top form, performing “Anyday,” followed by “Melissa,” “Trouble No More,” “Ain't Wastin' Time No More,” and “Jessica,” leading up to an encore of “Whipping Post.”

Between bands, Penn State Nittany Lions offensive coach, Jay Paterno, son of coach Joe Paterno, took the stage with the football team and Deadheads for Obama, explaining how he'd made the bet that Penn State would register more voters than their rivals Michigan State, and boasting that they beat Michigan by 5,000 voters.

During this "halftime" event, the lights went down for a video message from Barack Obama, who had to phone it in because he was busy campaigning in Toledo – a city whose main employment is quickly becoming unemployment.

“I'm grateful to these legendary musicians for interrupting their hectic schedules and traveling to State College to support my cause,” said Obama to a roar of applause. “For 20 months, I've been traveling this country from town to town, and even developing a Touch of Grey of my own… On November 5th, I hope to announce I Ain't Wastin' Time No More. After the show, talk to your friends, neighbors and co-workers. Tell them what's at stake, and take them to vote with you on November 4th. If you stand with me, we'll change this country together. Thank you, and enjoy the show.”

Enjoy we did, despite Obama volunteers who kept the press and photographers corralled in a remote location on the floor to prevent the media from obtaining photos of Deadheads consuming large quantities of pot. It was preemptive damage control, one volunteer assigned to the cause explained to me off the record (because of who I was writing for, sometimes as many as three people were ordered to follow me around). But regardless, the skunk wafted through the arena like the hippie skirts dancing in the wings. Even the staff was commenting on the potency of it, their eyes glazed with a mixed look of concern and rebellious mischief.

As Obama’s message ended and the lights went down, the audience turned to silhouettes of The Dead tuning up, and just like the Allman Brothers, The Dead's set list reflected both the political themes of the day while adding to their own epic story as a band still carrying the torch of 1960s sentiments.

Starting with a 15-minute jazzed-up jam of “Truckin',” the band soon jumped into a form-fitting “U.S. Blues” before sliding through a “Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower” (daresay medley?) that had not a few fans dancing with tears welling in their eyes. For old school heads, it was an emotional experience, while many of the next generation crowd sat glued in their second-tier seats either spacing out or not knowing how to react. But as far as Dead experiences go, the show was mostly an eight, which is damn good, regardless of one's chemical inclinations, or political affiliations.

Earlier in the day, The Dead did a sound check-slash-rehearsal, running through the rough transitions of “Playing in the Band,” Dark Star” and “St. Stephen,” and they carried these off during the show with panache like the seasoned Bay Area veterans they are. Warren Haynes gave Bob Weir plenty of room to maneuver, and the two worked brilliantly as counterpoints with bassist Phil Lesh, Kreutzmann and Hart holding the whole thing together through “Unbroken Chain,” “The Other One” and Weir's political anthem, “Throwing Stones,” before circling around again to revisit “Playing in the Band.”

“This is the way to come together as a community and make a change in the way we live and what's going on in our country,” Phil Lesh said, evoking the spirit of the event for the home stretch. But Mickey Hart got in the last words with, “Take it home. Do something good with it,” before slipping into the second encore of “Not Fade Away,” applying a sweet, intimate polish to a piece of history where music and politics, once again, found themselves on that rare and beautiful collision course.

Living legend, Bob Weir 

The Dead bassist, Phil Lesh

Playing in the band

Warren Haynes  and Derek Trucks

Various Deadheads, Allman fans, Obama supporters, marijuana aficionados and/or citizens of State College