POV
24
JUNE2015
AMERICANWAY
UNDYINGLY
GRATEFUL
TheGratefulDeadwillsoonsay farewell to fans,but
theband’srock imprintwillneverdie
T
hegratefuldeadwilladdatie-dyedcodato itslegacy
with“FareTheeWell:Celebrating50YearsofGratefulDead,”July
3-5atChicago’sSoldierField.Forskeptics, it’llbefodderformore
jokesaboutDeadheads,VWvansand20-minutedrumsolos.Forsurviving
membersBobWeir, Phil Lesh,MickeyHart andBillKreutzmann, this
finalreunion isonemorechancetoshowoffTheDead’sundying impact.
IMPROV FOREVERYONE:
Like
jazz—only louder—TheDead’s
concerts carried the elusive
magicof improvtocenterstage
and inspiredcountlessyounger
acts, includingPearlJam,Wilco
andRadiohead.Ledby lategui-
tarist JerryGarcia, TheDead’s
jams ranged from brilliant to
boring, but they were never
predictable.KeyboardistBruce
HornsbyandPhishguitaristTreyAnastasiowill join theJulyconcerts.
GENRE-HOPPINGGIANTS:
Insteadof focusingon theblues, TheDead
sounded likeanexplosionatarecordstoreastheyjumpedfrombluegrass
toMiddleEastern todisco.Wherever themusicwent, thegroupalways
returned toastrongbaseof sing-alongmelodies, exemplified in“Casey
Jones”andthesurpriseMTVhit“TouchofGrey,”theironlyTop40entry.
DO-IT-YOURSELFDILETTANTES:
TheDeadblazedtheirowntrail,building
theirownsoundsystems, lettingfanstapeconcertsandtraderecordings,
andencouraging them to follow themaround.Deadheadsdidn’t invent
tailgating,but theydid turn it intoawayof life.–thorchristensen
CLOCKWISEFROMTOPLEFT: ROGERRESSMEYER/CORBIS; CLÉMENT; CFLANNIGAN/GETTY IMAGES
BandmembersPhil Lesh (left)
andBobWeir
Catsand
Coffee
Cafés thatcombinegood
foodandcoffeewithcute
felinesareboth trendyand
vital tosaving their furry
inhabitants’ lives
E
arlySundaymorning,Coco ishardatwork
entertainingaboutadozenofuswho
havecome tomeet thestarsof theCatTown
Café inOakland,California. The tortoiseshell
kittendartsaround the roomchasing
toys, leaping intobuildings that replicate
downtown landmarksandcaptivatingher
audience.
Thepairingofcatsandcaffeine traces its
roots toTaiwanbutbecameasensation in
Tokyo,where for thepastdecadecat fanciers,
manyofwhomarenotallowedpets in their
apartments, havebeenminglingwithkitties
atcafés toget their felinefix.Nowcities in
NorthAmerica, aswell asAsiaandEurope,
areopeningcafés, some tohelpshelterand
rescuecatsfindhomes.Oakland’sCatTown
Café, anexpansionof the local rescueCat
Town, became thefirstofficial catcafé to
open in theU.S. late lastyearandhasalready
foundhomes formore than 150cats.
Montrealwas thefirstNorthAmerican
citywithacatcaféwhenCaféChat
L’Heureuxopened lastyear.Other recent
openings includeTheCatCafe inSanDiego;
PurringtonsCatLounge inPortland,Oregon;
MeowParlour inNewYork; andDenverCat
Company. SanFrancisco’scat teahouse,
KitTea, opened lastmonth, andcafésare
slated todebut thisyear inSeattleand
Washington,D.C.
As forCoco, sheandherbestbuddy,
Noodle, foundahome. –
MARLENEGOLDMAN
Montreal’sCafé
ChatL’Heureux
