My friends and I were gathered together before the Grateful Dead concert on Feb. 20, having a great laugh. The source of our humor? Scott Iwasaki's review of the Sunday night concert - only Iwasaki hadn't intended to be funny.
The errors in Iwasaki's story were so extreme as to be hilarious. When studying journalism, the first thing I learned was to ask "who, what, where, when, why and how." The second was to always check my sources. The Grateful Dead have been performing for 30 years. However, one look at their state-of-the-art musical equipment, sound system, and light show makes it obvious that neither they, nor their fans, are reliving 1965. In addition, Deadheads do not refer to Jerry Garcia as "Pappa." Despite the white hair and beard, we're not talking Hemingway.The most offensive part of the review was Iwasaki's miserable attempt to reconstruct the set of songs. For the record, the band did not play "Waiting For A Miracle." They played "I Need A Miracle." Two well-known songs that Iwasaki asserted were obscure were "China Cat Sunflower" and "I Know You Rider." Iwasaki reported that they were "Journey Cat" and "I Know You Red Rider."
Iwasaki got the title "Uncle John's Band" correct, but the Dead performed that song on Monday night. Sunday's show featured "Me and My Uncle."
But the funniest part of the review was Iwasaki's attempt to be hip with his description of the "show-capping, 30-minute version of . . . the splattering, astrological dabble, "Dark Star." What he mistook for "Dark Star" - which, wasn't played at all during the three-day event - was in fact, an instrumental jam commonly called "Space."
A Grateful Dead concert may not be as crucial as legislative decisions or a change in the prime interest rate, but a reporter should put as much care into writing a factual music review as he would a story for the front page.
Catherine Siegel
Salt Lake City