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Grateful-Dead covers on his acoustic guitar, giving' a break to Local Color, while adding more flare to the Grateful night. He belted out stripped rendi- tions oftracks like, "Jack Straw." While off stage, guitarist and lead vocalist Vern. Peltornaa drank beers with the crowd and spoke - of how April marked the zznd year of Local Color performing together, and how much he still loves playing Grateful Dead songs. "The music is timeless and [I'm] always in- spired by being able to play the songs differently, every time," he said. Lighting and Sound Engineer Crazy Legs worked his magic that night behind the sound- board for Local Color and Brian Alton. He spoke of how popular the jam scene has become and how important the people and city of Columbus have been for it; "The surge in the jam band scene can be traced back to the Grateful Dead [and) there are a lot of Grateful Dead fans in Columbus," he said. In between enjoying the music and dancing, Grateful Dead and Local Color fan Craig Funk spoke of why the music is still popular after 30 plus years and among so many people. "[Music] is a universal language and a com- mon thread b-etween people," he said. "[Grate- ful Dead] is music with meaning and art, arid [it] makes you want to move!" Dead-fans bring .. party to Ufe BY G~ENA VOLPE . E very Sunday night, scarl~land Grey Cafe is the place to find the best live music, with . their "Dead End" showcase of Grateful Dead cover bands. There you can find the hippies flocking in tie-dye T-shirts and girls sporting hair as long as their ankle length skirts, all dancing in unison to the jams protruding from the band of the evening. Throughout the bar, ghosts-of the Grateful Dead are illuminated on,flat screen TVs hung on several walls, depicting the band playing live, 'as .well as behind the scenes-footage of their tours. All of these ingredients create the perfect atmo- sphere in linking the not-so-distant past and help in raising the Dead. - The past two Sundays, Columbus band Local Color took the stage and jammed with two sets, playing Grateful Dead fan favorites like "One More Saturday Night," "Althea," and "China Cat Sunflower" with an improv jam into "I Know You Rider." Covers from other artists, such as Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" and the Bob Dylan favorite, "Tangled Up in Blue," were also played. Bassist and vocalist John Armstrong shared not only bass licks but also similar looks with for- mer Gr.ateful Dead bassist Phil Lesti. Lead guitarist Brad Keplinger demonstrated profound shredding and improv abilities, showing that one of the only .differences between his fingers and Jerry Garcia's was that he has a whole right middle finger. In between sets, Bryan Alton, strummed Check out "Dead End" every Sunday at Scarlet and Grey Cafe. ' -..
