Didn't want this to get lost in the shuffle.

from RS Mag:

How much did your 1987 tour with Bob Dylan expand your covers repertoire? Folk and blues standards were always vital to your shows, but did working with his catalog open you up to that classic era of rock songs?

Weir: Touring with Dylan reminded us that within the song there is a poem. And within the poem, there is a character telling the story. And that's where the song lives. There is a kernel of something that is bigger than the notes, bigger than the poetry. And that is the song. Our tour with Dylan reawakened us to that notion. We took the bit and ran with it.

"Our tour with Dylan reawakened us to that notion"

Glad to hear this but this tour was the all-time nadir of both Dylan and the Dead...

Indeed - it f**ked Dylan's head up so much he actually asked the Dead if he could join the band as a permanent member.

They almost agreed, too....I think the only dissenting band member was Phil Lesh.


Phew.

Thank you Phil. Not for all that crappy music, but for rejecting Dylan and beginning his renaissance.