Weekend Wook

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I’ll be honest with you…  I am not entirely sure if this is a new phenomenon that has recently manifested (largely in part to social media), or if it has been a fundamental string in the scene’s tapestry all along and I have just been too naïve to see it, but there seems to be an unconscionable amount of judgment and intolerance growing within our community.  To be fair, I do not believe it to be anywhere near the level that you see in main-stream media (on either side of the aisle) or with many other groups, but it is still a problem in my opinion.         Though I was first drawn to jam bands for the music (and because my older brother/role model was into it), it was the acceptance, love, and freedom that I felt at my first show that made me “drink the Kool-Aid” so to speak.  Never before in my life had I experienced such a warm and welcoming group of people.  It didn’t matter (nor could one really tell) how wealthy you were, what you did for a living, who you had voted for, or who you worshiped (mostly Jerry or Trey)… it didn’t matter how many shows you had scene, what your favorite band was, what drugs (if any) you were into, or if you knew the lyrics… In the recollection I have in my mind of my first shows (and I admit it may be largely tainted based on the great time I had), nothing mattered except for the fact that you were another human being that was there in that moment, sharing in a once in a lifetime experience.  Unfortunately, it seems like times have changed a little. With all of the ardent rhetoric and division that we are force-fed on a daily basis via the social-media troth, it is more crucial than ever that we keep our scene, and our minds, pure and open.  We must remember that each and every one of us are the product of different circumstance and experiences, and have vastly different perspectives… we will rarely, if ever, all agree on a single point and we all will badly fuck up at least once in our lives… but we are all humans and we all enjoy (for one reason or another) sharing the show experience.   So I implore you, whether you consider yourself to be a dead head, a moe.ron, or an aphishianado… a weekend wook, full blown wookie, custie, chad, or even if you don’t know what any of those are… please accept each other and enjoy the show.