Bill Graham once said, "They're not the best at what they do, they're
the only ones who do what they do." Graham was referring to the Grateful
Dead, but this also applies to the legion of fans who traveled from show
to show across America with the band. Might As Well captures the rich
tapestry of the Grateful Dead scene in the late eighties by presenting
an engaging account of one evening both inside and outside of a concert
at New Jersey's Meadowlands. Events unfold through the eyes of seven
characters, including three-year-old Stella attending with her Deadhead
mother, prep school hippie Steven on spring break with his crew, Taper
Ted on hand to record the music alongside his skeptical brother, and
trusty, crusty vendor Bagel Bob approaching his second decade on tour.
Inspired in part by a true-crime incident involving a still-unsolved
fatality, Might As Well explores the challenges, complications, and
charms of this environment with insight, empathy, and humor.
Like the Dead scene itself, there is more than meets the ear, as the
story also encompasses miracles and near misses, the killer and the
kind, doses and duds, female Muppets, the Fairy Wing Guild, the stall
sisterhood, the merits of Charles Bukowski and Marcel Proust, the
connections between Full House and ALF, seat surfing, scurvy,
setlist games, Schoolhouse Rock, Shakedown Street, tape trees, the
Philsbury Doughboy, Three Bean Monty, Crock-Pots, counties, custies, dog
liberation, DATs, Griffin Dunne films, and fire dancing. After all, the
circus is in town.
