Interestingly, in a million years you would never guess who actually brought the idea of the Grateful Dead exhibit to the NYHS. In chatting with the communications folks at the Historical Society, who so graciously allowed us to take a few pictures for this article (below), we learned that none other than Henry Kissinger – the former Nobel Peace Prize recipient, National Security Advisor, and Secretary of State to the Nixon and Ford administrations – recommended the Dead as a compelling exhibit for the museum, as he apparently finds the Deadhead phenomenon quite fascinating.
The New York installation serves as a nice excursion on its own, but your best bet is to combine it as part of a trip up to Central Park, as it sits just across the street, next door to the better known Natural History Museum, and takes no more than an hour to experience. The exhibit ultimately consists of just one large room divided in half to form a circular walk-through experience, but with live music playing, a video segment, and carefully chosen pieces, it should satisfy any level of either fan or scholar. The material is not the least bit daunting, and die-hards could take a lot more, but ultimately the exhibit serves its purpose well, to whet the appetite to go see the big kahuna in Santa Cruz. Until then, the show at the NYHS runs through July 4th.
Scroll down to see our scrapbook with captions from the exhibit (click to enlarge for clearer text).
Dear Mr. Obama, here are the plans for a shovel-ready project called The Wall of Sound. It will create 26 new jobs.
Rosebud is a very skinny guitar in real life, only about an inch and a half thick
Letter to Ashraf Ghorbal, the longtime U.S. educated Egyptian diplomat.
Something tells me Dick enjoyed the show.
NPR to the rescue.
Lindsey Vonn must have been out of town.
“A” for effort, but you gotta go with a blue and white theme for the Greek.
Make sure that note-card is a 3×5, not a 4×6, newb.
Is that a Phil’s Wristband Ale?
You’re not the only one who can’t understand Bobby’s Rap.
If only backstage passes could talk.
This is the one where Jerry learns to shoot lighting bolts out of his guitar.
