“ Bring out yer dead! Bring out yer dead!” Who can forget Eric Idle’s Monty Python scene. That movie line easily applies to a Max Creek show. Starting as a Connecticut based Grateful Dead cover band some 50 years ago, local hippies have been Creekin since way back. The business model is simple: get a somewhat reliable vehicle, learn some Dead songs, and play every bake sale, block party, and backyard in the tri-state area……for 50 years! A friend who is my vintage stated that he has seen Max Creek over 100 times, I believe it. Being in the business that long allows one to hone their chops and MC has morphed into a regional jam juggernaut with some excellent originals that dot their tease-heavy set. I arrive 630ish to see the band already on their journey. They play till 930 without a set break, a 3 hour tour if you will, you heard right, a three hour tour. The cast and crew were all there, Skipper and Gilligan natch, Ginger and the Howells were dressed in their finest tie-dye finerie, the Professor and Maryanne, well you get the picture. The nerds at setlist.com must have been smoking a big fatty because their call seemed to have some gaps. Emotional Railroad, Feelin Alright, Angel of My Mind, Jones, Gone at Last, Brown Water, Wild Side, Something is Forming, Yes We Can Can,, Drums, Same Things, Blood Red Roses. I know I heard Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes and Magic Carpet Ride in addition to Grateful Dead licks but who’s counting. In order to remain a band for 50 years, there must be some core chemistry. The original 3 of Scott Murawski on guitar, Mark Mercier on keys, and John Rider on bass are joined by current percussion duo Bill Carbone and Jamemurrell Stanley who weren’t even born when the Creek was founded. I love Hartford Live, and thanks to the Infinity Hall folks for making it happen. They even have a sense of humor. On the lawn near our group a large “ no smoking section “ sandwich board was placed, it’s a Creek show for goodness sakes, the no smoking section was several blocks away.
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