Customer Reviews

Tales of Tour

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The short stories in this book do so much more than just capture perfectly the essence of the Deadhead Culture, they pinpoint the feelings and experiences of a time in life when everything was possible and negativity just meant take another route.

The author has the ability to make us care deeply about his characters and what they are going through within a few sentences of the start of each story. From the young attorney to a runaway, I was mesmerized by each and kept paging forward looking for more on each one. I fell into the book expecting to just revisit the experience of tour days and instead found so much more.

I highly reccommend this book to anyone interested in revisitng the past, or ready to enjoy meeting some of the most fascinating slices of life it's ever been my pleasure to find within the pages of a book.

This is a great book for anyone who has ever wondered about the Deadhead culture or followed the band. Alex Kolker's characters come alive within the pages of several short stories which allow his readers experience the magic of the Dead and of Phish as well as everything that goes along with the tours for themselves. I enjoyed every minute of the book and hope that the author puts out another volume soon!

I bought this book after 6 years of not seeing any Grateful Dead related show. Alex's stories rekindled the magic feeling I used to get from going to the shows and hanging around the parking lot. He does a great job with both description, character development and flow. My only complaint is that the book is too short. This should be mandatory reading for anyone that has ever been to a Dead Show or plans on following the next generation of Jam Bands.

This book is a must-have for all who have experienced following their favorite band, or have always wanted to. Alex Kolker takes you into another world, telling stories that not always have to do with the music, but what's behind the music - the people. I never got to follow the Grateful Dead, but I almost feel like I was a part of it after reading this book. I felt completely wrapped up in each character, as if they were someone I had just met. So go and do yourself a favor...buy this book, and run, don't walk, to a Phish show...and see if you don't feel a bit of the wonder and magic yourself.

"...feel the colors...see the music..." A wonderfully crafted collection of images that envelops your senses with the power of the Deadhead experience. The author's honed description successfully brings you there, while genuine characters caotivate and keep you there. The best "trip" I've had in a very long time!

I think that the whole aspect of hitting the road and going on tour with a band is just about the coolest thing that a person can do. Thus, this book seemed like the perfect read for someone like me. But when I got the book I was dissapointed in the fact that it seems like the author took five or six stories from the 'The Babysiters Club' or some other book for young kids, rewrote them to include drug and music references, and than sold it. The writing is just not very good and the stories are all lame. A girl's mother realizes her 16 year old daughter is right about being on tour, a girl runs from the cops and gets away, a ticket is fake, ect. Those in themselves aren't even that bad but the way he writes makes it a boring read.

not very well written

not very inspiring stories

focus' on more of the seedy side of tour

I'm sorry I bought it

If you were lucky enough to see the Grateful Dead live, you'll have stories of your own and the stories in this book won't live up to them. The book's stories are a pale reflection of what I remember about Dead shows.
In addition, many stories of the type in this book are available online.
If you have no stories of your own, this is not a terrible book, but it is average.
It's also a good buy if you're a collector of Dead detritus.

I bought this book assuming that the stories therein were non-fictional. I didn't think that someone would spend so much time simply making up bogus characters. I was mistaken. This book also glorifies drug use in a very distasteful way.

Outstanding book from an author who lived the scene and has worked years at his craft of writing. Drug use - yes. That was an inevitable part of the scene at a Dead show. "philly head" may find it distasteful, but that's his problem.

I had the great pleasure of watching and reading this book as it evolved over the years. If you ever quit your job and grew your hair to go on Tour, chances are you'll have a blast reading this and want more. If you never had the chance to go on Tour with the Grateful Dead, then this is your opportunity to experience it a little bit.