Another concert batch of sorts, for the 40th anniversary of the Concert for Bangladesh. It also was Jerry Garcia’s birthday and the 30th anniversary of MTV.

From Aug. 1, 2011

August 1, a day
To recall a great concert,
Grateful guitarist

Harrison, Clapton
Ringo, Dylan and others
Joined Ravi Shankar

For Bangladesh, they
Rocked Madison Square Garden
Put on two good shows

“Because I was asked
“By a friend if I would help”
Is how George put it

Spiritual songs
And spirited music played
For 40,000

Guitars gently wept
Lyrics didn’t come easy
As Ringo found out

But Leon Russell
Blew the roof off the garden,
Dylan cast his spell

Billy Preston sang
“That’s the Way God Planned It,” and
Maybe he was right

40 years ago
Aid was slow to reach the poor
But hearts were lifted

40 years ago
They said help is on the way
Let’s say it again

And let’s remember
Jerry Garcia, who would
Have been 69

Trouble followed him
All of his life, but still he
Left a legacy

As a kid he lost
Part of a finger and then
He lost his father

Learned the piano,
Banjo, guitar, pedal steel
He was on his way

Smoked marijuana
As a teen in San Fran’s hills
Music, drugs, Jerry

String along, strung out
Artist, musician, oozing
Creativity

By one count the Dead
Played two thousand, three hundred
And fourteen concerts

It couldn’t have been
Easy amid the chaos
That was Jerry’s life

Three wives and four kids,
Diabetes, heroin
— But always music

Pass the methadone
And the Cherry Garcia
What a long strange trip

Let’s shed a tear, play
Some Dead, remember a soul
Who left us too soon

Something else that died
Too soon: MTV, first aired
30 years ago

Music video
Rightfully was all the rage
MTV led way

But somehow nonsense
And unreal realities
Slowly replaced tunes

And without the M
It’s just another channel
Just, you know, TV