Best Local Groove/Jam Act

Slipknot

The death three years ago of Jerry Garcia did more than just lead to the dissolution of one of the most successful pop-culture phenoms of the late 20th century. It also delivered a harsh dose of reality to thousands of Dead followers. Many had structured their entire lives around the band's annual meanderings. With Garcia gone, a cause, a movement, and, for some, a reason for being were gone. It was as if one man had died so that millions could get a life. No sooner had Garcia been laid to rest, then, it seemed, an entire industryful of tie-dyed and paisley-ed bands sprung up to cater to his iconless flock. There are enough surrogates out there to make the Dead's absence endurable. Phish (see Best National Groove/Jam Act, page 12) and Dead spinoffs such as Bob Weir's Ratdog hit the concert trail often enough to warrant keeping the tags on your old Microbus. This summer, the surviving members of the Dead (minus Bill Kreutzmann) will hit the sheds as the Other Ones as part of the Further Festival. Meanwhile, locally, an army of Dead-like bands, such as Slipknot, Jiggle the Handle, and Another Planet will be keeping the jam banner flying.

Slipknot don't fall into the let's-write-confusing-lyrics-and-noodle-with-our guitars trap. Nor do they adhere only to covers. They know that the Dead were superb roots musicians, and that their mastery of folk, bluegrass, blues, and country is precisely what made their music magical. Slipknot's is too, for many of the same reasons. Guitarists Bruce Mandaro and Larry Mancini are intimately familiar with the blues. Ultra-slippery nine-string bassist John Brigham's dad played jazz -- hence his musical thinking and playing outside the box; keyboardist Mark Munzer, and drummers Greg DeGuglielmo and Jeremy Esposito all come from varied rock backgrounds.

Together, they deliver original music that recalls the Dead's earthiness without sounding like a calculated knockoff of Uncle John's Band.

-- Mark Edmonds