The Day of the Dead is November 1–2. In musical terms, August 9 might now be giving it a run for its money. 

I was originally planning to commemorate the anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death and cue up Might As Well: A Round Records Retrospective, the collection of tunes across his solo career released last week, likely timed to coincide with the 28th anniversary of his passing. After all, here we've given Bob Weir his due, as well as the reason we all know those guitarists in the first place, the Grateful Dead. Yet, the ringleader himself hadn't taken this center stage. Until now. But after word of The Band's lead songwriter Robbie Robertson entering the great beyond, Captain Trips will have to share this minor platform with a contemporary.

The Grateful Dead have experienced such an unlikely second life in the past decade, one that I've already touched on and can also be read in depth elsewhere, that I feel no need to expound further, other than to say Garcia's solo output is littered with choice cuts, some of which became Dead mainstays. The Band, however, have yet to have that second life. First, they were never a cultural cornerstone the way those hippies from the Bay were. Their legacy, however, is a trail of influence spanning decades from Eric Clapton to Wilco, and, oh yeah, the Grateful Dead themselves, or at least their lyricist. Bob Dylan's mid-60s backing band. A string of top notch LPs in the late 60s–early 70s. The Last Waltz, a concert, an album, and a film directed by Martin Scorsese featuring an inconceivable guestlist that stands as arguably the greatest concert film of all time and an epic send off. Perhaps Robertson's passing will shine a deserving light on these efforts from one of Canada's best exports whose impact is wider felt than overtly acknowledged.