The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir (2014) [Bob Weir]

I first became acquainted with The Grateful Dead on a cheap, unofficial Woodstock CD. How do I know it's an unofficial version? Well, because the band's performance (they play Turn on Your Lovelight with Janis Joplin) isn't from Woodstock at all, but from Fillmore West in 1969. It's one of my favorite live songs, and in my search for the song's origins, I started researching a lot about the band.

And that's how I became a fan. And apparently, I became a fan at the right time! In 2014, a documentary about Bob Weir was released. The documentary was called The Other One and aired on a big screen in Antwerp back then. The title is spot-on because, although Bob Weir is one of the founding members, he always seemed to me to be standing a little bit in the shade of Jerry Garcia. Maybe that's because Garcia was such a larger than life figure. I was also under the impression that Weir was actually the "cleanest" of the group, but this documentary changes that. Weir regularly indulged in various types of drugs and he talks openly about it. The documentary could have been a bit longer, though, because even just for his time with The Grateful Dead (Weir would go on to play in several other bands), it sometimes feels rather rushed.

Don't expect a complete picture of The Grateful Dead itself. While some points are touched upon (including Jerry Garcia's death), the focus is definitely on Weir himself. And that's a good thing. The style reminds me somewhat of those BBC documentaries about Mark Knopfler and Robert Plant. The difference here is that a lot of archive footage is included, which is definitely a plus for me. Among other things, excerpts from concerts and Garcia's funeral are featured. Weir himself is thankfully the most present, but there's also room for short interviews with band members, Garcia's daughter, and so on.

A running time of 85 minutes is short. Too short, if you ask me, because I'm left with the feeling I could easily have watched a documentary twice as long. A good mix of interviews and archive footage. Although I think this is only worth it for fans of the Grateful Dead and/or Bob Weir.