Grateful Dawg

Grateful Dead front man Jerry Garcia and mandolin-playing musicologist David Grisman met at a concert in the mid-1960s and bonded over their shared love of bluegrass music. The pair lost touch after their short-lived band Old & In the Way split up in the late 1970s and this respectful documentary records the artistic consequences of their reunion some dozen years later. Unfortunately, director Gillian Grisman (daughter of David) is clearly too overawed by her subjects to pry into the darker corners of their relationship. So, while there's plenty of varied and wonderfully performed music, there's also too much fetlock-tugging and stage-managed studio bonhomie to provide a real insight into the duo's dynamic.