In Part Three (of three) of this miniseries on The Beach Beach Boys and The Grateful Dead, we finally reach our destination in space and time--the Fillmore East on April 27, 1971. This is a two hour episode, and in it, I compare and contrast the career arcs of each band leading up to the gig. In 1970, The Beach Boys released a single, "Add Some Music To Your Day", which only reached #64 on the US pop chart. This was embarrassing for them because it reaffirmed how unpopular they'd become. In 1970, The Grateful Dead released a single, "Truckin'", which only reached #64 on the US pop chart. This was embarrassing for them because #64 was perilously close to the Top 40--which was a place they had no intention of getting cozy with. Still, despite the two bands' contrasting ideas of success, there was a great admiration between them as well as shared influences. I read from several accounts of this concert, from books and articles, and note the wide contrast between descriptions. The subtitle of this episode, "Honest. Not Perfect.", comes from a snatch of Brian Wilson studio chatter in early 1967. He's instructing his brother Carl on how to sing a certain part and says that "it doesn't have to be perfect, just kind of honest", and I took that phrase and unpacked it. Threw stuff everywhere. In fact I made quite a philosophical/psychological/psychedelicized mess all over the place and hope you can deal with it. The reward is the concert. Dennis and Billy having a blast despite very different drumming styles. Carl and Jerry trading a solo. Bobby, Al and Carl singing together. The Fillmore Dead audience cheering wildly for The Beach Boys (drowning out the one or two hecklers). I hope you enjoy this episode and thanks for listening.