Wetlands Preserved

A variety of factors led to the demise of Wetlands Preserve, a music venue established by Larry Bloch and his then-wife in New York's Tribeca neighborhood in 1989. Maybe it was Rudy Giuliani's fault, with all those “quality of life” laws preventing kids from smoking dope or urinating in the street anymore. Of course, the foot-long rats didn't help either. And now that you mention it, Jerry Garcia dying was really inconsiderate. According to Dean Budnick's documentary Wetlands Preserved, Wetlands was not just another nightclub, but rather a “multi-issue activist organization,” a place where political and environmental issues were as important as the music, operating under the guiding principles of “justice, dignity, and environmental sanity” (it was “green” before the term was in vogue). Bloch and many, many others are on hand here, telling tales of jam bands galore: Dave Matthews, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, Phish, and other Grateful Dead descendents all played there; the Dead themselves never did, although Bob Weir once did a set with, uh, Hanson. In the end, however, there's way too much talk and not nearly enough music (few shows were filmed), making this a profile of rather limited interest. DVD extras include bonus concert footage, outtakes, and a photo gallery. Optional. Aud: P. (S. Graham)