Grateful Dead to reunite for final concerts

mashable.com ^ | Jan 16 2015 | Jim Roberts

[Berlin_Freeper]

Fifty years after Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh first performed in Menlo Park, Calif., the surviving members of the Grateful Dead will reunite in 2015 for what they say is their final series of concerts.

[lefty-lie-spy]

Awesome. One of my favorite bands. I was lucky enough to see them in Sacramento three or four times (can’t remember exactly, go figure). We lost so many awesome musicians around that time...Jerry, Frank Zappa, Johhny Cash, Warren Zevon.

[OrangeHoof]

I was going to say...that headline is a bit deceiving. Unless the concert is in hell.

[lefty-lie-spy]

Jerry Cantrell is one of my rock n roll heroes. Black Gives Way to Blue was phenomenal, but Devil Put Dinosaurs Here was a bit of a loser. Jerry’s solo albums kicked ass.

[AFreeBird]

Just won’t be the same without Jerry.

[Freestate316]

The Grateful Dead can never exist without Jerry Garcia. He was the heart and soul of what they were, and had an intuitive feel for the music they played.I saw them live 80-100 times in the 70s and 80s, enough to realize that Garcia was the Grateful Dead.

[ratzoe]

Never a Dead fan, but I have to say, I caught the "Greatful Dead Movie" on FUSE or Pallidia one night, and you know what impressed me most? The interviews with the young teenage and twentysomething fans entering the concert. The year was 1974, and these young Deadheads, all of them looking every bit the part, were more polite and well spoken that most people you would find working in any corporation today. They all had great vocabularies and didn't stammer or "um" or "like" at all. I mean none of them! And they were all probably stoned too!! But they all spoke in complete sentences with coherent things to say. What a difference a generation makes.

Fast forward to the late 80s, early 90s. I worked part-time at RFK stadium in DC for 3 yrs for all events, mostly football and concerts. All types of concerts from heavy metal, soul, christian rock. Crowds were always up for a good time for the most part but the worst crowds (by far) were the deadheads for a Grateful Dead concert. Rip-off artists, thieves, unbelievably rude. Probably had 2 or 3 problems in 40/50 events other than the Dead, but I can think easily of a dozen problems for the 2 Dead concerts I worked.

[Leto]

When at Hill AFB in Utah went to the Winterland Ballroom twice for 6 concerts during that era (73-74). Great Shows back in the day. the New Riders of the Purple Sage opened the shows during that era.

They did a show Memorial Day in 73 at the old Kezar Stadium they brought Waylon Jennings out to open the show, first time I saw Waylon or heard his music.

[Leto]

[b]Fast forward to the late 80s, early 90s. I worked part-time at RFK stadium in DC for 3 yrs for all events, mostly football and concerts. All types of concerts from heavy metal, soul, christian rock. Crowds were always up for a good time for the most part but the worst crowds (by far) were the deadheads for a Grateful Dead concert. Rip-off artists, thieves, unbelievably rude. Probably had 2 or 3 problems in 40/50 events other than the Dead, but I can think easily of a dozen problems for the 2 Dead concerts I worked.[/b]

I agree after their hiatus in 75 the traveling touring crowd started following the band, there were a lot of scumbags in that bunch, they were a minority but very different than the earlier shows where you never saw that crowd.

[VTenigma]

I’m not a Deadhead, but I have seen them many times in concert. Jerry Garcia was transcendent on the guitar and the music is on a whole different level. It must have been a trip in the Haight - Ashbury days with Kesey, Owsley, Big Brother and the “Airplane”

[sauropod]

Oy.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I never made it to a GD concert but did take in Jefferson Airplane at the old Iowa (basketball) Fieldhouse in 1969. My seat was second row center.

My ears were ringing for days...

[PlateOfShrimp]

Good point. I am still awed by the fantastic animation at the start of the movie - puts today's CGI wizards to shame. Another sad commentary, along the lines you mention: When I first saw the film when it came out, the animation scene with the fat US cop just seemed typical anti-American boilerplate and I ignored it. Seeing it today, after years of asset forfeitures, attacks on Christian bakeries, forced colonoscopies in New Mexico (and the list goes on..), that scene resonates now.

[ratzoe]

I’m not a Deadhead, but I have seen them many times in concert. Jerry Garcia was transcendent on the guitar and the music is on a whole different level. It must have been a trip in the Haight - Ashbury days with Kesey, Owsley, Big Brother and the “Airplane”

I take it you read Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Tests" Really puts that era in perspective, great book.

[sushiman]

Saw them at Woodstock . I’d just turned 17 . Hitched rides from eastern CT with a friend . Lied to my folks . Told them we had a round trip ride .

[Vermont Lt]

Am I too late with the Weekend at Bernies references?

[Joe Boucher]

Saw em 40+ times.
Each time decidedly different.
Always enjoyable.
Jerry was the band

[Drew68]

In before Snarks

I'll take Deadheads over Phish fans. Heck, I'll take Juggaloes over Phish fans. At least those two groups will listen to other music every once in a while.

I've never met a Phish fan who listened to anything except Phish.

[cport]

Juggaloes, ICP, right? Where does that name stem from?

[lwd]

I think a lot of the younger troublemaker deadheads jumped on the phish bandwagon in 1995 when Jerry died. These were the (mostly) scumbags who never went in to the show and just caused trouble in the parking lot, selling drugs/stealing to finance their journey.

[vladimir998]

“I’ve never met a Phish fan who listened to anything except Phish.”

I’ve seen that too! I remember running into Phish fans who were horrified that I had not only never heard any Phish music but wasn’t sure if I had ever heard of the band either. Once I heard Phish music, I realized I hadn’t missed much. Their music reminded me of 1970s soundtracks made by nameless Hollywood studio bands.