Grateful Dead Original Members Reunite to Celebrate 50th Anniversary
“Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead" at Chicago’s Soldier Field on July 3rd, 4th, and 5th, 2015
Marks the Grateful Dead Members' Final Performance Together
Event information available at Dead50.net
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Grateful Dead, the four original members — Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir — will reunite at Chicago's Soldier Field, nearly 20 years to the day of the last Grateful Dead concert, which took place at the same venue. “Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead" will occur over three nights on July 3, 4, and 5, 2015, marking the original members' last-ever performance together. The band will be joined by Trey Anastasio (guitar), Jeff Chimenti (keyboards), and Bruce Hornsby (piano). The group will perform two sets of music each night.
Jerry Garcia's daughter Trixie Garcia announced the shows in an exclusive interview. You can check out her announcement here.
Joining the original members of Grateful Dead are three musicians who have embodied the band’s spirit of musical innovation throughout their eclectic careers. Guitarist Trey Anastasio is best known for his work as the principal songwriter and lead guitarist for touring juggernaut Phish, but he has also found time to score and arrange music for orchestras and Broadway productions such as “Best Musical” TONY nominee ‘Hands on a Hardbody.’ Pianist Bruce Hornsby had already won the first of his three Grammy Awards when he first guested with Grateful Dead in 1988. Following the death of the band’s keyboard player Brent Mydland in 1990, Hornsby toured with the group into 1992, and he has maintained a collaborative relationship with its members ever since. Bay Area native and jazz keyboardist Jeff Chimenti joined Bob Weir’s Rat Dog in 1997, and has since worked on projects such as Phil Lesh & Friends, The Other Ones, The Dead, and Furthur.
In the tradition of the original Grateful Dead Ticketing Mail Order, tickets will first be made available via a first-come, first-served mail order system. All additional ticketing information is available at Dead50.net.
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Where are Mail Order Seats?
Was lucky enough to get a pair of tickets but how do I know what seats I ended up with?Sent two tier pricing assume that I will end up with the better $105 tickets, but not sure if they are GA Pit or what.
But is there anyway to find
But is there anyway to find out what type of seats they are?
Totem is brining shots
Let's play! Going to the dead lot (or grant park) and I will BringDeck of cards (cain1974)
Shots (totem)
Whose next....?
Update on GDTSTOO website
From Saturday:
Quick update to let you know that the last of the returns just went out. We are still busy filing index cards and working on winner emails that have been returned to us. We will post another update in a week or so when we can answer your status questions. Thank you again for your patience.
The crew of GDTS TOO
Ashamed Of GTDSTOO
Everyone of you should be ashamed of yourselves for how you handled getting tickets to the faithful fans. No apology or regret for the tickets going to club seat holders & scalpers.Score:
Scalpers 1 Deadheads 0
re: Totem and bringing the shots...
Well I for one am in !! Good call, Cain1974!!
There will be no "parking lot scene" except for six hours beforehand. The City of Chicago will not allow any sort of camping there.
Grant Park? That's another story and game on !!!
There is light at the tunnel!
I sent in for all 3 shows in one envelope on 1/20. On 2/26 I get a congratulatory email as many did. No specifics - just an email. So ok, does that mean I got tix to all 3 shows? Should I assume I have tix for all 3 shows? Of course not!But after reading many comments in this email thread, on 2/27 I went to the PO and asked to trace the (3) money orders. That took another $18.30. I thought they would tell me right then an there whether the MOs had been cashed. Nope they told me I would get a letter within 7-10 business days. More waiting ... aargh!
On or about 3/10 I received 3 letters, dated 2/28, one for each MO telling me that they have not been cashed. More waiting ... #@%!&!
Today, 3/16, I received 3 letters, dated 3/5, one for each MO. Each letter had a copy of the front and back of the MOs. It does appear that they were cashed on 3/2. Am I excited? Of course I am - but I would feel much better if I had my tickets in my hand! Apparently, I still have to wait 3 more months before I will see the tix. This is a lot of angst for this old guy that used to hang around 710 Ashbury St. in 66/67 .... but it appears there is light at the end of the tunnel!
I feel bad for all those that didn't get tickets - my friends, my family, and my fellow DHs. But you never know - miracles do happen.
Miss ya Jerry.
@spacepiggio
Dude, (assuming you are a guy), relax a little on the anger towards GDTS. They did their job and there was only so much that could be done. If you read the posts, there is a trend of people venting on them (which is cool) and then TM and the StubHub, but then it seems to mellow and move into acceptance...I am one of those people who is hoping for a miracle.
The fact is, a lot of us got shut out. I don't blame GDTS for it - they were flooded with letters. Some people didn't play by the rules and sent in multiples and got all of their golden tickets...that is the way it goes. There are a lot of people here who didn't. That is also the way it goes. Just be happy we have the music man. That is what is important. Sure a golden ticket would be great (any of you out there feeling charitable, Klangstone and I both need tix!) but in the end, it is about the jams, the space, the road trips and the life in the parking lot.
So if you have seen them before, remember the fun it was, if you haven't, either go to live music archive and pick pretty much ANY show and have a blast. Getting mad at the people at GDTS won't solve anything and in fact, I still think they should be praised for their work - that would have sucked to have to make cuts like they did.
And for Chinook, who just got out of limbo, a couple of things, congrats on your tix, have fun in Chicago, and YES you got all 3 nights if you put in for all three nights! Again, congrats and if you want to miracle one or two...I know some people! :)
properlejdi
Well,.....I've moved through the stages of grief at being shut out, finally landing on acceptance, but I can't quite bring myself to praise GDTS for their work. At least if everyone had been notified of their status before the TM sale, there would have been a little less competition that morning and a lot less anxiety for some people. As far as making cuts, I also doubt GDTS had any tough decisions or lost any sleep over who got tix and who didn't. We're just names on random 3x5 cards.
TM fumbled the ball too. Pulling up a ticket only to lose it because the system crashed is outrageous. And, if it's true that scalpers only got a small percentage of tickets, even one scalped ticket is one too many.
I agree, road trips and the parking lot are fun but hearing the show from inside the venue has always been the most important thing for me. Always.
I wouldn't mind it so much if I lived there and only had to spend a little gas money or metro fare to get to the stadium, but airfare and hotel is a big expense only to hang out in the parking lot and maybe watch the shows on a screen. Just my opinion and perhaps not a popular one. Anyway, I haven't canceled my reservations yet but it's looking more likely.
Hmmm.....sounds like I'm still in the anger phase, doesn't it?
I agree on one thing: I can still listen to the music and have good memories of shows past!
Maybe a little..
Maybe a BIT still angry ;) Agreed about most of it, I feel horrible for those in limbo - I was not one. I got my pink slip two or three days before TM. As for TM, I really wish that they would do something about the bots. That debacle was totally foreseeable and (possibly) avoidable by making them all will-call like TXR. I understand that that would create HUGE backlogs at the box-office, but if they are available a week or so ahead of time, the number of people that got TM tix wouldn't make it a total crush...
Yeah the airfare and hotel is a pain in the arse - I didn't buy anything until I knew I had tix. Still contemplating getting on my horse and trotting on down to see the circus. So for that - no disrespect brother. I just think that they at GDTS had it a lot rougher than we give them credit for - white card (btw - anyone need any index cards? I have 99 spares...) they all still represented deadicated heads trying to see the show...I know it ain't much, and things didn't go as planned, but meh, life moves on.
I am listening to 1981-12-31 another great NYE party and wishing I wasn't a little kid then!
Life moves on.
Indeed, and I'm inching back towards the acceptance phase. :)Still, even being shut out on MO and TM, I just don't feel like my hopes have been stomped on enough..... but I know just what to do about that....I'll try for Rolling Stones tickets next!
And then...I'll go out in the back yard and eat dirt! That will show everyone.
Seriously, I truly have no sour grapes for everyone who got tickets and I hope all enjoy the shows in whatever form you experience them.
Index cards...
Re properlejdi, dude, that's f***ing hilarious !! Thanks for the still needed laugh post aftermath...
My air and hotel was booked, literally, the afternoon I read about the announcement.
Still in need of tickets, I am more and more convinced that price erosion is on our side and when the floodgates open in June, there will be countless GDTS TOO tickets for sale.
Keep the faith, peeps !!
@properlejdi
I don't think my profile pic looks like a girl so I do not get the implication of you suggesting I am one. This is not my first rodeo, yes the staff works hard but the decision to let these tickets go straight to TKM & scalpers came right from the top being Peter or GDTSTOO management. The secondary sales through GDTSTOO were cancelled & went straight to TKM & the scalpers. These tickets should have been handled just like they did for REX Foundation shows back at Berkeley High School. Mail order only & secondary tickets going on sale at the online GDTSTOO website. Deals were struck & fans got stabbed in the back & no apologies from anyone just not business as usual here & everyone knows it. Nobody likes how this deal went down & it leaves a bitter taste my friend to think that the band we all loved & followed would let this go down this way.
Sorry Spacepiggio
Again, no disrespect brother, either way, just debating...as for the female reference, I have made the mistake before and I was not suggesting you are a woman, actually, more implying an apology IF I made the mistake and assumed you were a guy and you were a woman...that is a weird one communicating with people you have never seen before and only have an avatar to go by - that and the voice of the writer.
I wish it were done differently, actually I wish it were done as a couple of people here suggested, give first crack at those subscribing to DP and the Almanac - that would be a good 15 k right there so at least a good 30k of tickets for each show (give or take). I just don't know how else to do it to be honest...
the cluster
This mega cluster is the alignment of the moons. The core 4 couldn't fill the stadium. So they suck in phan dollars by adding Trey. A lot of hype ensues. Enough to wake the dead. GDTSTOO doesn't anticipate the volume and they get slammed. They realize they don't have nearly enough tix. So powers that be decide to give more tix to GDTSTOO. But Ticketmaster has to have their cut or no show. A deal is a deal. The light bulb of cluster goes off.
"Hey! We'll give Ticketmaster the no view seats that we weren't going to sell and give Ticketmaster's previous sections to GDTSTOO. More seats! More money! Problem solved!"
GDTSTOO has more seats to fill, but even with more seats, tix are still 1 in 10 odds. Three day passes you say?
"Yeah 3 day passes. You know, one person gets to go to all the shows."
"But doesn't that mean that 3 people could go to one show if you broke up the 3 day pass?"
"Well, I suppose if you want to look at it that way, but really 1 in 10 odds aren't that bad. Besides doing more mailings means more work and with more seats now, we already have more index cards to file."
GDTSTOO is even more overwhelmed filing index cards (huh, 2015?). So overwhelmed that they can't email all the winners let alone losers by the TM date. Wait!?!
"Email?"
"Yes, that's right, we're copying email addresses off index cards."
The cluster of all clusters subsequently increases mass. While the Ticketmaster GA date approaches, CID dusts off their servers in anticipation of VIP sales. That's right, VIP sales for a Grateful Dead show. Somebody rolls over in his grave. You can hear a pin drop at 10:00 AM as a bazillion people sit, hand on mouse, waiting to refresh the CID page. Some jump the gun and at 9:55 there is a far distant cry from a CID server.
"We're not made for this" they scream.
Pages stop loading, by 10:00:30 CID is sold out. Yep, even the $5000 travel package complete with cheap shitty poster and free beer. At 10:05 a few less than a bazillion people just got their page to load to find the magic words:
"Sold Out"
"What just happened?" they say.
"Damnit" they scream and think to themselves "At least we still have Ticketmaster".
Few beers are drunk that night as weary would be ticket buyers want to be ready in the morning. After the worst night's sleep in years, morning comes and even those without pinkies or emails get ready. The computers boot up and the TM app is loaded on phones. Deja vu ensues. The seconds tick and at 10:00, TicketMaster enables the buy tickets button. Pages load. A million searches are launched. The magic revolving circle speaks to them. It says,
"6 minutes"
"22 minutes"
"45 minutes"
They believe the magic circle. Some break out of their hypnotic state in frantic realization that the magic circle lies. Windows are closed and new searches are made. But alas, too late. All that's left are no view seats. Many try for those, but even then for the vast majority it's too late. Some get lucky with two seats behind the stage.
"We'll bring oxygen" they say.
Credit card entered. Address typed in. Button pushed.
"Sorry, but those seats are not available" replies the magic circle.
"Fuck you magic circle."
Later that evening, several Ticketmaster shutouts are injured as they fall out of their chairs waiting on the magic circle lies. The cluster grows beyond comprehension. As if Stubhub itself was the ticketmaster bot of all bots, $75 no view seats get listed on Stubhub for $1000 in mere seconds after 10:00. Many still haven't received their ticket emails or their money orders back. But there's hope! GDTSTOO tells in secret email that they are building a database for bounced back emails. A database you ask?
"Yes a database."
"Why do you need a database for a few bounced back emails"
"We made some typos"
Evidently, the few bounced back emails is really about 1000 typos made when copying email addresses from index cards (yes, index cards). Limbo ensues. Cluster swells. Massive number of shutouts need an itch scratched. Rumor mill is jump started. Santa Clara you say!
"oh, please have mercy. I can't go through this again!"
Slammin' Sam3b
Yours is the only post longer than 4 lines I have ever read on this site.Well done.
any other guesses ?????
so, i'm thinking that the opening song, of Fridays show will be Feel Like a Stranger. seems very fitting and appropriate. Thoughts ??
First Song hmmm
I'm guessing "Shakedown" or "Music Never Stopped". I imagine they will pull from the beautiful spectrum but opener thinking something traditional. All good things in all good time it will all be welcome. Can't wait till first Phil Bomb. My seats are tucked away in the "Phil end Zone"
first song
music never stopped is classic 1st set ender, but I agree it would be THE opener!!!Just found out my MOs cashed feb 10...so, unless they were stolen and cashed by someone else, I'll be in Chicago for the weekend. Good luck to all those still in limbo.
Still have not heard from GDSTOO.
60 songs?
That recent Rolling Stone interview with the Pill Head .. I mean Trey ... said that Bobby sent him a list of 60 songs to practice. Would love to see what's on that list. Fun just thinking about it!!!
105 days and counting!!!
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20150703T19&p0=64
3 Mo.'s 60 Songs???
So that is 20 songs a month to learn what it took the band a lifetime to produce & Trey is going to dismantle that wall of sound in 3 agonizing nights, very bad choice. It is going to take a lot of Molly to get through this Karaoke Fare Thee Well.
Jack Straw as an opener....
was my first thought and a pristine start but doesn't it all get the mind reeling. If Bobby wanted Trey to learn 60 other songs hmmmm you just never know. I'm a JK/Kimock supporter/fan for sure and they were my obvious pick but no hater so imagine Trey's take on China Cat, Scarlet/Fire, Franklins and others. He will never be Jerry but he can play. I'm really needing these shows soon ahhhh
Re: Jack Straw
My bet is they open with this song during the July 4th show.
aftermarket ticket prices
Holding steady, gotta love (hate) all these so-called deadheads with GA pit tix (some are just non-fans but have to believe that most are actual fans) screwing their own kind for the almighty dollar (or in this case, thousands).
Breaks my heart...
Is there no end to this madness????
@spacepiggio
Hey now! GDTS TOO had absolutely NOTHING to do with tickets going to Bears or Soldier field event PSL fans.
If you want to blame someone, blame the promoter and the deal that was struck between him and venue. Leave GDTS TOO out of that conversation.
They owe us no apologies for that at all. For the other mistakes that they themselves made, OK. But you know they are only human and were cramming they're asses off for us and I am pretty sure most of them were volunteering. So give them a break!
@Klangstone
I did not blame the staff or volunteers at all. I know they work their but off going through envelopes. I blamed Peter right from the beginning if you read my previous post's & did not know if upper mgmt. at GDTS TOO or the band had any part of the ticket mess but still felt someone needed to say sorry about this mess to the fans.In my opinion the tickets should have been handled through mail order only just like the BCT REX Foundation shows were & any extra seats should have been sold online through GDTS TOO then Ticketmaster.
Peter is a greedy bastard that screwed all of us that followed the band over the years & what is a Fare Thee Well Show without a Shakedown Street as the stadium already announced limited access to the parking lot with no camping.
This event should have been one where we could reunite with other fans we met over the years & have one last gathering of the tribes.
This last hurrah should have been like Ventura County Fairgrounds Where we could all camp & play music around the bonfire all night. Play Dead Movies on a makeshift screen & shoot off fireworks. Where we could all gather with the largest hug felt around the world as we all remember that hot summer day when the rest of the band was wondering when Jerry was going to come out of Terrapin.
That is going to be my memory, Mickey & Billy looking back & forth at each other shrugging there shoulders then looking at Phil. Then Phil shrugging his shoulders & nodding to Bobby to go to Jerry. Then Bobby walking towards Jerry & Jerry giving Bobby that look from under his glasses & Bobby walking back to Phil with his head down while Jerry continued his adventures in Terrapin.
That is going to be my memory, not Trey playing 60 songs that he has to learn in the next 3 months.
Saturday Night, Yes
But not as an opener. My bet is they'll close second set with it.
Who else could play for Jerry?
In all due respect to the masses (myself included) that know that no one can replace Jerry in this event...There is no one... there hasn't been for 20 years. Some have tried but no one has really managed to pull it off. And for good reason. No one will ever fill those shoes. That is why we loved him so much.
As it goes, and as a fellow musician myself, Trey is an absolutely amazing guitarist. He knows what he's doing and has just as much complexity and intricacies to his own music in his own way as Jerry did. He actually understands where Jerry got his style musically and is studying that in depth and immersion right now. He has played with these guys before in the not too distant past and toured in the 80's with the Grateful Dead so he's no newcomer.
I've been at any number of after Jerry Dead shows... and none of the guitar players did it for me. Not Warren Haynes, not the Darkstar guy, none of them... the magic was there because the band all grew up together at a moment in time that will never ever exist again with Jerry and he was irreplaceable.
I would love to be at the shows. I would love to see Jerry up on stage with everybody else. But neither one of those things is going to happen...
The first time I saw Jerry the scene was already falling apart and I had a hard time enjoying myself watching it happen... Now I'd give anything to get to do that again.
We are so lucky that anyone in the band is wanting to do these performances at this point in their lives and it is awesome that Trey wants to put his heart and soul into making it the best it can be without Jerry.
There is no point in projecting so much negativity into something that is meant to be a good thing because pretty soon it will be a memory of a better time that can no longer be replaced either.
This morning I had a dream
This morning I had a dream that a long grey haired old lady offered to sell me a ticket to a Chicago show for $3. I hadn't planned on going but she made her offer so kindly I took her up on it. I just found out this afternoon that Calico had passed away on the 18th. Still caring from the other side, much love and thanks to a really lovely lady.
@ Turtlestop
Grate philosophy and vibes, so true. Everyone on that stage is playing from their heart and together to celebrate the music we all love and that has truly guided our lives. Stay supportive and positive and let our love light shine. It takes all of us! This music, these moments we share in will not fade away.
Sad to hear Calico passed
That is sad to hear , Calico gave me my Greek Friday the 13th 1984 Dark Star ticket just minutes before show started. She told us you do not want to miss this one tonight boys so get inside . Those were her pretty much her exact words. Thank you Peach for saying it the way you said I have a thing for being kind about reporting someone Passing on. Never liked when people say it any other way. Passing on is a kind gentle way.
@ spacepiggioI agree these
@ spacepiggio
I agree these shows should of been set up in some sort of outdoor field for all to attend. Field trip 3 could of been . The band could of played to sprawling fields of heads from every generations that way. We all traveled 10,000 of thousands of miles to follow them around. Imagine if they could of allowed the camping scene of say Chief Hosa campground near red rocks or Alpine Valley. Many of us know the area around both of those places well having been there so many times. Before it became its own money making party though.
Not the case though. Those wondering if there will be a place set up for camping and a Shakedown street to roam and reunite. There is always a place that becomes the spot. It's a travelling tribe and we always adapted back then and sure it will happen here too. I myself don't like the name Shakedown street as a place to roam we never called it that in the years when it seemed only people to gather were those who sold their T shirts bumper stickers and jewelry out side the show itself. Did not have an official name back then goes to show how much we evolve over the years. Evolve good or bad that is.
I remember back in 1983 and 84 when the food thing started to take hold selling grilled cheese sandwiches with our Regan cheese we use to call it getting food stamps in Santa Cruz and the block cheese they gave us turned into making sandwiches for a buck in Ventura of 1984. Before long we had people coming to shows only to make money and take advantage of us threw vending. I believe that's when the name of Shakedown St took off people needing a place to set up and sell whatever it may of been . Egg roles and so forth all deadhead things but real vending people setting up their travelling carts to take advantage of us took us down and to a bad place in the long run. Bad place because it became the in thing to do tour with the Dead during summer to make money only. Not to get into that nights show and on to next city like it was in the beginning.
I am sorry for going off here really only wanted to comment on "spacepiggio" comment of the ways the band use to decide what was next. Also what I just said is in no way a knock on anyone it's more a story of progression then a knock even if it sounds like it.
@hockey_john
Thanks John, that is why I mentioned the BCT Rex Foundation Shows. It had the little park in front of the school & a couple of us started a circle with some food & beverages. Soon heads of all ages started joining our circle & we always left a space open for someone to join. More & more started joining bringing more & more cheese, wine & their instruments that we had 3 circles connected all with an opening for more to join & share that love & devotion that the band inspired among all of us.I think in the later years it was not the vendors that ruined it but the over abuse of alcohol after Touch Of Grey was released.
Now fast forward to the Fare Thee Well fiasco & we have this money grubbing leech Producer Peter Shapiro sucking the life blood out of what was a beautiful band of gypsies traveling the country following the music they loved & cherished. It doesn't matter to me or many other heads where Jerry played last or first since there are too many places to cherish that they are just a fog of memories now.
The saddest part is that the gypsies that deserve to be there can't because of the cost of the experience & it is a shame.
I think there should have been 3 free shows, one in Central Park in NYC, another maybe in a National Forest in TN, & one last show in Golden Gate Park.
sorry if wrong
https://youtu.be/g4xXMmhjG6Q I only posted this so others could see the older days. Free to roam streets of Telluride
This is what it could of been times maybe 50? I realize they could not play in a small field like this but it is another of those times so long ago that was peaceful and fun.
This did not have what's now called Shakedown ST. Another way we evolved .
Not sure if is ok to copy and paste video like this so if it is wrong I am sorry. Only putting it out there for those who wonder what it was like. We had a great time here at Telluride. and am glad to see someone took the time to record the scene.
Read this view of the shows
This came from the Live for Live Music website, article written on 3/20. Rings true to me.
http://liveforlivemusic.com/features/lets-be-grateful-for-the-deads-50t…
Grandpa Geo....
Thanks for sharing....
dude, 1st show 1972?
I'm not worthy....
Uncle rrrrrrrrrrrrgrrrrrrrrrrrr
Guest appearances?
Does anyone think the FTW shows will include some surprise guests? Dylan, B. Marsalis, Santana? Personally, I'd like to see John K come in and relieve Trey for a tune or two.