Grateful Dead

Not to make anything negative but I keep reading posts on various forums from those who keep trashing these shows due to... - Cost of Tickets - Location - Not enough shows - Band making too much money, (not in the spirt of GD) - Leaving too many "true" deadheads out - Unorganized ticketing process Lets run it down in order. First, cost of the tickets... I keep reading complaints that the cost of these shows exclude the poor from attending. "Only the rich and trustafarians can afford to go!" I tell ya, I'm not rich by any means but I started saving up a GD concert fund last year the moment I heard some rumors that they might tour in 2015. I ate out less, stayed in most weekends and cut back on my normal spending. Hey, I was not going to miss out on shows due to a lack of funds. Just like with anything in life, you have to prioritize. Many folks save up all year long to go on vacations... No different here. I just saved up for what I thought would be a couple of road trips but it turns out there is only Chicago. Speaking of Chicago... What is the problem here? If the band only wants to play one location then Chicago is a good of choice as any. It would have been awesome in SF, NY or Red Rocks but I understand why they wanted a centralized spot. Plus, I don't fully believe that these will be the very last shows. Chicago has the stadium, history and ability to handle such a crowd over a holiday weekend. Not enough shows... Well, I would have loved to see a full summer tour but hey, it isn't going to happen! I don't get why some folks are upset about this. They don't owe anything to anyone. They are coming together for a weekend and who knows, maybe some other shows will pop up. Glass half full perspective is that THEY'RE PLAYING AGIAN! Be it 3 shows or 10 shows... One annoying complaint is that the band is making so much money off this. Yes, they are! They deserve every penny they can get. They created it and carried it for 50 years. In fact, they probably deserve even more money than they're getting. This isn't 1967 and free concerts of this proportion are not free, nor should they be. It is entertainment... The Grateful Dead have given us all of their shows for free, via tapes. They don't owe anyone a free live performance. Its the same argument for folks who complain about athletes earning too much money. Well, if the athlete isn't getting paid, who is? The damn owner of the team. One could argue that the real problem are the fans who pay the money... Well, I won't get into that debate because its fantasy land. Point is, folks will pay to see their favorite team or their favorite band. If ANYONE is getting paid, it should be the band! For those who are feeling left out due to this process, I feel you man! I can see how having multiple shows will help more folks see the band but... that doesn't seem to be happening. When I first heard about these shows, I made a decision that I was going to try my very best. Followed MO instructions exactly, used saved cash from my vacation/money savings fund, requested two $215 tixs for all 3 shows and now I'm waiting to see if my true love tickets will fly back to me. There is nothing more we can do. Complaining about it is pointless, knowing that if I get the pink slip, I'm still going to find a way in, (minus going through scalpers.) Trust that it will work out and if it doesn't, then oh well. We've all dealt with disappointment before and we will survive with our without tickets. Yes, this ticket process is pretty interesting. I completely understand why they went the mail order route but I suspect that the huge number of requests even surprised GTST TOO. A bit more clarity about their process would be nice and updates are encouraged BUT I also appreciate the mystery and excitement this has caused. Not sure if it was done on purpose but it seems to be the result. We live in a new time and folks want access to information now, myself included. I must say, in a funny way, this process has been refreshing and although I was pretty darn excited, the waiting has really peaked my enthusiasm. In addition, it has brought a bunch of deadheads out of the woodworks and into the online "community." It is absolutely inefficient and its a huge bummer that many folks will not win the lottery but one thing I know about deadheads, we will all find a way in, one way or another! Peace and love to all. Lets see how this all plays out and I hope to be one of the lucky ones but if not... I've had fun with the process.

you ain't got half of what you thought you had gonna get tix I don't know

Set 1: Touch of Jerry, Bucket > Candyman (work in progress)