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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This Thread so Far
Thank you to everyone who took the time out of their day to update this thread. To those who got the winning emails and posted, thank you for letting us know the process. To those whose MOs were sent back and posted, thanks for letting us in on it.
Nice job of not letting
Nice job of not letting everyone with money tied up in GDTS mail orders know whether they would be receiving tickets by the ticket sale date (Even thought there is a 90% chance that they would not be getting mail order tickets). I have friends with $800 or more in money orders sitting in a box on a floor in CA who had no money to try getting tickets online today and have no idea when they will see their money again. You'd think that the moment you realized you got 60K orders, Bob and Phil might have jumped to hire a few more people to take care of responding to fans in a timely manner. But that's obviously not a priority for them.
I'm sorry it's turned out
I'm sorry it's turned out this way for almost everyone. I was never going anyway, but I'm sorry so many had to be disappointed. At least we all still have each other. And that's how it's kinda always been, if you think about it. I feel that there have been numerous poor choices made, both in the recent past, and in particular now with this event, by those involved in putting it on. I'll say no more. Luckily, this is really only 3 days out of a lifetime, and there are and will be other shows to attend. I too hope all the scalpers have to eat this. It's been known to happen before. Remember that bumper sticker "Don't Feed the Scalpers"? It's early days yet, and only a fool would buy an over priced ticket now.
worth it?
I REALLY REALLY wanted to and still want to be there...almost at any price. Changed my mind. For those of you willing to pay these jacked up prices....I don't get it unless you're Bill Gates or something. GD were and will always be the best live act ever. Having seen Rat dog, further, the Dead...none of these are GD. All good to very good but upwards of $1000 a pop????! If Jerry himself could somehow show up I can't believe it would be a thousand dollar show. Have fun...I'd still go if i could get a moderately overpriced ticket...but not at these BF prices.
Knock knock!
Might be time to do some door knocking up in Marin. Say when.
Parking at Solider Field
spothero.com good resource to find reasonable parking near Soldier Field. Scored prepaid parking for $35 per day for three days. Parking will begin to go for a premium shortly.
Peace out........
It's like sucking on a sour lime
This whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth. I don't need to get into the details. Everyone who was paying attention knows what happened. Do the surviving members just talk the talk or do they actually walk the walk? Do they really respect the Heads or do they want more money that they don't really need? They have nothing to lose. STREAM THE SHOWS FOR FREE!
Completely let down.
Have not yet received an email or my pink slip letter. Total limbo. I also had 4 family members plus myself on ticketmaster this morning only to be totally let down. What a waste of time. Couldnt beleive what I saw on stub hub this afternoon......1204 tixs available at $613. each. Ive got a room downtown at the Congress for Friday. Anyone got an extra?? Message me. Just 6 min cab to Soldier.
Completely let down.
Have not yet received an email or my pink slip letter. Total limbo. I also had 4 family members plus myself on ticketmaster this morning only to be totally let down. What a waste of time. Couldnt beleive what I saw on stub hub this afternoon......1204 tixs available at $613. each. Ive got a room downtown at the Congress for Friday. Anyone got an extra?? Message me. Just 6 min cab to Soldier.
Completely let down.
Have not yet received an email or my pink slip letter. Total limbo. I also had 4 family members plus myself on ticketmaster this morning only to be totally let down. What a waste of time. Couldnt beleive what I saw on stub hub this afternoon......1204 tixs available at $613. each. Ive got a room downtown at the Congress for Friday. Anyone got an extra?? Message me. Just 6 min cab to Soldier.
Completely let down.
Have not yet received an email or my pink slip letter. Total limbo. I also had 4 family members plus myself on ticketmaster this morning only to be totally let down. What a waste of time. Couldnt beleive what I saw on stub hub this afternoon......1204 tixs available at $613. each. Ive got a room downtown at the Congress for Friday. Anyone got an extra?? Message me. Just 6 min cab to Soldier.
The shows have been mediocre
The shows have been so mediocre ever since 1992 even with Jerry that I don't see why people really care that Mickey and Billy are playing with Phil and Bob. Peter Shapiro is a genius for getting people to hand over their money to see these shows like it's the last time the band will ever play together, as if the music will be more than 10% better seeing Trey rather than fake Jerry playing on tour with them all year long. BTW, Joe Russo is a much better drummer than Bill and Mickey combined anyway. I hope everyone has a good time. These concerts are the biggest sham of the decade.
Put down the pipe Gary Coleman...
Joe Russo better than Billy and Mickey combined? Clearly thou art high an disgruntled about something. You could bring Jaimo, Butch Trucks, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Joe Jones, Todd Nance and Sonny Domingo all together and they still wouldn't sound like Billy and Mickey. Go take a nap Gary.
GDTS Cluster
Not a peep from GDTS about my mail order. It's infuriating, especially since they originally posted on GDTS-TOO that all customers would be notified whether or not they would receive tickets BEFORE the vendor sale date. Didn't happen, hasn't happened, and I now have more than 2k somewhere in limbo. Today, USPS phone check gives NO information on MOs status. To me, this entire event is a major cluster fuck and is, seemingly, dishonest on the part of the Dead corporation; the utter lack of communication about ticket status from GDTS is unconscionable. Shame on them for not having their shit together for this and to (continue to) treat customers/fans this way. The Ticketmaster fiasco and thousands of tickets being made available via scalp sites just moments after the sale began is the lightest shade of pale.
By the way, my Ticketmaster order continues to spin with the message, "Your wait time is less than ten minutes....If you refresh or leave this page - you'll lose your place in line!" 14.35 hours after sale began. What a joke.
Karma
Good karma to all those still in limbo...
I got my VIP package but friend got locked out on both CID and TM. My husband miracled 2 of 3 tix to him! I don't deserve such an amazing human being! So I'll be there on the 4th with the amazing guy who's been supporting all my craziness for the past month and the 3rd and 5th with the friend who got me on the bus!
So happy this morning!
Sitting here in limbo
Well my buddy and I got flights to Chicago, hotel rooms but no tickets. No answer from GDTKS TOO yet so tried CID and Ticketmaster-no dice. As Oliver Hardy would say To Stanley Laurel-"This is Another fine mess you've gotten me into, Stanley". Also-do not buy from the scalpers-don't feed the beast. If you lose,you lose. I am not happy how this went but a lot of it is speculation based in my opinion. Money for nothin'.
PS
I, for one, have no desire to engage in the negativity which some have unleashed in these forums. I certainly understand it however. But let us wait and see what may transpire as we go forward. The obvious solution to high demand is a meet up at the movies on the three nights in real time. At normal movie event prices as they have done in the past few years if possible contractually. Sirius/XM broadcast if possible. We,as fans, don't know the details of the contactual rights to the performances so we must wait and see what develops. The band members have over the years been very savvy and hip to the manipulators and have tried to be fair to the fans so let us wait and see. How much power they reserved to have a say in the marketing of these events we don't know. Also Mr Peter Shapiro is a fan as well so let's give him a chance. Perhaps they really were blindsided by the demand as they say they were. I have been shut out so far as have a lot of others but let's go and see.
Just don't go, just don't buy, just don't look
boycott this show. Just don't go. Don't go to the simulcast, don't go to the show. How can we get the people who screwed us to heed our voice? Unfriend the grateful dead (which we all know is not band) on facebook, dump all ties with this fiasco and all their coconspirators, refuse to buy anymore merchandise. If the only thing they understand is money, let's hit them where they will feel it, in the wallet. anyone who had anything to do with this can F@%K off.
I for one will no longer support this. I will support all things Jerry, but not these clowns. I would love to see something, anything from the powers that be stating that they are sorry for this, but I'm dreaming a dream that ended years ago. They could care less as long as they got the check. Sleep well remaining members, on top of your pile of cash, sleep well.
Hmmmm
Still waiting for MO return or maybe an email. I haven't heard of anyone receiving one yesterday or today. Shut down on TM and CID. so after weeks of rushing to my mailbox and frantically checking my emails I'm finally calm. Thinking...first show Fox Theatre 1978. Many many many shows to follow. Beautiful times I can remember always. After Jerry died I caught The Other Ones and a few Further. FTW in Chicago seems huge to me. I'm not letting go of the room until I get my MO returned which would be really appreciated as its a LOT of $$$ floating around. But no jacked up priced seats for me! My daughter and I want to go to Europe next year so...no Mail order miracle..that $$ will be spent making a life time memory with her. That's how I roll with this. One of my longtime friends got his email night 27th. That made me smile.
Still Waiting...
I'm not giving up yet on receiving the the confirmation email. It seems that several people are in the same boat. Flight booked and hotel rooms reserved. Regardless of what happens, I still have great memories, especially Buckeye Lake in the late '80s and 90's. Trying to remain positive!
Blessings
Let's all try to step back to the momement(s) of anticipation when we thought we were heading down the road... Let's not be the downer for the peeps who are going. I'm encouraging anyone, myself included, to get up, get out, get out of the door and away from your screens. Many of us, again, I include myself, have much to be thankful for. I have many blessings to count including the numerous shows Ive benefitted from.We're not going, for now. Let's not be bitter and bring down the experience for fellow heads. I'm still looking for a miracle with a smile, smile, smile. Let's go count our blessings not our loses!
taking a step back
Doing some thinking about how this has played out over the past few months. Many people are upset at how this was handled. However, I don't think there is any way that it could have been done where you would not have all these issues because of the high demand. My guess is that, if they can legally do it, the band and concert producer will figure out a way that anyone in the world who wants to will be able to see these shows. You may say I'm dreaming but Grateful Dead is a special thing, let's wait and see how this plays out in the end.
In Limbo and looking forward...
I spent a few hours yesterday like so many others trying to score on Ticketmaster. Nope. Didn't happen. I'm still waiting to hear on my MO, so there is hope. If I do get lucky and receive a confirmatory email, I'll be spending the 4th of July weekend with family in Chicago, celebrating my 21st wedding anniversary with them, and then taking my father to at least one of the shows I put in for through GDTSTOO. If no dice on Chicago, I've got plenty of memories of the many amazing shows I caught through the 80s and 90s as well as numerous P&F, Ratdog, Further, and Other Ones shows in the aftermath of the Grateful Dead (i.e., sans Jerry). At least during this GD anniversary year, I can celebrate the milestone of Phil's 75th birthday. I have tix to see him at the Capitol Theater on 3/15. Taking a good friend with me to that one.
Alternative Solution
The remaining members should scrap this nightmare and refund all monies. They should then find EC, WC, and MW national forest venues to hold final concerts. Or they could RENT MONTANA! Plenty of room and parking for everyone.
How To Get A Good Laugh Off The Scalpers
Just saw the outrageous prices for tickets on ebay. Which got me thinking. All of these slimeballs screwed over the fans to make as much money as they can. Well, what goes around, comes around.
Here's what I intend to do with one of these dirtbags. Bid an extremely high amount for their tickets and after I win, not pay them. Ebay won't enforce the sale and good luck traveling thousands of miles to sue me. These asshats shouldn't be selling their tickets anyway because they won't be in hand until June.
Yeah, it may sound petty but these jerks deserve a little payback. Have a Grateful Day.
Get a grip
I see a lot of upset fans on this site and while I can sympathize, think about what just went down before you blame "The Boys." You have got a large venue but even that said, there are three mobs trying to get tickets, Dead Heads, Phish fans and the scumbag ticket brokers. Having a last tour wouldn't have solved the problem as there is no way it would have been a long enough tour to thin out the crowds, think about it. Lockn? Give me a break, I don't want to see their last performance in a dust bowl. I think this is the best way to do it, 3 shows, big city, big venue. I'm sorry for the real Heads that didn't get tickets. I myself have a 3 day VIP package and cannot wait. Yes, I'm a huge, long time fan, and yes I'm lucky but it wasn't from lack of effort and going through the same hell and hoping that we all did. So cheer up, I had visions of an awesome viewing party with good friends watching it pay per view and it sounded pretty good to me (not as good as VIP, but pretty damn nice).
100 year Grateful Dead Anniversary shows
do you guys think that maybe, for the 100th year shows they do... could they pick a big ol farmers field out in the middle of Nebraska or something, so we can squeeze more than 100,000 hippies into the show? the band has gotten kind of popular over the years, and, well, we don't all fit in the Warfield anymore. We need some floor space to shake our bones!!! A big ol field off of I-80 in Nebraska would be purrfect, IMO.
anyways, see y'all in another 50 :)
What did go down exactly?
The system was not setup by design from the beginning to accommodate fans, period. Take a look at the factors you just mentioned, consider them and what could have been done differently, including the money orders, and then get back to us.
fare thee well...
and the rich men in their winter homes
say "c'mon guys, leave stub hub alone.
greed won the day, how could we have known?"
and the kids will dance and play with phones
and forget how bad they just got boned.
perhaps for each goliath there's a stone.
of course, at first, they'll bitch and moan,
but jilted heads will chill at home.
such is life, true colors shown.
ashes, ashes, all fall down...
-grateful, still and forever.
Ashes Ashes...
all fall down!
very appropriate....and it made me smile in a sad way....
even though I scored mail order, I am despondent...and that worries me.
Stop the MADNESS!!! Dont feed the scalpers. Wait em out.
Here is a list of what has SOLD on stubhub for Saturdays show.
per 324 $982.99 14 4 03/01/2015
Upper 350 - No View $701.25 3 1 03/01/2015
Club 203 - No View $724.45 13 2 03/01/2015
Upper 350 - No View $631.65 7 2 03/01/2015
Grandstand 440 $776.65 14 2 03/01/2015
Upper 324 $698.92 14 1 03/01/2015
Upper 353 - No View $588.73 5 2 03/01/2015
Upper 330 $965.73 14 2 03/01/2015
Upper 319 $875.25 11 2 03/01/2015
Floor General Admission $1,658.25 GA27 1 03/01/2015
Club 212 $1,281.25 19 2 03/01/2015
Upper 322 $899.00 13 2 03/01/2015
Club 205 $1,587.43 1 4 03/01/2015
Grandstand 439 $1,300.00 1 1 03/01/2015
Upper 350 - No View $666.45 26 1 03/01/2015
Upper 320 $799.85 15 1 03/01/2015
Middle 242 $1,049.00 9 2 03/01/2015
Upper 350 - No View $643.25 14 2 03/01/2015
Club 212 $1,142.05 18 2 03/01/2015
Grandstand 446 - No View $595.01 20 1 03/01/2015
Upper 354 - No View $584.99 16 1 03/01/2015
Lower 121 $898.45 16 1 03/01/2015
Middle 220 $896.13 20 2 03/01/2015
Upper 322 $990.09 13 4 03/01/2015
Upper 320 $862.49 10 2 03/01/2015
Lower 143 $1,149.00 11 2 03/01/2015
Grandstand 440 $689.00 34 1 03/01/2015
Club 212 $1,020.25 10 1 03/01/2015
Upper 350 - No View $629.90 26 1 03/01/2015
Grandstand 440 $884.89 34 1 03/01/2015
Floor General Admission $1,658.25 GA27 1 03/01/2015
Lower 121 $910.05 13 1 03/01/2015
Grandstand 440 $658.01 19 1 03/01/2015
Grandstand 440 $768.53 26 1 03/01/2015
Upper 350 - No View $620.00 16 1 03/01/2015
Club 305 - No View $853.21 17 4 03/01/2015
Upper 351 - No View $660.00 2 2 03/01/2015
Club 311 $944.85 8 2 03/01/2015
Upper 322 $932.09 10 2 03/01/2015
Upper 319 $724.45 12 2 03/01/2015
Grandstand 440 $759.25 37 1 03/01/2015
Floor General Admission $1,669.00 420 1 02/28/2015
Upper 351 - No View $654.85 7 2 02/28/2015
Lower 121 $1,700.00 TBD 4 02/28/2015
Upper 349 - No View $585.25 16 2 02/28/2015
Lower 104 $1,199.00 9 2 02/28/2015
Upper 350 - No View $599.00 31 1 02/28/2015
Lower 104 $1,100.00 4 2 02/28/2015
Lower 104 $999.00 3 2 02/28/2015
Club 311 $846.25 15 1 02/28/2015
Upper 341 $885.69 10 1 02/28/2015
Lower 125 $1,084.05 16 2 02/28/2015
Middle 253 - No View $699.00 22 4 02/28/2015
Club 213 $999.00 12 1 02/28/2015
Upper 341 $885.69 4 2 02/28/2015
Upper 319 $933.25 7 2 02/28/2015
Upper 319 $899.00 8 2 02/28/2015
Club 312 $975.00 7 2 02/28/2015
Upper 324 $759.25 15 1 02/28/2015
Club 205 $1,077.09 9 2 02/28/2015
Lower 104 $1,049.25 9 2 02/28/2015
Club 212 $2,557.25 10 2 02/28/2015
Club 212 $2,557.25 10 2 02/28/2015
Lower 120 $1,179.00 15 2 02/28/2015
Lower 119 $585.25 16 2 02/28/2015
Club 312 $899.00 4 1 02/28/2015
Lower 126 $1,000.00 8 1 02/28/2015
Middle 255 - No View $852.05 18 1 02/28/2015
Club 306 $758.09 17 1 02/28/2015
Club 216 $1,050.01 14 2 02/28/2015
Grandstand 440 $701.25 22 1 02/28/2015
Upper 340 $1,153.65 1 4 02/28/2015
Lower 121 $1,242.97 16 2 02/28/2015
Lower 124 $1,165.25 19 2 02/28/2015
Upper 350 $759.25 6 3 02/28/2015
Lower 143 $1,465.63 15 4 02/28/2015
Upper 340 $898.45 6 1 02/28/2015
Grandstand 440 $846.26 25 2 02/28/2015
Floor General Admission $1,749.99 FLR32 1 02/28/2015
Upper 342 $898.45 3 2 02/28/2015
Lower 133 $2,440.09 13 2 02/28/2015
Upper 350 $744.00 32 2 02/28/2015
Upper 320 $999.98 9 2 02/28/2015
Upper 350 $790.00 29 1 02/28/2015
Club 212 $1,397.25 4 2 02/28/2015
Upper 350 $700.00 3 2 02/28/2015
Club 203 $863.65 13 2 02/28/2015
Floor General Admission $1,832.25 GA27 1 02/28/2015
Grandstand 447 $725.00 30 1 02/28/2015
Club 205 $1,552.69 3 2 02/28/2015
Lower 126 $1,339.25 19 1 02/28/2015
Lower 124 $1,165.25 6 2 02/28/2015
Club 305 $875.25 3 2 02/28/2015
Club 213 $1,295.00 14 2 02/28/2015
Lower 121 $1,223.25 15 1 02/28/2015
Floor General Admission $1,745.25 FLR27 2 02/28/2015
Lower 125 $1,222.03 18 2 02/28/2015
Lower 104 $1,599.99 8 1 02/28/2015
Lower 124 $1,162.93 2 1 02/28/2015
Grandstand 440 $927.45 22 4 02/28/2015
Breaks my heart
to see those numbers and that people are caving is so sad. Originally I was worried about the tension between anti-Trey heads and Trey supporters, now there is the whole other element.
Feeding the Scalpers
I think it is a good and noble effort to refrain from buying from the scalpers. Unfortunately, there are too many fans that will just bite the bullet and pay inflated prices to make sure they get tickets. How do you think that scum Spring From Night makes a living on eBay selling obscenely priced Dead discs? I hope I am wrong, but I don't see the scalpers taking a bath here. I certainly won't buy tickets from them, but then again I am disgusted with the whole scene so I no longer want to go to the shows anyway. I hope those of you that hold out are rewarded in the end.
Not sure how it could have been avoided
Outside of another Woodstock, I'm not sure how it could have been avoided, but I'm a ears. I understand why folks are pissed. If your like me you have given a lot to the band and its a huge part of my life, and yes I feel like I deserve to be there. The demand is to big though, so I'm not sure what could have been done to avoid inflated ticket prices.
And to respond to what went down: the band gave us mail order, TM and VIP options to go after. I'm not sure what other design they could have done to accommodate the massive amount of folks that want to be there. Longer tour? Wouldn't work because the boys don't want that. Some giant, free outdoor concert? That would have been about as fun as hemroids with the amount of folks that showed up. So honestly I agree, don't support the scumbag ticket brokers. Hope for a pay per view that you can split with your pals and have a three day party. Anyway, I'm no genius but I don't see how else they could have done it that would have left everyone feeling good about the situation. I'd love to hear what should have been done. Peace!
After Market Prices
A lot of these seats have to be tickets purchased on TM intended for, I am guessing here, resale. I was fortunate to get the email, now I know how Charlie Bucket felt when he got his golden ticket, but there was no mention of section let alone seat numbers. I assume tickets bought through TM specified seats.
Back in the late 70's and into the 80's when I went to most of my shows you could get tickets the day of the show. I've gotten to a few Dead, Furthur and Other Ones shows due to friends sharing tickets as I will do with the tickets I got. These insane prices are blowing me away but I would not consider selling my seats even though I could pay my mortgage for the rest of the year with what I could get for them.
March and looking impossible;(
So how am I supposed to afford 800. For one ticket let alone 2 my soon to be hubby offers to take me to the last show and it's starting to look impossible don't think I'm not making the trip anyways I'll be damned if 1600.$ will stop me from shining all the way to the top of this wild ride I'll be there in mine hopefully body and spirit ;)/// just sayin I wish I was loaded lol ;)
Avoiding it...
I think limiting mail order and TM to 2 tickets per person for one night would have been a start. Requiring purchaser to provide id at the gate. Granted these thinks take time and structure, but many acts have been able to squelch the scalpers this way, Tom Waits being one example. I'm still waiting on an email or my MO's back. They told us we would know before public sale(not that it mattered), but they didn't. There are scalpers and individuals selling 30 tickets or more. I think that certainly could have been avoided if they intended to.
What could have been Done...
1. Ticket lottery2. Limit the number of tickets per purchase to 2 instead of 4
3. Limit the number of shows you can purchase a for to 1
4. Increase number of tickets sold through Mail Order
5. Negotiate a clause that does not give Bears Season ticket holders first shot at tickets AND/OR suggest to season ticket holders that if they do purchase tickets, they will lose their rights to Bears season tickets if their seats are found being sold through ticket resellers.
6. Have a clause that requires you to show id that matches your tickets before entering the show grounds. (They do it everyday for flights and they take the time to pat you down before games and shows anyways). If you are not going to make the show, you sell the ticket back to ticketmaster or gdts.
Charge a few more dollars to implement any number of these steps!
Huge drop of the ball by someone or several people in not having a little foresight as to the demand for these tickets not only by fans, but by all the scumbucket ticket resellers that I'm sure were working their phones the moment the shows were announced.
Tickets were up for re-sale at 10 times the going rate the minute they went on sale!!
What a way to put a stamp on this legacy.
I have fond memories of getting free tickets, buying them second hand at face value and giving a couple away. And now I have this memory..."you are 3 minutes away...you are 5 minutes aways...you are 3 minutes away...oh look, floor tickets are available for $5-8000!!!...you are 7 minutes away..."
Sure wish we could be there
Can't see spending $800 for plane tickets to lurk around the outskirts of the show in Chicago...ticketless.Would have really loved to be a part of this event though.
Had hope until the last day when our letter came and we were not able to get tickets of any sort.
Sorry to see it end so far away without us.
Poor planning and truckloads of money
The sour taste is gone but the disappointment remains. Conservative calculations give figures of close to $20,000,000 for ticket sales and well over $2,000,000 in Ticket Master fees. To say that this couldn't have been anticipated is utter nonsense, especially after the astronomical mail order demand. With this kind of money involved (and knowing in advance that this kind of money was involved), why couldn't an extra server be leased and configured for the sale? Could it be because they didn't care? As someone pointed out in an earlier post, why were so many mail order (I wasn't one) requesters left in limbo? A few thousand dollars could have hired the temporary help needed to process all the requests in a timely manner. Could it be because they didn't care? Why does the Ticket Master site state at this moment that there are "Not Many Left" for the Friday show, yet when I search for best available tickets there are none. I developed a dislike for TicketTron and Ticket Master decades ago, mainly because of their fees. I quit buying anything except tickets 30 years ago. I spent my money in the parking lots. I'm grateful I saw so many great shows from 1973 until a couple of years ago. I don't buy any of the overpriced stuff sold by Dead net, but I love them for 30 Days Of The Dead. When Jerry died, he had $25,000,000. You know the four surviving members are all wealthy. They talk about their respect for the fans. Well, show us. STREAM THE SHOWS FOR FREE!! The band surely can afford that. The people who got tickets who would not think that's not fair can sell their tickets at face value or even for a small premium to cover non-refundable hotel reservations etc. STREAM THE SHOWS FOR FREE!! Or at least, explain to me why you can't. Don't try to rake in more huge piles of money with pay per view or some other such stuff, STREAM THE SHOWS FOR FREE!!. .
Fading away.
Note: a "miracle" is a total stranger giving you a ticket when you least expect it outside a show. Not your nephew giving your husband a ticket he does not even have yet. Enough of the over use of "miracle."Sorry for the sour comment, but I am mentally exhausted from this whole fiasco. And very hurt that the band I loved and followed for so much of my life has treated me this way. Some of the most memorable times of my life were spent at Dead shows with my friends. Days in the parks playing frisbee and Dead tunes all day. Endless parties and road trips. As children of the 70's and 80's you all have pictures in your head right now of moments you treasure as original Dead fans. That is what I have left. And all I have at this point. I did all the required tricks to get a ticket. I do think they pulled enough envelopes to fulfill the tiny amount of tickets they set aside for us MO suckers. They rest of our envelopes full of $$$$$ are sitting in the corner collecting dust right now. I have no email. No confirmation from Western Union. Waisted a entire day with the scam that is Ticketmaster. And I am now missing a large chunk of cash. And I have plane tickets and a hotel I reserved the day of the announcement. Thank goodness for travel insurance. My heart was broken earlier. Now I am just pissed.
I will not be watching some money grab called PayPerView either. Really? How insulting. The Dead did die with Jerry. At least The Stones still care about their fans.
feeling the love
No, that's the sick and debilitating high you get from swimming in a sea of money. You're feeling the love, we're feeling the shaft.
Ticket Mess
I have been to over 200 shows spanning over 25 years. And I was very sad to see that I got shut out of CId, Shut out of Ticketmaster. I have given out over 30 miracles, and true miracles usually at a show for a hug. Ofcourse I have also got some ( not many).But what they should have did in the tradition of the dead was mail order ( which is grate) and no online tickets to be sold. They should have had us all wait outside on line, and get tickets in line. I remember that also being fun, and bonding with people on line, similar to the parking lot seen. That would have stopped all scalpers etc.
Only the real Heads would wait outside in line in 2 feet of snow, and ice.
Hoping I get my miracle notice in the mail, as I never heard back anything from my mail order.
Ticket or no ticket still planning on making the trip to see people I have not seen in years.
Fare thee well, May the four winds blow you safely home.
Boycotting Pay Per View
After looking at the Billboard article & reading Peter Shapiro's remarks I felt like putting my fist through the monitor. This guy doesn't even have the brains or know how to run a concert event of this magnitude or his son's soccer team. I don't really care for Trey or Phish either for all that matters. I am not putting one dime into Peter Shapiro's pocket for any type of pay per view for this event. I am just going to stick with my memories of Jerry when I saw & heard him for the last time in Seattle on the 95 tour. Peter Shapiro is a vulture praying on the remains of a beautiful group of gypsies that the rest of the world knew as Deadheads. I have my memories & still see friends at a festival here & there & I want no part of this Fare Thee Well For The Rich & Greedy.
Still Nothing
Mailman came and went no letter- no email - no tickets yet? please continue to fill orders GDTS TOO - let the good times roll...