NYS Music 20​15

Tag: The Grateful Dead

  • Dark Star Orchestra Plays Frontier Field for Their First Stadium Show

    Dark Star Orchestra has one more stop to make in New York state before they head to Gathering of the Vibes this weekend in CT. Following a JGB set in Saranac Lake Sunday night, the band will return to Rochester for their first ever stadium show at Frontier Field tonight.

    Frontier FieldThe band that seeks to recreate the set list of past Dead Shows is excited to share this moment with the Rochester Dead Head community and we plan to show them how excited we are to be a part of it. With the celebration of Jerry Garcia’s birthday fast approaching, they have been heating up shows all tour.

    Tickets are still available for $15 and will increase to $18 at the door. This is an all ages show so bring the family for what should be a beautiful summer night of Dead tunes.

  • Fare Thee Well Celebrates July 4th with Fireworks and Empire State Building light show

    The Grateful Dead is an iconic piece of American musical history.  It could not have been more fitting to have their second show of the three-night run on the 4th of July in Chicago.  The evening opened appropriately with “Shakedown Street”, which was loaded with extended jams.  “Liberty” followed, fitting perfectly in tandem with the holiday theme.  Bob Weir had strong vocals while the band gracefully provided a flawless backing.

    Trey Anastasio delivered a tender “Standing on the Moon” before the band picked things up again with “Me and My Uncle.”  The band strolled into a lazy “Tennessee Jed.” There was a relaxed vibe in the air and the band was super tight. “Little Red Rooster” slowed things down before closing the set with “Friend of the Devil” and an energy packed “Deal.”

    ©Jay Blakesberg

    After an hour long break, set two opened with a fifteen minute “Bird Song.” The energy took off with the classic “Golden Road.”  The crowd went crazy with their dancing shoes.  No matter where fans were in the stadium, from the pit to behind the stage, the suites, or the very top row, people were enjoying the show full of energy and bone shaking vibes.

    Mickey Hart donned a sailor cap during the gentle “Lost Sailor” but then removed it before heading into an energetic “Saint of Circumstance”.  “West LA Fadeaway” fully came onto the set, as they were dropping teases of this tune the previous night.

    Once again, the Rhythm Devils blew the crowd away with a mind blowing “Drums.”  The huge screens at Soldier Field pulsed with flashes of colorful swirls and psychedelic images as the duo created otherworldly sounds.  It felt like thunder throbbing through the stadium as they pounded on the giant drums before moving into a trippy “Space.”

    The set ended with a heartfelt “Stella Blue” before finishing with the appropriately placed “One More Saturday Night.”  With two nights of dancing  in a row, this song had the crowd jumping out of their seats and dancing their asses off.

    The show closed with a hot “U.S. Blues”.  Anything other than this song to end the night would have been a wrong choice.  Images of the Empire State Building were shown on the giant screens.  It was later learned that a light show was created in honor of the band and set to the arrangement of “U.S. Blues.”  The show ended on a glorious note with incredible fireworks going off over the stadium for all to enjoy in honor of the 4th of July.

    Set 1: Shakedown Street, Liberty, Standing on the Moon, Me and My Uncle, Tennessee Jed, Cumberland Blues, Little Red, Rooster, Friend of the Devil>Deal

    Set 2: Bird Song, Golden Road, Lost Sailor>Saint of Circumstance, West LA Fadeaway, Foolish Heart, Drums>Space, Stella Blue, One More Saturday Night

    Encore: U.S. Blues

  • Colorful Fare Thee Well Kicks off in Style

    It has been 20 years since the Grateful Dead last performed on stage together.  Upon the passing of Jerry Garcia, the band’s lead guitarist, in 1995, an era abruptly ended.  Since the band’s announcement of its Fare Thee Well 50th reunion shows over the Fourth of July weekend in Chicago earlier this year, fans have been counting the days to see them give their last performances.  However, due to the overwhelming ticket demand, two shows at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Ca., were added.  Those two performances occurred this past weekend, and what a weekend it was.

    It has been a long strange trip building up to these performances.  Fans had to endure a wild ride just to get tickets, along with a frenzied scramble to book hotels and air fare that weren’t astronomical.  These shows have not only been incredibly emotional, up to the point of the first note dropping, but they have also brought the Grateful Dead community, as a whole, back together.  Strangers helping strangers just to get them in the door has been a consistent theme across all Grateful Dead fan sites on the internet.

    Beginning on Saturday, June 27, 2015, original members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart were joined onstage with special guests Bruce Hornsby, Jeff Chimenti and Trey Anastasio.  It was anyone’s guess as to what song would open up the five-show run.  To the delight of many, it opened with two heavy fan favorites, “Truckin’ ,” followed by “Uncle John’s Band.” A brief jam on “The Other One” opened the show.    The evening completely surrounded the early years with songs that dated back to the late 1960’s and early ‘70’s.

    As the band wound around their early beginnings, Phish frontman Trey Anastasio presented his first solo experience to the crowd during a 20-minute “Viola Lee Blues.”  A hot topic of conversation with Grateful Dead and Phish fans alike, many were skeptical if Anastasio could fill Jerry Garcia’s shoes in an honorable way.  He appeared to hold back during the first set while trying to find his groove, though without a doubt, he showed his stuff and melded gracefully into the vibe of the evening.  The first set came to a close with a delightfully surprising rainbow over the stadium, as if it was a smile from Garcia in heaven to the crowd below.

    fare thee well kicks offSecond set opened with a hesitant start, as band members were still working out the kinks and finding their footing.  Fans were also treated early on in the set to fireworks that were being set off in nearby Great America Park. With a slower start to the set, the energy built right up as they jammed into “St. Stephen.”  The second set blasted info full energy mode as the band finally tightened up and found their groove.  The improvised “Space” crept in, showing off the percussive talents of the Rhythm Devils, Kreutzmann and Hart.  The evening ended with an encore performance of “Casey Jones,” with Hornsby on vocals.  Before leaving the stage, Kreutzmann indicated the rainbow earlier in the evening was in honor of the Supreme Court decision passed to legalize gay marriage in all 50 states.  If the rainbow was fake or real is anyone’s guess.  Either way, it was beautiful.

    Set One:

    Truckin’, Uncle John’s Band, Alligator > Cumberland Blues, Born Cross-Eyed > Cream Puff War, Viola Lee Blues

    Set Two:

    Cryptical Envelopment > Dark Star > St. Stephen  > William Tell Bridge > The Eleven > Turn On Your Love Light > Drums > What’s Become of the Baby > Space > The Other One > Morning Dew

    Encore:

    Casey Jones

    As jam band fans like to say, never miss a Sunday show.  The second performance of the run did not disappoint the packed stadium.  After a bumpy start, the band fell into a fluid groove.  Sunday June 28th’s performance was more of a greatest hits for the hometown crowd.  A well-placed classic opener, “Feel Like a Stranger” started the first set with Weir on vocals.  The piano and keyboard sound mix was vastly improved from the night before, where, at times, you had to strain to hear those instruments.  The band was much more in synch this evening, as they strolled through “New Minglewood Blues” into “Brown Eyed Women.”  Hornsby, once again, showcased his vocal talents on “Loser,” a favorite that many fans hope is repeated in Chicago.

    Anastasio took the lead vocal position on “Alabama Getaway.”  He visibly appeared increasingly comfortable on stage.  Chimenti jammed right along by tapping his fingers with ease on the organ to pump out that deep sound. The almost two-hour first set closed with “Hell In a Bucket,” with Anastasio, once again, surprising the crowd with a high energy, get your bones jumping up and down, guitar solo.   The set came to a close with Weir’s infamous “we’ll be back in just a few minutes,” before the group walked off stage for set break.

    Second set opened strong with “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo.”  It was chock full of extensive, improvised jams before seamlessly transitioning into “Wharf Rat.”   Not a dry eye was to be seen when “He’s Gone” showed up on the set.  Even Weir appeared to have a moment as he was singing the lyrics to a song that most fans relate to the death of Jerry Garcia.  “He’s gone. Nothing’s gonna bring him back.”

    The Rhythm Devils once again showed their creative, improvisational percussion skills with “Drums” as the rest of the band took a break from the show.  This time around they had a guest join in, with Sikiru Adepoju, a percussionist and recording artist from Nigeria, on the talking drum.

    Another big fan favorite,  “Sugar Magnolia,” rounded out the second set and the weekend closed with an encore of “Brokedown Palace.”  If these shows are any indication of what’s to come in Chicago, fans are in for a spectacular Fourth of July weekend chock full of hidden gems and long winding intricate jams.  What a way to kick off the reunion tour.

    Set One:

    Feel Like A Stranger, New Minglewood Blues, Brown-Eyed Women, Loose Lucy, Loser, Row Jimmy, Alabama Getaway, Black Peter, Hell In A Bucket

    Set Two:

    Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo > Wharf Rat > Eyes of the World > He’s Gone > *Drums/Space > I Need A Miracle > Death Don’t Have No Mercy > Sugar Magnolia

    Encore:

    Brokedown Palace

  • Grateful Dead Art Show Lineup During ‘Fare Thee Well’ Revealed

    During the Grateful Dead’s much anticipated “Fare Thee Well” reunion and farewell concerts at Chicago’s Soldier Field July 3-5, there will be a coinciding art show by PhanArt, titled In All Good Company, the largest exhibition of Grateful Dead art and artists. The art show will feature a newly announced lineup of dozens of artists displaying and selling posters, pins, clothing and photography.

    grateful dead art showThe exhibition, put together by PhanArt, will take place from noon until 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday 1 mile from the stadium at the historic Congress Plaza Hotel on 520 South Michigan Ave., near Grant Park. Local Chicago bands Jack Straw and Under the Willow will complement the artistic displays throughout the weekend. In addition, Blank Space Arts will be curating a playlist, providing an audio background to the visual effect of the art.

    In All Good Company offers free admission to all visitors and looks to continue the great tradition that PhanArt has had since its inception in 2013. Produced by Pete Mason, PhanArt exhibitions have been held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Miami, representing an effort to offer fans a rich variety of original concert art.

    Listed below are the artists whose work will be on display at this Grateful Dead art show:

    John Warner | Not Fade Away Artworks | Rhoney Stanley | Phil Kutno

    Richard Biffle | Move Brightly featuring Tie Dye by Courtenay Pollock

    Uncle John’s Outfitters | Good Thoughts Printing | Vintage Dead

    Dead Images by Robbi Cohn | Jim Pollock | Mark Serlo | TRiPP

    Mountain Family Glass | Sunshine Daydream Hippie Shop | Michael Boyer

    Andrew Bryant | Erin Cadigan | Amigos and Us | The Art of Ryan Kerrigan

    Kingpin Designs | Jeff Troldahl | Pinsanity | Get Shit Done | Zenster

    Morning Dew Tye-Dyes | Eden’s Rose Foundation | Grateful Girls Scarves

    Scott Harris Photo | Heady Teddy’s Outfitters | Dr. Wookles

    Easy Wind Family Creations | Lot Lifestyle | Pin me Down

  • Group of Fans Want to Thank Dead for 50 Years

    A group of Grateful Dead fans are organizing a multi-pronged effort to thank the band for 50 years of music, including a group singing of “Not Fade Away” to the band each night of the upcoming 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well shows.

    dead fansThe group also wants fans to upload thank-you videos online to thank the band personally, as well as to donate to the Rex Foundation, a Grateful Dead-related charity.

    The Not Fade Away effort is being organized — since April — by a group of Deadheads who decided they want to thank the Grateful Dead for providing them with decades of fun, love and music.

    The group plans to start singing “Not Fade Away” just before the second set starts of each of the 50th anniversary reunion shows in Santa Clara, California this weekend, and Fourth of July weekend in Chicago. The decision about when to sing the song was a big one, but before the second set made the most sense to most of the organizers involved, according to the website’s FAQs.
    Separately, they’re asking for short Youtube videos of fans thanking the band in their own way. They’re also collecting videos of individuals and groups performing their own versions of “Not Fade Away.”

    https://youtu.be/pl-DA-3HL1Y?list=PLUGbWqS4OPtwiHTLNWi-RTTte1I_d3vlS

    The group also hopes to raise the largest-ever collective donation to the Rex Foundation. In order to participate, donors should give directly to the foundation, but make sure to include “#NFA” or “Not Fade Away” in the “special instructions to the seller” box.

    The Grateful Dead, along with their friends and family, established the Rex Foundation in 1983, and it has a broad mission supporting everything from a healthy environment and the rights of indigenous people, to the arts, social services and education. The foundation was named after Rex Jackson, a Dead roadie and later road manager who died in 1976.

  • Buffalo Philharmonic and more to Perform Grateful Dead at Artpark

    On July 12 at Artpark in Lewiston, NY to celebrate 50 Years of the Grateful Dead, The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will perform the music of the Grateful Dead, including performances by bands Crazy Fingers, The Grass is Dead, The Maniacs, Hayden Fogle and the Ambassadors, The Growlers Blues Band, and Savannah and the Kings. Food, drink and memorabilia will be available for sale.

    Tickets are $12 for the all day affair, with VIP passes $39.

  • The Music Never Stopped GD50 Pre/Post shows announced

    An impressive group of musicians will play a group of pre- and post-party shows in Chicago billed as The Music Never Stopped to complement the Grateful Dead Fare the Well GD50 reunion run.

    The Music Never Stopped run kicks off Thursday, July 2, with shows at different venues by Thievery Corporation with special guests yet to be announced, Gene Ween with special guests Mariachi El Bronx, and a Rex Foundation benefit called High Steppin’ Into Town featuring Greensky Bluegrass, Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass and the Infamous Stringdusters.

    On Friday, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe will start at 10 p.m., and Edwarde Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros will perform at another venue from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

    Saturday, the Fourth of July, Railroad Earth will start a show at 11 p.m., and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros will again play another venue with an 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. show.

    Sunday is the big culmination with the Fiyawrapper All Star Jam starting at 11 p.m. This group features Jennifer Hartswick of the Trey Anastasio Band as musical director and will include two other TAB musicians plus members of the Allman Brothers Band, Soulive/Lettuce, the Revivalists, Big Gigantic, Snarky Puppy and Break Science/Pretty Lights.

    fiyawrapperposter

    Silver Wrapper, a group of Chicago-based independent promoters, assembled the shows. Tickets are available via their website.

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  • Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary Celebration Continues with Santa Clara Shows Officially Announced

    After much speculation we finally have an official announcement about additional shows celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead, with members of the original band. Today’s announcement was for the anticipated shows at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The shows will take place June 27 & 28 and an online ticket request period is underway until Tuesday April 14. For all ticketing information please visit Santa Clara Fare Thee Well.

    Screen Shot 2015-04-10 at 3.07.32 PM

    The line-up for these shows has also been debated among heads for weeks and today we learned that the line-up will include – Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzman and featuring Trey Anastasio, Jeff Chimenti, and Bruce Hornsby.

    The core-4 made the announcement on the GD50.net site and personalized it to Deadheads and gave a heartfelt explanation of why they chose to add more shows after announcing originally that the Chicago shows would be the only ones.

    Dear Heads,

    Although none of us knew it when we walked off the stage at Soldier Field on July 9, 1995, the Grateful Dead’s long strange trip ended in Chicago that night. As you are aware, twenty years later, we’re returning to Chicago to properly say Fare Thee Well.

    But every good ending must start with a beginning. For us, it all began fifty years ago when we grabbed a bunch of instruments off the walls of a music store in Palo Alto California and began banging away on them in the back room, at night after the store had closed for the day.

    Since we made the decision to go back to Chicago to say our final goodbye, it has become clear to us that we first need to return to our beginnings, where we first said hello — to each other and to all of you.

    And so it is that we have decided to plug in for two additional shows on June 27 and 28 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California — just a dozen miles south of where Dana Morgan’s Music Store once stood. At Levi’s — as at Soldier Field — we will have the pleasure of being joined by Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti.

    Ours wasn’t just a long, strange trip — it was a VERY long, VERY strange trip. We weren’t sure what it was going to be like to put a punctuation mark on the end of it. None of us anticipated the overwhelming outpouring of love and interest following our initial announcement of the shows at Soldier Field, and we were blown away by the response.

    We have tried to do the right thing wherever we could for the Chicago shows by honoring the roots of where we came from, while dealing with the realities of the current times. But that’s hardly comforting when you’re shit outta luck for tickets and your only option is inflated prices on secondary ticketing websites. That would piss us off too.

    From the moment these shows were first talked about, we have been thinking about what we could do to honor the roots of our Deadhead experience, even in the face of changing technologies. (Remember: Ticketmaster didn’t even go online until we got out of the game.) These shows were always intended as an expression of our gratitude, to both the music and the fans, so it’s important that we get things as right as we can.

    We have always been proud of our in-house mail order ticketing process, and the phenomenal way our fans have built a tradition out of turning a standard envelope into a frame-worthy piece of art. Some 60,000 mail order tickets were issued for the Soldier Field shows by the good folks at Grateful Dead Ticket Sales — yet we were still crushed to see how many of your beautifully designed envelopes did not get tickets.

    For shows of this magnitude, it’s impossible to eliminate every scalper. However, we offer you this: Working with our partners, we are using an online ticketing platform for the Levi’s shows that will help ensure that the tickets for these shows will get into the right hands, the hands of our true fans. We believe that this process is the best way to give each of you an equal opportunity to obtain tickets at the most affordable possible prices. We are are proud to announce that 65,000 tickets per night will be available via the “online mail order” for the Levi’s shows. For the nuts and bolts, go to Dead50.net.

    We will not be adding any more Fare Thee Well shows. The three Chicago shows will still be our final stand. We decided to add these two Santa Clara shows to enable more of our fans to celebrate with us one more time. But this is it.

    We love you guys more than words can tell, and hope to see you in the Bay Area or Chicago. If you can’t make it to the shows, we are working on ways for you to still experience our Fare Thee Well, from wherever you might be. Stay tuned for those details.

    Gratefully yours,

    Billy, Bobby, Mickey & Phil

  • ‘Fare Thee Well’ Heads West for Additional Shows

    As reported by SportsBusinessDaily, ‘Fare Thee Well’, reuniting the ‘Core Four’ of the Grateful Dead, will be heading west to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, not far from Palo Alto, the birthplace of the Grateful Dead. Rumored dates point to June 26-28, the weekend prior to the final shows at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL.

    Just this evening, NBA legend and well-known Deadhead Bill Walton tweeted

    While there is no official word on the lineup and dates are not yet confirmed, word leaking out means that we will be seeing more Dead this summer than previously expected.

  • Searching for Solace as Dead Letter Blues Set In

    The Grateful Dead reunion shows were announced back in January and since have created nothing but an insurmountable volume of rumors, drama, stress and high anxiety with fans around the world. Three days in Chicago were planned. Just three days. The 50th reunion of the joyful music that the Grateful Dead brought to millions of people has been foreshadowed by the snowball effect of events that have evolved since the announcement. For those who aren’t remotely interested in these shows – they have no idea what people are going through. What has this event created? Let’s break it down.

    Upon the announcement, hotel rooms and flights to Chicago were immediately booked. Some fans booked several different rooms at various hotels as a back up plan to help out friends and strangers in need – who may not have even decided if they were going yet. Price gouging? Damn well better believe it. Hotels that were $200 or less before the announcement suddenly shot up to $500 or more a night. Threads popped up all over the internet discussing rooms, planes, trains, road trips, you name it. At this point, ticket prices had not even been released yet. At least this situation could be worked out in time. The shows aren’t until July, right? No big whoop. At least people are working on their scheduled time off. That’s a start.

    Bob Weir & Ratdog PHILLY PA 2-15-14 (43)

    The next order of business was the announcement of the mail order fiasco. To those who have no idea what is meant by mail order, let me explain. Directions were indicated to send in an envelope with money orders requesting what days you would like for the shows in Chicago. To be clear, these directions were VERY SPECIFIC. Money orders had to have EXACT AMOUNTS. Exact directions needed to be followed to even get a shot at a ticket. Fan art on envelopes were created in hopes of scoring the free golden ticket into the show. The art work of magnificently designed envelopes starting popping up all over the internet. However, the highs of getting a ticket through mail order were quickly dashed upon the realization that requests may be up against hundreds of thousands of other envelopes. This is where the drama, and the waiting, began.

    News of the Dead letter office in California receiving a record amount of envelopes started surfacing. People were scrounging news stories and internet postings to see if their designed envelopes were in a photo. However, this is also where reality started setting in. Not a recycled envelope? Whoops! You put the requested dates on the wrong side? Into the decline pile you go. Off by fifty cents on your money order? NEXT! Envelopes were dropped in the post office slots only for certain fans to realize the mistakes they initially made, which soon was followed by the dread of not having a shot at tickets. Well, there’s always round two with Ticketmaster, right?

    The first confirmed decline letter was posted on the internet. The almighty hated “pink slip” of declination surfaced, and some were even auctioning them off on e-bay as souvenirs. The anxiety of, “did I get a ticket?” soon followed. The misery of checking the mail box began. The stress of finding a “thanks for playing” letter slowly started building immense tension with fans. Meanwhile, VIP and travel packages were posted on the internet, with prices and sale dates, which were scheduled to be up for sale prior to the public sale on Ticketmaster. Almost $2 grand for a VIP package? Holy hell. Who has that kind of money? There are only three shows, after all. Meanwhile, the pink slips started creeping in with more and more fans. The anger and drama of “how can this be?? I have NEVER been denied a mail order!” starting being thrown across the internet.

    Furthur-CMAC 7-19-13 (16)With an unforeseen amount of envelopes that were sent in, the initial sale dates had to be pushed back. Now fans were really getting on edge. What if prices change? What happened to the VIP package that was cheaper? The shows were now creating a multitude of soap opera quality drama for the ages. Meanwhile, those dreaded pink slips continued to pour in. When will fans find out if they’ve received tickets?? Why is there little communication? WHAT’S GOING ON????? AAAAHHHH!!! People were ready to pull their hair out.

    The updated sale dates were released and fans who were still in limbo upon hearing if their mail orders were accepted or rejected were starting to get angry. Why had they not heard? One week led to two days which led to one day before the sale with still no word. With fans’ money tied up in money orders, what should they do? The confusion upon getting tickets, and the anger at not having heard from the Dead letter office created havoc and panic. Who the hell was running this anyway? The lack of communication and poor planning set in motion a wave of anger and criticism towards the shows. This is not what the Grateful Dead is all about. It was turning into a money hungry fiasco. Panic was running amok across the world.

    The first online sale was for VIP and Travel packages. Now the true scramble for tickets, any tickets, began. Some got lucky, some didn’t. Even those who did manage to get through on the dreaded Ticketmaster site may have only managed a ticket or two and not enough for friends and family that were hoping to grab some. The Ticketmaster “circle of dread” began. Fans hoping to get a ticket were faced with staring at a screen that just circled and circled and circled in wait. Maybe you got the captcha wrong. Start over! The misery of getting tickets was deepening. The sadness of “maybe I won’t be getting tickets” started to set in. The super expensive tickets were gone in a flash. Some fans managed to get all the way through to the credit card entry and were kicked out. What in the HELL?? Anger, resentment and misery followed suit. There was still another chance tomorrow, right? Tensions started to get higher.

    Oh no, what’s this? Stubhub has VIP tickets online? How? These should go to fans, not some money crazed scalper!! Anger started to build again. The wave of misery was in a constant ebb and flow. Well, there’s one more shot with the public sale, right? Alarms were set, phones were shut off, computers were ready to go for the last possible sale, and hope, of scoring tickets. Again, posts began flying across the internet of who should have gotten tickets, who deserved tickets, who felt they were entitled to tickets, and who didn’t get tickets who should have at the last-minute started. The drama was all over the place. It was like a train wreck. People didn’t want to get caught up in it, but couldn’t help themselves. Trying to look away from an internet thread without responding was like trying to pass on a free ticket. People just couldn’t help it because it was becoming very personal. Everyone has their reasons for needing to see these last shows. Everyone wants one last enjoyment with the band and to relive what the Grateful Dead once was. However, it was becoming maddening.

    farethee

    One more shot at tickets was left. The general public sale with Ticketmaster was the last hope for so many. Once they went on sale, the scramble began. Once again, the “circle of dread” fell upon so many computers and phone apps. The high of “I got through!” was quickly followed by “GODDAMNIT, #*@#$”, as the site experienced load difficulties for many as purchases were about to be made. At this point, many fans still had not heard if their money orders were accepted or rejected. Once again, money was tied up and the hope of getting a mail order ticket was fading fast. Tickets were impossible to get. The seats to the side and behind the stage were opened up, which led many to believe they would have a good shot. Those hopes were quickly killed. SONOFA!!!!! The pain of not getting a ticket was too much. Tears, anger, fights with loved ones broke out. The drama had reached an all time high. The stress of getting just one ticket was getting unbearable. People were losing friends due to arguments involving scalpers, and the idea of even buying a ticket from a third-party seller led to frustration. Once again, the wave of anxiety set in.

    Now that the ticket sales have come and gone, there’s still hope. Maybe someone ordered too many on Ticketmaster and they will release extras? The constant checking on Ticketmaster has become a ritual. Cashortrade? That’s a hope. However, right now, with resale prices on third-party sites in the thousands, people are starting to give up. Anger and disappointment has set in. The only way fans can control these tickets is by not buying from scalpers. At least that’s the hope. However, everyone knows that if someone has the money, they will go for it because, why not? These are the last three shows. Allegedly.

    To all the fans out there – the pain of getting in the building is felt. You are not alone. We are one big Grateful Dead family. Keep the focus of the music alive by helping others out. This is a once in a lifetime event. Try not to get caught up in the negativity that has grown from this. The madness won’t end until the last song is played on stage. Until then, keep the faith and don’t give up. Just try to smile, smile, smile. After all, isn’t that what Jerry would have wanted?

    *Editor’s note –  at the time of publishing, the Dear Jerry: Celebrating the Music of Jerry Garcia show at Merriweather Post Pavilion in MD on May 14 has also been announced.