Really? Nothing on the Fare Thee Well Concerts

[Dukehky]

Come on, I have gotten and given more sporks for Grateful Dead references than I can count, and here we are, the night of the last show they will ever put on, and nothing!? I would just like to voice my disappointment.

That being said, the July 4th Show was one of the best things I have watched in my life. Worth every cent of my pay per view money.

[Dev11]

I listened to some of the audio last night online. I'm looking forward to hearing all three nights at some point, plus some of the other Dead-related shows that went on this weekend. Jealous of those of you who were in Chicago for all the music.

[77devil]

I had a ticket to the Saturday Santa Clara show but gave it up due to a conflict. The article and accompanying pictures are by a friend of mine sitting with our group. My friends all raved about the show and experience. I had mixed emotions about attending from the outset. For me, it can never be the a GD show without, as Bill Graham use to say, the godfather.

The set list for Saturday was the 1967-1970 period with a couple of very odd choices, and, of course, the requisite, overly long drum solo.

http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/Was-the-Grateful-Dead-concert-rainbow-a-fake-6354813.php

[Jeffrey]

Jerry was the heart & soul of The Grateful Dead! He did not want it to be, but it was his band. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing the GD hundreds of times, and Jerry more than a hundred more. For me, there is no GD without Garcia.

Please do not misunderstand me, I'm thrilled so many people are enjoying the music of today! I hope it brings them as much live joy as Jerry and the GD brought me!

[madscavenger]

Here's what i posted Sunday afternoon (on an investment Forum, no less, in which i participate),


"Kreutzmann and Hart put on an A-w-e-s-o-m-e !!! display.

73,000+, setting a record for Soldier Field. Just packed for 6 hours - nobody left.

i had to watch in a theatre in South Barington (dang). Really wish i could have seen Friday too, but tonight at about 6, i will be there.

Did I mention DRUMS?"


Yes, I quoted myself---sue me.


No time for an update right now, but below are the set lists, courtesy al.com:


JULY 3, 2015, SOLDIER FIELD, CHICAGO

Set One
•"Box Of Rain" (Phil Lesh lead vocals)
•"Jack Straw" (Bob Weir and Phil Lesh lead vocals)
•"Bertha" (Trey Anastasio lead vocals)
•"Passenger" (Bob Weir and Bruce Hornsby lead vocals)
•"The Wheel" (Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby vocals)
•"Crazy Fingers" (Trey Anastasio lead vocals)
•"The Music Never Stopped" (Bob Weir lead vocals)

Set Two
•"Mason's Children"
•"Scarlet Begonias" (Trey Anastasio lead vocals)
•"Fire On The Mountain" (Bruce Hornsby lead vocals)
•"Drums"
•"Space"
•"New Potato Caboose" (Phil Lesh lead vocals)
•"Playing In The Band" (Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"Let It Grow" (Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"Help On The Way" (Trey Anastasio lead vocals)
•"Slipknot!"
•"Franklin's Tower" (Phil Lesh lead vocals)
•"Ripple" (encore, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh vocals)



JULY 4, 2015, SOLDIER FIELD, CHICAGO

Set One
•"Shakedown Street" (Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"Liberty" (Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"Standing On The Moon" (Trey Anastasio lead vocals)
•"Me & My Uncle" (John Phillips cover, Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"Tennessee Jed" (Bob Weir, Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby lead vocals)
•"Cumberland Blues" (Trey Anastasio, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby vocals)
•"Little Red Rooster" (Willie Dixon cover, Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"Friend Of The Devil" (Phil Lesh lead vocals)
•"Deal" (Trey Anastasio and Bruce Hornsby lead vocals)

Set Two
•"Bird Song" (Phil Lesh lead vocals)
•"The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)" (Trey Anastasio and Bruce Hornsby lead vocals)
•"Lost Sailor" (Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"Saint Of Circumstance" (Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"West L.A Fadeaway" (Bruce Hornsby lead vocals)
•"Foolish Heart" (Trey Anastasio lead vocals)
•"Drums"
•"Space"
•"Stella Blue" (Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"One More Saturday Night" (Bob Weir lead vocals)
•"U.S. Blues" (encore, Bob Weir lead vocals)



Grateful Dead, July 5, 2015, Chicago Set List

“China Cat Sunflower”
“I Know You Rider”
“Estimated Prophet”
“Built to Last”
“Samson & Delilah”
“Mountains of the Moon”
“Throwing Stones”
“Truckin’”
“Cassidy”
“Althea”
“Terrapin Station”
“Drums”
“Space”
“Unbroken Chain”
“Days Between”
“Not Fade Away”
Encore
“Touch of Grey”
“Attics of My Life

[Billy Dat]

I watched the first night in Santa Clara and last night. I didn't start seeing the Dead until 1992, the end of the run, and with some notable exceptions (the amazing two night run at the Dean Dome in 93 for example), it was clear that Jerry was headed south. I also started going to Phish shows around the same time and was lucky to catch the band as it hit it's prime and saw dozens of shows. For fans of both bands, this run was a great bridge because Trey largely turned his back on the Dead in the early days because of the constant media comparisons, but being invited to intuit Jerry for this run sort of brought the cycle to completion (Trey was a huge Jerry fan as a teen).

I was very pleased with the shows. My expectations were exceeded. I think, on their own merits, the playing and presentation were really high quality. It could never be what it was, but what can be?

[OldPhiKap]

Glad for those who are stoked. I am sure the musicianship is great.

For me, the last show was 20 years ago when Jerry died. Not taking anything away from the others -- all are great musicians -- but it is a different band. Really mixed emotions, just skipped the whole thing.

Love Phil, Bobby, Mickey and Billy. Thanks for all the smiles for all the years.

Hard to explain.

[77devil]

5262

I've posted this pic before from Wally Wade April, 1971, Joe College Weekend, but here it is again. Leslie West and Mountain opened the show and were so loud my ears are still ringing. The Beach Boys headlined.

This was by far the best of the 4 shows at Duke that I attended. The original quintet playing well arranged songs from the repertoire that would be mainstays for decades to come. And Phil Lesh's voice was still passable. The New Riders played a set with Jerry at the peddle steel. Good times.

The next day the Dead began an historic 5 day run at the Filmore East which was the source of a lot of the material for the eponymous double live album.

[OldPhiKap]

Pigpen sporting a Duke tee at Wally Wade:

5263

And of course, Bobby:

5264

[OldPhiKap]

Glad for those who are stoked. I am sure the musicianship is great.

For me, the last show was 20 years ago when Jerry died. Not taking anything away from the others -- all are great musicians -- but it is a different band. Really mixed emotions, just skipped the whole thing.

Love Phil, Bobby, Mickey and Billy. Thanks for all the smiles for all the years.

Hard to explain.

To follow up my own post:

It's not like I am against what they are doing. And for perspective, I saw my first show on the Spring '83 tour and rode the bus as time and circumstances permitted through the end. Saw The Other Ones and The Dead after Jerry passed, and enjoyed them.

For me, the whole experience was a rolling adventure. Who knows what they will play, and no pressure. Hell, they didn't know what they were going to play. There was a time before, there will be a time after.

With this, it seems contrived to me. There will be A Triuckin'. There will be A Cassidy. There will be A Birdsong. Etc. Just sits counterpurpose to me.

Still not explaining it well, but that's my rub. Just seems artificial, for a band that defied rote. (Even though I will admit, in the words of Phil, the band sort of oscified at the end).

And again, I want to stress -- not harshing on whatever others are getting out of it. I am sure the musicianship is great.

As stated -- hard to explain. Still not really doing a good job of it.

[Jeffrey]

Still not really doing a good job of it.

Let me try.... I have no desire to see the Miles Davis Quintet without Miles.

[Jeffrey]

5262

This was by far the best of the 4 shows at Duke that I attended. The original quintet playing well arranged songs from the repertoire that would be mainstays for decades to come. And Phil Lesh's voice was still passable. The New Riders played a set with Jerry at the peddle steel. Good times.

Was it the best GD show you saw? If not, can you narrow it down to one?

[OldPhiKap]

Let me try.... I have no desire to see the Miles Davis Quintet without Miles.

Kinda. But perhaps for me:

A Grateful Dead show was going to Participate in The Moment. This seems like going to Watch The Spectacle. I guess that's the best I can do to explain it.

But no question -- there is no Grateful Dead without Jerry. Or Any of the four living guys. it is simply a different band. Perhaps a great band in its own right. But for a week.

[Jeffrey]

But no question -- there is no Grateful Dead without Jerry. Or Any of the four living guys.

Mickey?

[Jeffrey]

A Grateful Dead show was going to Participate in The Moment. This seems like going to Watch The Spectacle. I guess that's the best I can do to explain it.

I strongly agree the experience was much more than just the band. It was the entire scene. You can't let that basically sit idle for 20 years and jumpstart it for a mere week. As Kesey said, "nothing lasts".

[Dev11]

I'm too young to have seen them even towards the end, but I listen to some of the music and see a lot of the bands that have followed in their wake. The spectacle this weekend may not be the real Grateful Dead, but there are some good bands touring today who know how to put on a good show, and as I referenced above, many of them were in Chicago this weekend doing their thing. If I had gone, I probably would have figured out to see some of those bands in addition to going to Soldier Field.

[OldPhiKap]

I'm too young to have seen them even towards the end, but I listen to some of the music and see a lot of the bands that have followed in their wake. The spectacle this weekend may not be the real Grateful Dead, but there are some good bands touring today who know how to put on a good show, and as I referenced above, many of them were in Chicago this weekend doing their thing. If I had gone, I probably would have figured out to see some of those bands in addition to going to Soldier Field.

Exactly, and I am glad those experiences are out there. Not denigrating those who are excited about this, a lot of my old buds went to Santa Clara and/or Chicago. I respect that and know they enjoyed the fool out of it.

However you enjoy it is the way it should be. There is no one way to enjoy the band or its influences. It is All Good.

Sometimes, the lights are shining on me
Other times, I can barely see.
Lately, it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it's been.

And, to segue to Robert Earl Keen -- the road goes on forever, and the party never ends.


Life is what you make it. Might as well make it good and joyous.

[Jeffrey]

However you enjoy it is the way it should be. There is no one way to enjoy the band or its influences. It is All Good.

Hi OPK,

If IIRC, you got on the bus in '83. If you haven't checked it out, then I'd strongly recommend my fav Duke show in '78. Plenty of b&w video on youtube showing Jerry on fire with Wolf. Some of the best shows I saw were with Wolf, such as the 2nd Warlocks show in '89. Doug Irwin knew how to make a great guitar, and, IMO, the GD should have never messed with Jerry's right to give them back to Doug.

[Mal]

There was a time before, there will be a time after.

I totally get your sentiment, but I think your above quote inadvertently captures the point. After this past Sunday, there no longer is a time after. There never will be again. For a group of musicians and their fans, who created this symbiotic ecosystem, that persevered through decades and decades and even the death of the heart of the band, which was predicated on just that ethos - "there's always another show" - the arrival of the day after which there will not be another show is a massive event. An upheaval. It absolutely needed to be marked, and celebrated, and mourned all at once, and with advance notice to the fans, whether that seemed at odds with the organic spontaneity that made the band famous or not. I saw the whole thing as a necessary way to say goodbye to the stage and the fans, and for the fans to say goodbye to them; a cathartic thing.

Similarly, yes, the set list may have been predictable, but c'mon, if you tell the fans you're never going to hear any of these songs played by the band again, then you've got to give them Bertha and Deal and China Cat Sunflower and Franklin's Tower. It's not like they played Casey Jones and Truckin' every night or something.

I come at this from a very different perspective, though, as one who saw a couple Dead shows and listened to a good number of bootlegs in my Duke days, but was never remotely a Deadhead and probably haven't put on an album or concert of theirs in 15 or more years now. So obviously YMMV. I could also have seen the symbolism in them just slowly and quietly ending things, or playing until they're all dead and replacing members one by one to make the band go on forever, I guess.

[OldPhiKap]

Hi OPK,

If IIRC, you got on the bus in '83. If you haven't checked it out, then I'd strongly recommend my fav Duke show in '78. Plenty of b&w video on youtube showing Jerry on fire with Wolf. Some of the best shows I saw were with Wolf, such as the 2nd Warlocks show in '89. Doug Irwin knew how to make a great guitar, and, IMO, the GD should have never messed with Jerry's right to give them back to Doug.

Yup.

They released a '77 box set last year, really recommend it.

Sad thing is, they apparently don't have Barton Hall in the Vault for some reason (5/8/77, although I am sure you know that). Arguably, the best show the GD ever performed. But the box is from all around that show, really high quality.

[OldPhiKap]

Yup.

They released a '77 box set last year, really recommend it.

Sad thing is, they apparently don't have Barton Hall in the Vault for some reason (5/8/77, although I am sure you know that). Arguably, the best show the GD ever performed. But the box is from all around that show, really high quality.

Barton Hall, Cornell Univ., May 8, 1977:

General Admission: $7.50

Set List:

Set One:
New Minglewood Blues
Loser
El Paso
They Love Each Other
Jack Straw
Deal
Lazy Lightnin'
Supplication
Brown Eyed Women
Mama Tried
Row Jimmy
Dancin' in the Streets

Set Two:
(Take a step back)
Scarlet Begonias
Fire on the Mountain
Estimated Prophet
St. Stephen
Not Fade Away
St. Stephen
Morning Dew

One More Saturday Night
Previous Show

Linky:

https://archive.org/details/gd1977-05-08.111493.mtx.seamons.sbeok.flac16

No one will blame you for going right to the second set if you like jams. Whole show is solid.

[77devil]

I drove up to Baltimore to see the Dead with a friend from Duke a few weeks after graduation. It was a great show with particularly excellent sound from the PA even though the Wall of Sound was long gone. The band was cooking in May, 1977.

[Reilly]

I drove up to Baltimore to see the Dead with a friend from Duke a few weeks after graduation. It was a great show with particularly excellent sound from the PA even though the Wall of Sound was long gone. The band was cooking in May, 1977.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF8RgIknSg0

[Jeffrey]

Sad thing is, they apparently don't have Barton Hall in the Vault for some reason (5/8/77, although I am sure you know that). Arguably, the best show the GD ever performed.

Hi OPK,

Very true, those tapes are not in the Vault. The GD know where the tapes are and they truly have no one but themselves to blame. As she did so many times, Betty recorded that show with her own tapes & gear. When Brent & Betty split, the GD were soon done with Betty, and, unfortunately, her life unraveled. She recorded and had over a thousand great reels. She lost them, and her other household possessions, when she could no longer afford to pay for the storage units she put them inside.

Here's a pic of the actual Barton reels. May the four winds blow them safely home:

5268

[77devil]

Yup.

Sad thing is, they apparently don't have Barton Hall in the Vault for some reason (5/8/77, although I am sure you know that). Arguably, the best show the GD ever performed. But the box is from all around that show, really high quality.

Emphasis is on the word arguably. With so much material of differing repertoire and style, the "best" GD is always a matter of opinion and personal taste. I find that is often the period one first encountered the band. For me, the Filmore East Valentines and Harpur College shows from 1970 are superior to anything else I have seen or heard including May 1977 generally and Cornell specifically. The 1970 through 1971 runs have withstood the test of time better than anything else IMO. It demonstrates great musicianship of well rehearsed arangements when the band hit their song writing peak, with plenty of improvisation too; and did I say no warbling DG.

With so much great material, everyone can have their best.

[OldPhiKap]

Emphasis is on the word arguably. With so much material of differing repertoire and style, the "best" GD is always a matter of opinion and personal taste. I find that is often the period one first encountered the band. For me, the Filmore East Valentines and Harpur College shows from 1970 are superior to anything else I have seen or heard including May 1977 generally and Cornell specifically. The 1970 through 1971 runs have withstood the test of time better than anything else IMO. It demonstrates great musicianship of well rehearsed arangements when the band hit their song writing peak, with plenty of improvisation too; and did I say no warbling DG.

With so much great material, everyone can have their best.

Great acoustic set at Harpur too.

Absolutely agree, great shows and sets from roughly 30 years. From burning down the Avalon and the Fillmores, to the college tours and small theaters, to the Wall of Sound, to arenas and stadiums. Lots to make you smile, smile, smile.

[Dukehky]

I would just like to say that Trey singing Standing on the Moon on July 4th made me cry. As a Phish fan I've seen and heard Trey sing lots of songs, but he has never been as emotional as he was during that rendition of SOTM. It was like he was singing to Jerry to thank him for inspiring him. I also cried during Attics because I was just distraught that I never got to see Jerry.

I thought it was a fitting farewell. Was it the traditional Dead? No. I've watched 100s of hours of Grateful Dead shows on Youtube, and these weren't the same, but it was what it was, and I enjoyed it. To all others who watched, I hope that you enjoyed it too and it made you reflect on a great band, rather than compare it to when Jerry and Pig and the whole crew were there. I viewed it as a tribute more than anything, and I thought it was a solid tribute to the greatest band of all time. (I actually don't really like the Beatles that much). I also think The Band is the best musical group of all time, but 30 years of the same core group performing at an incredibly high level trumps The Band, even The Last Waltz by a mile.

[Jeffrey]

I also think The Band is the best musical group of all time, but 30 years of the same core group performing at an incredibly high level trumps The Band, even The Last Waltz by a mile.

And, very appropriately, the greatest lyricist, of their generation, had both bands backing him up during his career. As Zimmy has repeatedly said, nobody covered his material as well as Garcia. Jerry had an amazing gift of taking someone else's words and making them his. Prudently, Hunter drove that car as far he could.