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 After the death of lead guitarist Jerry Garcia in 1995, the
surviving four members say they will end The Grateful Dead's
50-year run this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the city where
Garcia played his last show as frontman 20 years ago.
All three shows at the 61,500-seat Soldier Field stadium have
sold out and tickets on the secondary market are selling for an
average of $600 each, said Cameron Papp, a spokesman for StubHub.
Known for their poetic lyrics, marathon shows and constant
improvisation, the Grateful Dead emerged from the San Francisco
Bay area in the mid 1960s to become one of the most legendary
bands of the era. The band is the template for groups such as
Phish, Blues Traveler and others in the "jam band" movement.
Levine, 41, has low musical expectations for the concerts but
hopes they will provide a sense of closure for the band's
long-time fans, known as "Deadheads".
"Mostly it's about getting together with old friends and
listening to the music we love," said Levine. "Everytime you saw
them something magical happened, even when they weren't that
good."
Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio will fill in for Garcia at the
Chicago shows. He will be joined by original members Bob Weir,
Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman who have toured, along
with other musicians and under various names, for years.
Pat Sullivan, 60, an Indiana university professor, has followed
the band since he was a teen and will take his own son to all
three Chicago shows.
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He expects the concerts will be "bittersweet," since it represents a
part of his life that will go away.
"This is really, really deeply meaningful for me," said Sullivan,
who said he has made lifelong friends through the band. "I think it
will be quite emotional."
For Cameli, 45, of Indiana, the band creates a sense of "profound
togetherness" in its audience. She used to give away or trade
jewelry at concerts and said she is anticipating the Chicago shows
"like a five-year-old before Christmas."
Nina Zippay, 48, recalled seeing the band in Chicago in 1995 before
Garcia died of a heart attack after years of drug abuse. Last
weekend, she went to a farewell concert in California, and said that
when the Dead started playing the old favorite, "Uncle John's Band,"
she and her husband both started to cry.
"If this is really the end, it's a nice goodbye," Zippay said.
(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski, editing by Jill Serjeant and David
Gregorio)
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