Grateful Dead Embarks On Farewell Tour

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[news]

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The four surviving members of the Grateful Dead are launching their farewell mini-tour on Saturday in Northern California, where the legendary jam band got its start 50 years ago.

The first of the Dead's five "Fare Thee Well" shows is scheduled to take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, not far from the pizzeria where a five-man blues-rock band called The Warlocks played its first gig in May 1965. The group changed its name to the Grateful Dead seven months later and shortly after moved to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, the counterculture hub with which the Dead still are identified.

They will perform a second two-set show in Santa Clara on Sunday before heading to Chicago for three shows at Soldier Field on July 3, 4 and 5. Soldier Field is where the Grateful Dead last played as a group before the death of lead guitarist-songwriter Jerry Garcia in August 1995.

The band's so-called "core four" — rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and percussionists Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — insist July 5 will be their last concert together. They have recruited Phish front man Trey Anastasio as Garcia's stand-in on guitar and vocals. Keyboardists Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti, best known for his work with Weir's band RatDog, will round out the lineup.

Although the Dead are known almost as much for their legions of die-hard tie-died fans as they are for their extended onstage improvisations, Deadheads won't have much space to make themselves at home at Levi's Stadium, the year-old home of the San Francisco 49ers.

The parking lots where tailgating will be allowed open at 3 p.m., and they will have to be emptied after the show ends.

The Grateful Dead made 65,000 tickets available for each of the California shows. Online ticket reseller StubHub said that as of Friday the average ticket had gone for $171, although sellers had posted asking prices as high as $725.

The Chicago shows, which were announced first and are opening over a holiday weekend, are fetching higher prices, $674 on average, StubHub spokeswoman Jessica Erskine said. El grupo cambio su nombre a Grateful Dead siete meses más tarde y poco después se mudó al barrio de Haight-Ashbury en San Francisco, eje de la contracultura con el que el grupo es identificado todavía.

El grupo va a tocar un segundo concierto de dos tiempos en Santa Clara el domingo antes de viajar a Chicago para tres espectáculos en el Soldier Field el 3, 4 y 5 de julio.

El Soldier Field es el escenario donde Grateful Dead tocó por última vez como grupo antes de la muerte del principal guitarrista y compositor Jerry García en agosto de 1995.

Los otros cuatro miembros principales —el guitarrista Bob Weir, el bajista Phil Lesh y los percusionistas Mickey Hart y Bill Kreutzmann— insisten en que el del 5 de julio será su último concierto juntos.

El grupo reclutó al líder de Phish, Trey Anastasio, como guitarrista y vocalista que actuará en lugar de García. Los tecladistas Bruce Hornsby y Jeff Chimenti completan el personal. Chimenti es conocido por su trabajo con la banda RatDog de Weir.

Aunque Grateful Dead es tan conocido por sus legiones de fanáticos como por sus largas improvisaciones en el escenario, no van a tener mucho tiempo disponible para hacerlo en el Estadio Levi's, que desde hace un año es la casa de los 49ers de San Francisco.

Los estacionamientos en los que se permitirán las celebraciones de personas atrás de sus vehículos serán abiertos a las 3 pm y tendrán que quedar vacíos una vez acabe el concierto.

Grateful Dead puso a la venta 65.000 boletos para cada concierto en California. El vendedor en internet StubHub dijo que para el viernes, el precio promedio de un boleto había llegado a 171 dólares, aunque revendedores estaban pidiendo hasta 725 dólares.

Los conciertos en Chicago, que fueron anunciados primero y comienzan un fin de semana feriado, tienen precios más altos, 674 dólares como promedio, dijo la portavoz de StubHub, Jessica Erskine.-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.



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