Forum MVP Tom Banjo Posted July 6, 2015 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 Wow. I did a lot of shows on the Dead tour 09. 9 to be exact. I also did 3 Bonnaroos, including with the Dead in 04. I remember traveling to the Roo and seeing other kids headed that way on the road to the festival, but this was a whole another cultural monster. From the minute I got off the plane in Chicago things felt surreal. The person checking me in for the rental car asked if was in for the final dead show. As I approached my hotel, I was surrounded by scene of tie dyes and smiles. Love, laughter, and good cheer had prevailed over all in attendance and the spirit was contagious. I met up with some close friends at the Hilton Palmer. I had been offered 2 miracles of which I actually gave back. Someone got me a floor for face and I wanted to be on the floor. Those miracles turned into face value tickets for others and like many have said, at this giant event, a face value ticket on Sunday was a miracle. Really whatever you could afford. If you hate them for making money, the hate should've started a long time ago. If you're saving for some distant future or some legacy, you should have gave up the road long ago. I know people that paid 600 a piece for 2 floor tickets and I don't think they feel one bit bad or ashamed about it. They were in and they got to experience the magic. The magic tonight had no price. Like I said this was an insane gathering of like-minded folk. Yes, it wasn't truly an all dead scene. Many there relate more to Phish and were there to see their boy Trey play with people he admired. However, the scene was intensely like-minded. I didn't feel like any of the young kids ruined the scene and I got an even deeper appreciation of Phish. Something that in-spite of my comments on Trey and Phish in general believe me I have in spades. The DMB and Phish were the two bands that truly put me on the path to discovering the GD and I am forever indebted to them for that. Additionally, I could now see that even though the GD isn't their favorite band that the elders on Phish tour have certainly made sure the tour kids have learned their GD. They joined in on the chants and the singalong moments. 70,000 plus doing anything in unison sure is an incredible thing. Almost all maybe even all in the crowd shared what could be called a religious connection to one another - without a doubt a spiritual community based connection. The feeling of camaraderie was overwhelming at times. I've decided not to share my thoughts on the actual songs played other than very briefly. It would be unfair for me to compare what I saw musically to my favorite touring act, DSO, but I can certainly say that I thought it was superior to the music that I heard put out by the boys in 09. I found a lot of the show choppy and disjointed. At times, Trey went Phishy and his guitar notes became too sharp, short, and piercing. Some moments felts rushed and others felt too slow, like they couldn't hold a steady tempo. Despite all of this, the show exceeded my expectations musically. The Days Between moved me to tears as Bobby sang with all of his heart. Nevermind that it wasn't like Jerry or the best ever. It simply dripped with emotion. I could have done without the cheesy Touch encore. Attics brought it all together. It made me long for home as a giant piece of my heart wasn't present. This experience will be one I cherish for the rest of my life. I ran into friends I haven't seen in several years and many that I see more regularly than that whom I haven't seen in quite a bit for whatever reason. I was very touched when a friend shared with another friend that she thinks I taught her everything she knows. I was quick to take a back seat to her parents and she was quick to change it to I was the most or one of the most influential people to turn her onto this scene. Imagine that someone who never saw Jerry turning other people onto Dead. I can take this complement and it makes me smile although I know other heads in her life that deserve that credit too. It made me glow to know that I helped changed someone's life. I think most around here know this music changed them. The day you called yourself a deadhead you realized you were a new man. You had relearned a lot about what you thought and were taught about the world. It was incredible to look down on this massive gathering from the 400 level of the stadium. The stream of people coming down the street to the show and back to the hotels was also incredible. The gates to get into the show were intense. The feelings of being in this sea of 70,000 smelly sweaty heads as we walked back to the hotels in a state of Euphoria was something I will never forget. We were floating on cloud 9 or at the very least, for a moment we had reached Terrapin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dead duck Posted July 7, 2015 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 We swung and missed for getting tix. I didn't feel up to dragging the boys to Chicago to bum around and try to find a miracle. So we settled for camping at the ledges. A local theatre donated a movie screen and they showed the streams. It wasn't 70k people but I was glad to enjoy outdoors with others and believe I liked it better than I would've at home or in a theatre. Musically I set the bar low, so I enjoyed it. There were some struggles, but also some magic and ultimately I was impressed by trey and overall. The magic of the weekend I feel was less about going to see a concert but more of a celebration of the music of the past and showing love to the living members that brought it to us. Point being I enjoyed seeing the guys on stage seeming to enjoy playing together and the vibe was positive and you could feel it. Loved the drums. Mickey and billy. Just made me smile big. Bobby post show hilarious. Glad I watched, but also glad I didn't sell the farm to get to Chicago. All in all it was awesome, but it made me jones for some DSO. Maybe black mountain will have to show up in the plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Michael Doc Watson Posted July 7, 2015 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 .... So we settled for camping at the ledges. A local theatre donated a movie screen and they showed the streams. It wasn't 70k people but I was glad to enjoy outdoors with others and believe I liked it better than I would've at home or in a theatre. ........ Maybe black mountain will have to show up in the plans. The Ledges with a nice screen and loving people around sounds like the best place for the weekend....single show best might have been Poetry Girl's party. Did they have any fireworks? Peace and Love, Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dead duck Posted July 7, 2015 Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Something "fell through" with firework permit or something. The official fireworks show will be in 2 weeks when JK and Melvin are there for gratefulfest(usually on the 4th but postponed du to GD50). But people were blowing stuff up all weekend unofficially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Tom Banjo Posted July 7, 2015 Author Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 I deleted my posts on fireworks. I'm a waster and have no right to challenge the views of other wasters. I would rather talk dead50 than waste and fireworks. I could see the thread being twisted via my words again. This event deserves better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oysterhead Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 While I did not attend any of the festivities in Chicago I did watch from the comforts of my home and just want to say the music was ok the experience to have been there would have been incredible I'm sure...but I'm in it for the music and must say thank you DSO!! Enough said... Ps..during the preshow broadcast of the July 5 show. The camera was roaming the crowds and I did spot Rob B chatting it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Tom Banjo Posted July 9, 2015 Author Forum MVP Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 I agree. I'm not going to go song for song with this show. The music wasn't even close to Garcia or DSO. It was however an experience. Real shame we can't get the kids and heads to show this kind of support for DSO. Now, that would be an experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidsmoke Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 Real shame we can't get the kids and heads to show this kind of support for DSO. Now, that would be an experience. That's a double edged sword. I wish them all the best but I do enjoy being able to see them in theaters for $25. And actually it seems like many heads have come around to DSO more recently who initially didn't like the idea of a Dead tribute band. Of course the DSO fan base has aged too and it's often hard at shows to tell who is old enough to have seen Jerry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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