The band claimed that Soldier Field was chosen as it was it nice central location in the middle of the country, and it was the site of their last show as the Grateful Dead in 1995, before Jerry’s death. The excitement for the show was unprecedented. Hundreds of thousands of requests flooded the band’s mail order system and the general sale on Ticketmaster was gridlocked for a couple hours at least. Many fans criticized the show’s location and the ticketing system, accusing the band that the choices mostly reflected a cash grab rather than a true desire to revisit their legacy and give fans one last set of performances.
After much waiting and hitting of the refresh button, I was one of the lucky few to nab tickets. I was only able to get tickets for Friday night, the first of their three night run in Chicago. Such was the excitement for the show that my friend Phil flew up from the Cayman Islands for the evening. Literally, he flew in late Thursday evening and back out on Saturday morning.
On the day of the show, we arrived a few hours before the scheduled show time. The exterior of the venue was already packed. At some point in the afternoon, from at least some directions, attendees had to go through security and have a ticket in hand just to approach the stadium. There were still thousands of Deadheads wandering around hoping for a “miracle” ticket. I wished I had tickets for all of them. I would have liked to have visited Shakedown Street, the tailgating area at jam band shows, but I did have one extra ticket to deliver. Following a Craiglist post, the lucky fan that won the right to buy my extra ticket at face value due to his magnificent essay about his experience trying to get tickets that incorporated the song titles of dozens of Dead songs. I was happy to pass off my ticket to him despite noticing that particular seat was going for a full order of magnitude over face value on the secondary market. Amongst the sea of people going through the gates, the ticket taker admitted to me that she would have taken $60 instead of a scanable ticket. We entered the stadium with ample time to find my seat before the show was scheduled to start at 7pm.
Our seats weren’t great but good enough, located off to the side so we could still see the stage, though at a pretty steep angle. There was a screen on the side of the stage, a huge jumbotron behind it, and ample speakers throughout. The sound was pretty good, though there were a few moments that we experienced a few echoes or other artifacts. The general admission floor sections were steadily packed throughout the whole floor. The venue seemed like it sold as many tickets as they possibility could. Many of the seats though were empty, which I believe was not because they weren’t sold or even went unused but because fans stood on every available public space they could find – behind railings, on stairs, etc. – just trying to be as close as they could to the stage. Conversely, a significant number of other attendees noodled in the concourse.
The Grateful Dead took the stage about 7:30pm including the three remaining living founding members of the Grateful Dead – Phil Lesh (bass, vocals), Bob Weir (guitar, vocals), and Bill Kreutzmann (drums). Original guitarist and lead vocalist Jerry Garcia was gone as was Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, vocals), who had died in 1973. Also on stage was Mickey Hart, who first joined the band in 1967 and continued playing with them as their second drummer for the most of the time until 1995. Longtime collaborator Bruce Hornsby (keyboards, vocals), who was an unofficial member of the band between 1990 and 1992, was also on stage. On keyboards was Jeff Chimenti, who is a member of various post-Grateful Dead side projects including Further, Ratdog, and The Dead. Rounding out the group was Trey Anastasio, lead singer and guitarist for Phish, a band that many would consider the Dead’s spiritual successor. The addition of Trey also led to criticism by some fans, who claimed that his involvement of was a ploy to sell more tickets.
In the months leading up to the show, I listened to a dozen or more past Grateful Dead live performances from their many decades of shows. Despite this, their music is so dense and catalogue so great that I’m still not intimately familiar with all of it. Nonetheless, the performance itself was more or less what I expected. Phil, Bob, Trey, and Bruce each took turns on lead vocals. One song blended into the next, and there were many extended instrumental jams. Like other jam bands, part of the excitement of Grateful Dead shows is hoping for/predicting the setlist. The band plays a unique setlist each night, so it’s a treat to get to heart at least a few of your favorite songs (or for a more casual fan like me, ones that you know well). Most of the highlights of the show for me came in the second set, including “Scarlet Begonias” followed by “Fire on the Mountain.” I also really enjoyed “Drums” and “Space.” “Drums” (AKA the "Rhythm Devils") is a prolonged drum solo by Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann that became a staple for Grateful Dead shows in the 1980’s. It is generally followed by an extended improvisational "Space" jam played by the rest of the band. In the five night run of Fare Thee Well, other than playing “Space” and “Drums” each night, they only played two songs twice. Every other song in their enormous catalogue didn’t get played more than once. They did not do any covers.
The band took a really long set break, almost an hour, which seemed in keeping with their desire to maximize revenue. “Hey everyone, go buy another beer and a $40 t-shirt!” Before the single song encore, Phil Lesh came out to thank everyone for attending and gave his regular “donor rap” speech. After a liver transplant in 1998, Lesh regularly encourages people to become organ donors. All well and good except for when he asked everyone to exclaim to the person next to them that they want to be an organ donor. Is that consent? Seems like a rock star having attendees yell that at the top of their lungs when under the influence isn’t a valid means to determine if someone truly wishes to donate their organs.
Unlike many of the fans there that evening, I cannot claim to have an incredibly long and deep appreciation for the Grateful Dead and their music. Though I enjoy many songs and the overall style of their music, they are not a touchstone artist for me. However, I have always appreciated them. In particular, I love the loyalty of their fans and the culture that has been built around them. The Grateful Dead built the model for jam bands everywhere. Furthermore, Fare Thee Well was an important cultural event for many people who which I otherwise identify. I feel lucky to have participated for a night, and being amongst these Deadheads was a treat. It’s the kind of show that I believe I’ll remember for many years to come.
Setlist:
Box of Rain [vocals: Phil]
Jack Straw [vocals: Bob & Phil]
Bertha [vocals: Trey]
Passenger [vocals: Bob & Bruce]
The Wheel [shared vocals: Phil, Bob, Trey, & Bruce]
Crazy Fingers [vocals: Trey]
The Music Never Stopped [vocals: Bob]
Set 2:
Mason's Children
Scarlet Begonias [vocals: Trey]
Fire on the Mountain [vocals: Bruce]
Drums
Space
New Potato Caboose [vocals: Phil]
Playing in the Band [West L.A. Fadeaway tease] [vocals: Bob]
Let It Grow [vocals: Bob]
Help on the Way [vocals: Trey]
Slipknot!
Franklin's Tower [vocals: Phil]
Encore:
Ripple [vocals: Bob & Phil]
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