Fare Thee Well

[greglepore]

Anyone going?

I'm doing the cinema thing myself tonight, wasn't going to, but figure what the heck, it'll be a gathering of the tribe one last time.

[911boost]

I went to the two shows in Santa Clara. I enjoyed it and had a good time.

Been listening to the Chicago shows on satellite radio.

I will be buying the CD's.

Bill

[HardDrive]

I'm 45, so I only caught the tail end when Jerry was alive. I still love listening to concert recordings. I saw them in Detroit when I was only 17. In 93-94 I had tickets to see them in OR, but Jerry was sick and they canceled the show.

[911boost]

We would get rides before we could drive, saw them a number of times, including the shows at RFK in DC right before the last Soldier Field shows in 1995.

While I know it wasn't the '78 shows, but like Hardrive, I am 41 so it was late 80's to 1995 for me.

I have also seen Phish and Trey alone, so I appreciate what he and Hornsby bring to the group.

[reverie]

A Night At The Family Dog (video available on VHS?)

Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Santana... the Airplane guitarists are amazing, and Michael Shrieve is a drumming god.

[trader220]

I am almost 51 and I had 130 or so shows under my belt before Jerry passed. Fall of 78 being my first show. I traveled the country from Maine to Florida...Oakland to Long Beach and dozens of places in between. I got to see some fantastic shows and I still have the memories, plus a box of ticket stubs and a few well preserved T shirts.

I did countless mail orders back in the day and never once got shut out. The last three shows I saw were Spring of 95 at my home venue, the old Spectrum in Philly. Someone in San Rafael smiled on my envelope that time and I had 4th row opening night, lower bowl middle night and 7th row the last night. They played "Unbroken Chain" that last night, which was the only time I ever saw that lick. I typically didn't care too much where I sat as long as I had my space but it was great being so close. This time, I did my mail order as instructed and within 10
days i got my rejection letter. Then seeing the price of tickets in Chicago I was pretty disgusted.

I was tempted to hop a plane yesterday from Philly but in the end the throngs of people and hysteria just doesn't work for me. Sure I went to a lot of stadium shows over the years but too many people and too much hype kept me away this time.

I will miss that glimmer of hope that always existed in the back of my mind that the core 4 would tour and I would get one last chance to go on the road. Hopefully Phil and Friends will camp out at the Capitol Theater again and I can take in a couple of shows. I DVR'd Friday's show and listened to a lot of Saturday's. That will have to do.

Below is a shot of one of my badges from my years on the floor of a few different exchanges. Dark Star Trading got to be a decent sized firm before I sold out. Gives you an idea of what kind of fan I was. The day Jerry died the news came across the big wire board on the floor and I just walked off the floor and went home.

Fare Thee Well

[911boost]

I was shut out for the Chicago shows, first time that had ever happened to me as well. I was pretty bummed. So I put in for Santa Clara and got floor for the second night and some decent seats for the first. They did show a bunch of the decorated envelopes on the big screens during the shows, I thought that was cool and might have seen mine, wasn't super close attention.

Funny to hear you say you have a box of well preserved shirts, I do as well. Some never having been worn.

[sammyg2]

This is probably the exact WRONG crowd to tell this joke to, but sometimes ya gotta say what the heck. Sorry in advance

Heard this on the radio a few weeks back:

What did the grateful dead fan say after he ran out of dope to smoke?

Hey man .... this music kinda sucks .......

[fastfredracing]

Bunch of my buddies were there, I am anxious to hear what they thought, THey are all hard core dead fans with lots of shows under their belt, and all of them Hate Phish/Trey. Me, I think it is a good fit for what it is. I should have been streaming, but we had family over all weekend .
For me, it all ended when Jerry passed. I still enjoy the music though.

[ramonesfreak]

Been an obsessed dead fan for 30 years. Watched Friday's show on pay per view. As I expected, I was very dissapointed in the lack of chemistry, the sound, set list and the obvious lack of Jerry's voice and guitar. To me it was a major bummer and sad. I do hope the guys enjoyed being together and I'll go to a solo show with Phil or bobby any time

[trader220]

Bobby looks near death. Phil looked great.

[ramonesfreak]

Yea. And Phil is 7 years older with a liver transplant

Check out the bobby documentary on Netflix. It's good. Bobby does seem like a genuinely great guy

Been reading billy k's book. Of all the dead books I have read, this one I can't seem to get past page 100. My favorite drummer of all time though

[ckissick]

I went to about 200 shows, the first one being the closing of Winterland at the end of '78. I would have liked to have gone to one of the Santa Clara shows, but just wasn't motivated enough to pursue tickets.

While I like all the band members and think Bobby is the best rhythm guitarist there is, I always went mainly to hear Jerry's guitar and the subconscious communication between Jerry, Bobby and Phil. Without Jerry, you can't have any of that.

[greglepore]

+1 on Bobby. I suspect that's why this is Fare Thee Well...his mysterious collapse last winter and all.

[KFC911]

I listened to 7 hours of nuthin' but JGB the other day on a road trip and saw Rat Dog with a favorite guitarist (Kimock) some years back. It's sad, and ya can't go back "live", but at least we still have Jerry shows. I still listen to mix of all his old stuff (live shows) on a regular basis.

No live shows with Jerry though...my loss

[trader220]

KC,

There is a two CD set of JGB live that is about my all time favorite CD set. It was recorded in the early 1990's at a time when I saw quite a few JGB shows. The song selection and quality of the recording is only bested by the razor sharp playing.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by trader220

KC,

There is a two CD set of JGB live that is about my all time favorite CD set. It was recorded in the early 1990's at a time when I saw quite a few JGB shows. The song selection and quality of the recording is only bested by the razor sharp playing.

Commercial release or "bootleg"? More specifics (dates?) please

[trader220]

Its a commercial release.

Jerry Garcia Band - Jerry Garcia Band | Jerry Garcia

The set list is fantastic. The music is recorded and mixed very well and above all the band is sharp as a tack. Worth a listen if you havn't heard it.

[reverie]

Could someone post the Dead members and others who played at the last shows?

Was it Billy and Mickey on drums? Many thanks. Mucho appreciado.

_

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by trader220

Its a commercial release.

Jerry Garcia Band - Jerry Garcia Band | Jerry Garcia

Melvin Seals on this recording really did a lot for me in my early '20s to learn about the Hammond organ. Love it!