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Among them were the owner of Millie the goat, and a group of new friends who insisted on calling me “bush guy.” We roamed the parking lot for hours and met many interesting characters along the way. After Saturday night’s show, some friends and I were surging with energy we were having too much fun to sleep.She was beaming with positive energy and told me that these shows were the closest she’d felt to the band since Garcia’s passing in ’95. After Jerry died, she moved to Granada to teach violin. I met a woman in a coffee shop who had seen every Bay Area show since 1977.

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It’s difficult to describe the full scope of experiences and emotions I had attending the three shows in Chicago, so I’ll just list some highlights:? What other band of this stature, this late in its career, on this big of a stage, would dare to attempt something so difficult? Who else in the Dead’s musical sphere could dare, so boldly, to fail? This, I think, is a key element to the appeal of the Grateful Dead - their vulnerability.? As they wrestled with a difficult rendition of “Terrapin Station” on Sunday night, I couldn’t help but smile. Like any legendary Grateful Dead performance, the band hit soaring peaks, and a few pretty rocky valleys. The mix inside the stadium proved itself to be infinitely better than what I’d heard on the live stream. I was stunned by how tight the band sounded. There were roses everywhere, a stranger kissed me on the mouth, and I leaned in to the “Jack Straw” sing-along (“Fourth day of July!”) with all my heart. Walking through the gate to my section, the expansive bowl of the stadium opened up before me, and I found “vibe” in spades. I knew that the ever-elusive intangible element so many Deadheads refer to as “vibe” would carry me through. Musically, my expectations were low, but I had no intention of standing in judgement of my favorite band. I walked into the stadium on Friday night in the middle of “Box Of Rain,” the song that drew me to the band so many years ago. This was my critical mind at work - and also partially due to the poor quality of the mix for the stream. I watched the live stream of some of the Santa Clara shows, and was frankly unimpressed by the band’s performance. There are too many outside elements and emotions coloring my memory, and I think that’s OK. It’s not possible for me to write an objective “review” of what I experienced in Chicago. Last weekend at Soldier Field, that all melted away. Without Garcia, there could be no Grateful Dead. The musicians knew this too, and labeled each band accordingly. Sure, it was great, even transcendent, to get together with old friends and sing along, but we all knew this wasn’t the real thing. At each of these shows there was an underlying element of caution or trepidation - “the Other Ones,” “Phil And Friends,” “the Dead,” “Further,” even “the Dark Star Orchestra” - the prevailing energy was something of a rough sketch or outline of what had come before, a loving tribute or a memory. You can watch some performance clips at the bottom of the article.Īt some point during the weekend, everybody started calling the band “the Grateful Dead.” I never saw Jerry Garcia in the flesh, but I’ve been attending Dead-related concerts for roughly 16 years. Bleeker also led a Dead tribute show at Chicago’s City Winery on 7/4, with guests including Jenny Lewis, Ira Kaplan, Lee Ranaldo, Dave Harrington, and Ryley Walker.

We asked him to share his experience in words and photos below. Alex Bleeker, who has covered the Dead with his bands Real Estate and the Freaks, was in attendance all three nights.

#GRATEFUL DEAD HAT SERIES#

Last weekend at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Grateful Dead played a series of farewell shows with Phish frontman Trey Anastasio standing in for the late Jerry Garcia.

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