Could There Be More Grateful Dead Shows?
When the Grateful Dead announced their Fare Thee Well shows, they insisted that their July 5 concert would be their last ever. But if drummer Bill Kreutzmann had his way, they would do a few more.
Speaking to PBS’ News Hour, he said, "I would like … to do it more. Between you and me and all your lovely fans, I would like to have a couple more shows on the East Coast … I want to do it for the fans again because we had such, such amazing support in the East Coast from the Deadheads, the whole thing called the ‘Grateful Dead Belt’ between Boston and Washington. They deserve concerts like everybody does. I wish we had done two there too.” You can watch the interview above.
Kreutzmann admitted that he was speaking solely for himself and not the other members of the band. But earlier in the interview, he acknowledged that this was “the latest invention of the Grateful Dead,” and that “it might be ‘Fare Thee Well’ for this particular … group of fellows, right? But I know I’m gonna be playing a lot more. I’m sure Bobby [Weir] has intentions to play more."
Ticket demand for the three concerts at Chicago’s Soldier Field was so high that the group added two dates at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., for the last weekend in June. They had specifically chosen to end their career last weekend in Chicago because it coincided with Jerry Garcia’s final concert, which was at Soldier Field on July 9, 1995. Garcia died a month later of a heart attack during a stay at Serenity Knolls, an alcohol and drug treatment center in Forest Knolls, Calif.
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