Thursday, July 9, 2009

grateful dead played its last concert at soldier field, chicago, 14 years ago today



on july 9, 1995, the grateful dead played what would become its last concert, at soldier field, in chicago. one month later, jerry garcia would be dead. over the years, the surviving band members occassionally reunited as "the other ones" and "the dead." after a three year hiatus, they just completed a tour last spring.

in between those reunion tours, we still have plenty of "dead" music with phil and friends, bobby and ratdog, and mickey and bill playing as the rhythm devils! and, last year, it was announce that a jerry garcia biopic (based his early years from the biography "dark star") is in development.

fans have made a big deal about jerry singing "so many roads" that final night. but what stands out for me is the three(!) phil lesh tunes played that night. "box of rain" finds itself in plenty of setlists - and is a phil standard. but to see them play "childhood's end" and "unbroken chain" as well, all on the same night, is amazing!

here is the setlist from soldier field:

first set:

touch of grey
little red rooster
lazy river road
when i paint my masterpiece
childhood's end
cumberland blues
promised land

second set:

shakedown street
samson & delilah
so many roads
samba in the rain
corrina >
drums & space >
unbroken chain
sugar magnolia

encores:

black muddy river
box of rain

listen to the entire show at live music archive.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Run-

I really enjoyed visiting your site. I am listening to the GD July 8, 1995 show on www.archive.org and, feeling nastalgic, googled "GD and Soldier Field" to try to see any pics of the last two shows. I unfortunately could not attend but am thankful I could be at the last two RFK shows, which as you will recall were prior to the Soldier shows.

You have to check out the last Terrapin that Jerry sang, it lifts my spirits. Although he forgot many of the words, who cares. The passion and committment that he put into that song is moving. Sure miss the boys all together.

In any case, thanks for the site. You and I are the same age and our interests are similar, fueled, no doubt by a greater awareness of world and self.

Keep running for the peaks.

k

rundangerously said...

k, thanks so much for stopping by and the kind words :D

i love terrapin and will check out it. i thought they peaked w/performing it in the 70s. it seemed to have changed for the 80s/90s. it's one song i'll always associate w/jerry.

bobby played the entire suite at a peekskill show in 2008!