Man critically hurt in fall at Grateful Dead concert at Chicago’s

Chicagoan Scott Goldstein, 45, who caught the Dead every time they came through the city between 1989 and 1995, as well as their last show with Garcia, at Solider Field, describes the band’s music as “simply transcendent”.

As I mentioned in the piece recapping Friday’s show, it’s not really accurate to call these lowlights per say as much as general critiques. That’s pretty impressive, considering that band’s lead guitarist died two decades ago.

“But that’s not at all why they did it”, McNally says. But when that chorale flipped the promise in “Touch of Grey” – “I will get by/I will survive” – to “we” in the last choruses, the Bowl crowd cheered and sang along with mutual assurance. With Phil grinning ear-to-ear, Trey bouncing around the stage like a child, the drummers wailing away and the keys on point, this was a major dose of Grateful Dead.

The legendary band have teamed up with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio for the gigs, replacing frontman Jerry Garcia. As several generations of Grateful Dead fans mingled at Soldier Field, not a single one of them would begrudge the ticket price.

Yates told WJBC’s Dan Swaney the stadium was filled with fans young and old and from all walks of life, but all with the common bond, their love for Grateful Dead music.

By one measure, the Grateful Dead are 2015’s top attraction, drawing 65% higher sales per show than concerts by pop superstar Taylor Swift, according to ticket resale site StubHub. “They don’t talk to the crowd other than to say, ‘Thank you, good night.’ And yet they blow you away”.

“Happy 4th of July from the Grateful Dead!”

“It’s not surprising that very successful people find the music compelling and engaging, because it’s complex”, said Rebecca Adams, a professor who has studied Deadhead culture. By the mid ’70s, fans in the Stanford computer lab were trading setlists by ARPANET – an early internet – with the music bums at the M.I.T. Media Lab. The Dead were likely the first band to broach cyberspace. By most accounts, he is doing a more than able job.

The folks who couldn’t obtain tickets to the grand show saw the concert on their television sets in the safety of their living rooms. The consensus in the room, before I even got an opinion out, was that Anastasio was killing it.

Meanwhile, following on from our exclusive live version of “Viola Lee Blues“, at the band’s October 10, 1967 show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, we’re delighted to offer you more exclusive Grateful Dead goodies.