Man critically hurt in fall at Grateful Dead show in Chicago

Chicago has been seemingly an odd pick since the band’s twin homes are in California – from whence they sprung – and the “Grateful Dead Belt” of the East Coast that stretches from Washington, DC north to the Canadian border. The event was also simulcast in movie theaters and music venues across the United States, as well as available on pay-per-view and online.

The Grateful Dead played a show of support in Obama’s 2008 campaign. Now 69, He would be the first to acknowledge, what a long odd trip it’s been. And by most accounts he is doing a more than able job of it. Soldier Field was the site of the final Grateful Dead show with Garcia, almost 20 years ago to the day, on July 9, 1995.

“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.

This weekend saw thousands of fans – otherwise known as “Deadheads” – with simulcasts shown for those who couldn’t get tickets.

“I gave a lot of hugs and wiped a lot of tears from other people’s faces”, Yates said.

Trey Anastasio, from left, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bob Weir of The… It’s the missed marks when, for example, traditionally The Grateful Dead would jam out of “Shakedown” and arrive back at some mystical point, with a huge turn, drum bomb, and one more round through the bridge that signifies the songs over. Like Bell, they’re all trying their damnedest to hang on for another few minutes: to a final note, one final melody, one more botched harmony, blissful guitar solo, inevitable flubbed transition, jazzy piano runs, swinging rhythm, and lasting message.

Unlike my satellite-broadcast experience on July 3rd at Shapiro’s other local TV-party destination, the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, the long-distance finale was more like a real gig: an all-standing night on a well-packed dance floor, inside an exuberantly participatory crowd.

“They hardly ever talked to the audience, but we would all feel part of what’s going on”, she said.

The band was joined for its farewell dates by the Jeff Chimenti, slapping away at his keyboards, the pianist Bruce Hornsby and Phish’s Trey Anastasio, filling in on lead guitar for the late Dead leader Jerry Garcia.