Well isn’t this just a real nice surprise… Looks like I know what I’m doing to celebrate America’s independence…heading to Chicago to see the remaining members of the Grateful Dead in their Fare Thee Well shows. Looks like Phish-man Trey Anastasio will do the fronting, which sounds like a good thing. I’ve never been a hardcore Phish guy, but no doubt the talent is there.
It will be interesting to see how they do the shows…Dead shows typically aren’t a ‘festival of hits’, so the setlists could be fun. Ticket prices don’t look too bad, either. One of my biggest regrets is missing the Dead show at The Omni in 1995. I still think about it. I’m down with Chicago. I’m serious.
So for some Saturday conversation…what’s your favorite Dead song? Me: “China Cat Sunflower => I Know You Rider” from Europe ’72. What’cha got?
Scarlet Begonias was the song that got me into GD, so I’m gonna go with that even though it’s very difficult to choose.
Sugaree; 8.13.75–kind of cheating since it was originally a Garcia solo effort, but The Dead rotated in their set list for years.
Its hard to argue with Eyes of the World. There have been some great versions over the years. Some of my favorites are One From the Vault and the version with Branford Marsalis on Without A Net. My favorite one I saw live was the epic 3-31-91 in Greensboro. Great stuff. Miss you Jerry!
I love the idea of Trey filling Garcia’s spot. Obviously no one can replace Garcia as Garcia, but the Dead have always had a bit of a rotation, mainly at the keyboards, but…I hope this is just a beginning and not the end.
So hard to pick a favorite tune, but my vote goes to Peggy-O, Brown Eyed Women, and late 60’s Viola Lee Blues.
The Phil & Friends shows featuring Trey in SF circa April 1999 give this event much promise.