Fare Thee WellGrateful #Dead50

grateful-dead-smkm-010

The Grateful Dead ‘Fare Thee Well’ Tour was one for the history books. From the amazing flocking of Dead Heads taking over Chicago for the weekend of July 4th, 2015 to the overwhelming 70k people each night singing, dancing and loving each other in their best tie-dye Dead shirts to the incredible feeling of joy and nostalgia brimming from each person, each smile. I will admit, these were my first Dead shows, and for that I was truly blessed to be at the occasion. Having grown up with a mega Dead Head father, I wasn’t new to the tunes, and was a fan going in, but nothing compared to those I was surrounded by.

Note: This will be my longest post yet, as I am usually a massive editor, however, I don’t care. This story is long and it is important for you to see what I experienced. I am also telling the story as though it was one long day, which in reality it was 3 days, but it was the Grateful Dead… and man, what a wild, strange trip it was.

grateful-dead-smkm-003

grateful-dead-smkm-006

grateful-dead-smkm-005

grateful-dead-smkm-008

grateful-dead-smkm-001

grateful-dead-smkm-007

DSCF3444

DSCF3446

DSCF3448

DSCF3451

DSCF3450

DSCF3455

DSCF3457

There are a few things I can say for sure about Dead Heads: they love their tunes, tie-dye, marijuana and their freedom. I believe wholly in the power the Grateful Dead and the Revolution that came from it and how much it has altered the minds of our country. The generation it touched were changed by the music, the scene and the culture. The Dead made people happy, made them think and made them dance. Because of that, the weekend was filled with massive, incredible love oozing out of everyone on and off stage. The smiles were endless.

DSCF3246

DSCF3245

DSCF3256

DSCF3257

DSCF3602

DSCF3272

DSCF3278

DSCF3285

DSCF3491

DSCF3502

DSCF3636

** WE LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU KNOW **

DSCF3652

DSCF3485

** ALL THE YEARS COMBINE, THEY MELT INTO A DREAM **

DSCF3676

YES THAT IS A DEAD STICKER

DSCF3480

DSCF3495

This is Adam Haft, aka Hafty, the infamous wonder who celebrated his birthday the day of the last Dead show. He was the reason I was there, and for that I am forever ‘grateful’.

DSCF3490

This man, who you will see again, saw his first Dead show in 1967, “They hugely affected my life”.

DSCF3707

DSCF3525

DSCF3542

DSCF3313

DSCF3315

DSCF3546

DSCF3549

DSCF3563

DSCF3574

DSCF3774

DSCF3720

DSCF3769

We were left with Mickey Hart ‘s quote “The feeling we have here- remember it, take it home and do some good with it. I’ll leave you with this, Please be kind.”

DSCF3787

DSCF3785

***
We had the pleasure of witnessing this wild mixture of musicians at one after party, playing with Alex Bleeker and the Freaks including Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo and Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan. Together they put on an amazing show of Dead covers and sick guitar solos. City Winery was the host of this madness and for that we are thankful.

DSCF3383

DSCF3431

DSCF3376

DSCF3370

DSCF3424

‘Til next time Chicago…  for now, all we can do is smile, smile, smile.
~ SMKM