Grateful Dead bow out with legacy-spanning jams

For decades, Grateful Dead fans have taped, debated and methodically noted the set lists for the legendary band's more than 2,300 concerts.

So on Sunday night, when the band played a show at Chicago's Soldier Field that it declared to be its finale, many "Deadheads" -- the passionate fans who trailed the Dead from show to show -- had already gone public with their bets for the final song.

As Deadheads in tie-dye shirts wept or whirled in ecstasy, the defining band of the hippie generation closed out several hours of jamming with a stripped-down, acoustic version of "Attics of My Life."

The Dead -- who had few hits in the traditional sense -- had barely played the song until late in their career, but the lyrics were fitting: "I have spent my life seeking all that's still unsung."

The song provided a quiet and emotionally resonant close to the final string of five shows -- three in Chicago and two near the Grateful Dead's native San Francisco, with few repeated songs -- that some fans had grumbled had become too grandiose for a band that had prided itself on avoiding showmanship.

The Dead nonetheless celebrated with fireworks and, for Saturday's show, a coordinated light show on the Empire State Building in New York that was beamed to the audience in Chicago during the song "U.S. Blues."

The band, however, reportedly drew the line at a proposal to bring back Jerry Garcia -- the band's most identifiable member who died shortly after a Soldier Field show in 1995 -- by hologram, in the fashion of late rapper Tupac Shakur's resurrection at the 2012 Coachella festival.

Tickets to the Dead's "Fare Thee Well" shows were among the most coveted in recent years, with resale prices reaching thousands of dollars.

A total of 71,000 people bought tickets to Sunday's show, breaking a record at 91-year-old Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears and the oldest stadium in professional American football.

- Deadheads of all ages -

The Grateful Dead created a uniquely communal fan culture starting in the late 1960s, setting the stage for future bands, through innovations such as a dedicated ticket office staffed by a friendly face.

But confounding expectations, the Soldier Field show brought out fans of various ages -- not just grizzled old hippies.

"I was born in 1978 but I have flashbacks to the 1970s. I remember things that I shouldn't," said Wolfgang Rehmert, a Deadhead originally from Germany.

Rehmert said he met his wife in New York by bonding over the Dead.

Now living in Hawaii, he went to the California shows before carpooling on a whim with fellow Deadheads on the 3,500-kilometer (2,200-mile) journey to Chicago, where he managed to secure tickets at the last minute.

"There is nothing like a Grateful Dead show. It's like a big family, making sure that everyone gets what they want," he said.

Julie Kelleher of Florida said she was a second-generation Deadhead, having been born in 1989, five years after her mother started traveling to shows.

"I've seen many bands, but the Grateful Dead are completely unique," she said. "Everyone is very open, and they're all together."

The young presence surprised Chris Aymond, a 55-year-old Deadhead from Minnesota sporting overalls over his tie-dye shirt, who went to one of the Dead's last shows with Garcia at Soldier Field.

"All the young people here are great. Jerry would have been proud," he said.

- Intricate jam sessions -

The Dead tapped a younger generation by playing the final concerts with guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish, the band often considered the heirs to the Dead.

From the start of the first song -- when hundreds of joints were instantly lit up and passed around -- Anastasio proved to be the dominant presence in the reformed Dead.

After initially appearing to hold back in deference to the original members, Anastasio brought powerful guitar solos to songs such as "Scarlet Begonias" on Friday.

Fellow guitarist Bob Weir playfully noted Anastasio's dilemma on Sunday as he came out with a T-shirt that said, "Let Trey Sing."

With elements of blues, country and jazz in their psychedelic rock, the Dead were heavy on improvisation -- a key factor that drew fans to multiple concerts -- but rarely spoke on stage.

Instead, the band's finale was summed up by President Barack Obama, one of many US politicians -- largely but not exclusively on the left -- to admire the Dead.

In a dedication written in a commemorative program, Obama said the Dead "embodies the creativity, passion and ability to bring people together that make American music so great."
Source: AFP