Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead

Jul 2, 2015 at 4:00 am
Fifty years after their founding and twenty years after the death of Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead are going out strong -- on a long, leanin' note, to quote their old contemporary, Captain Beefheart. With an epic, instantaneously sold-out three-night stand at Chicago's Soldier Field (the site of Jerry's final live performance back on July 9, 1995), the surviving members of the Dead take that Mississippi half-step into music history; the band calls it a day after this run. Sour-ass Dead haters will hate, but find another parade to rain on, ye cynical folk -- this one's reserved for lovers. Ardent Deadheads who couldn't make the Chicago shows can experience them regardless, live on a big screen, courtesy of Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead. The last-ever Grateful Dead concerts begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday (July 3 to 5) at select area venues, such as Wehrenberg Ronnies 20 Cine (5320 South Lindbergh Boulevard; 314-843-4336 or www.fathomevents.com). Tickets are $15.
July 3-5, 7 p.m., 2015