Russell’s Round Room
My Dearest Deadheads,
Here we are again at the precipice of something big. I was inspired to write this post after reading this piece written by a lovely lady with a name that rhymes with Jerry. You should check it out! Her sentiment is filled with truthiness. Yet I can’t help but add my take on the events that have unfolded and the potential proceedings yet to occur. We have a new Dead incarnation to be thankful for today!
Out there in the vast vista that is the interweb, all the bitching and moaning has begun. Folks are dismayed that they forked over their first-born and took out a second mortgage on their house (among other things) to catch what was billed as the last Dead shows ever to take place. Guess what? They still were the last Dead shows that will ever take place! As someone who could not attend in person (only via the internet simulcast, and IMAX), I would love to go back in time and space with a wad full of cash to catch those shows live and in the flesh.
While I am ever so grateful for the opportunity to have shared those shows with you in real time from hundreds of miles away, and whilst I feel that I had a well-rounded experience in saying goodbye to The Dead, what I did, and what you did, are two different things, and I’m certain what you did was exponentially better. Be grateful for the experience. A happening that you will be recounting for decades to come. An exploit that when retold won’t involve the tidbit about the exorbitant amount of dough you slewed over to Stub Hub in your quest to Santa Clara or Chicago. In the short-term, the money game can be challenging and stressful, but in the long-term it really won’t mean much at all. In the end it’s all about the show.
And we have another big show to go to real soon. A show that will blow the socks off many East Coasters and deadheads from around the nation that couldn’t otherwise make it to Fare Thee Well. This will be a show for the ages, and a potential tour to boot at that, but it won’t be the Dead. In the Deadhead Book of World Records, your shows are safe, and already apart of the annals of history. Your experience and everything you forked over for it was worthwhile, and you don’t have to feel “raped,” as one head put it, because some of the boys decided to throw the East Coast a bone as well (all the boys really with Phil at the Cap and Lockn’!).
So now as we embark on getting tickets, making plans, booking hotels, renting cars, taking off work, and amassing the money we need to pull off each of our personal expeditions to MSG, let’s be mindful of what it’s all really about. It’s about the show…the music…the passion…the communion…the spirituality…the gathering…the transcendence. Keep in mind the end result, and while you may eat some bowls of shit along the way, in respect to making all these things happen, let the notion of the end result stay at the forefront.
Be positive. Commiserate, fine. But try to keep it in a positive context, because I can say one thing about this show and potential tour for sure…those heads that maintain the positivity and intend on being in MSG on Halloween, will be in MSG on Halloween. I can’t say with any certainty how easy or hard of a ticket this will be. I can’t say whether some will have to take out a home loan to purchase a show pass on the secondary market. But when you wake up to buy tickets on Friday, August 14th, know that there’s a good shot you won’t get tickets…know there’s a good shot you will get tickets! And know that you not getting tickets from ticketbastard doesn’t mean its end game. Keep mindful. Keep that positivity front and center. Play the waiting game on the secondary market, and when the possible tour gets announced, we may find a plethora of cheap tickets available.
In saying all this, I’m reminding myself of such things, as much as I am directing it towards you. I already feel the potential stress of the journey to Dead & Company in my bones. And some of you probably feel it too. Don’t let it get the best of you. Be better than that, because we are better than that. When you feel the need to bitch and vent online…bitch and vent online. But keep it short and sweet, and end it on a note of positivity. For if you do, I guarantee I will see you in MSG on All Hallows’ Eve.
Sincerely,
Grateful Globotz (Glowatz+Robot=Globotz)
~~Like our Facebook page, Grateful Globotz, or follow us on Twitter @GratefulGlobotz.~~
© Watts Glow Grateful Productions, 2015
i can’t believe people are “getting their panties in a twist” over this. the guys said they would never perform WITH ALL FOUR OF THEM again. they not only hinted, but outright said there would be more music for many years to come. do these complaining heads want them to stop playing altogether?? if so, then THEY AREN’T REAL HEADS. period. i for one am curious to see what “the magic” will do to/with the likes of john mayer. and any chance to hear bob sing again is most welcome in my book.
i should also add, as i hinted in the comments section of the piece you tagged: anybody who went to chicago or SC and got into the shows: i imagine the majority would be thrilled even to see the EXACT same lineup. if the exact fare thee well lineup announced, “well, the magic was so overwhelming, and the fans obviously are starving for more, so we’ve decided to keep playing, and would like to announce a tour,” then i would say YES YES YES!!!!! primarily because i would love to see that ensemble pursue more chemistry with one another, to see how far they can take it. but also so that the hundreds of thousands of folks who could NOT be there would have a chance to experience what i experienced for 2 nights in chicago.
ANY DEADHEAD WHO WOULD GET PISSED OFF ABOUT THAT AND SAY “DAMMIT, I SHELLED OUT ALL THAT MONEY BECAUSE YOU SAID IT WAS THE LAST SHOWS EVER” SIMPLY DOESN’T GET IT. and they probably don’t really belong. this isn’t about YOU. it’s about US. it’s about the community, 50 years in the making. and it is about THE MAGIC.
is it REALLY THAT IMPORTANT for you to be able to say “i went to the LAST show ever”???? if so:
WHY?????????????????????
WHY?????????????????????
WHY?????????????????????
i want the fare thee well folks to play again. i want them to tour full time until they all drop dead. (as long as they continue to tear it up, to be sure!) i want my southern deadhead brothers and sisters to see them play. and the new england heads. whoever, wherever, whenever! count me in!!
this is not a money grab. it’s a MAGIC GRAB. plain and simple.
if you don’t want to go, don’t go. it’s almost as if you’re pissed off because of the URGE you feel to GO to that show. (“aw man, i’m gonna have to spend even more money!”) you don’t have to. save your money. spend it on whatever the hell you want. (let the REAL fans, those who just want to hear more music, have those tickets. there are PLENTY of those folks out there!) just shut the hell up and stop complaining.
i can’t for the life of me understand why ANYONE associated with our community would EVER complain about ANY band featuring ANY members of the grateful dead.
It’s crazy man…I get the venting…It’s all apart of life…but ppl are pissed and using the “money grab” phrase again. But guess what?!? This is and always has been a business! People are pissed because they didn’t announce all these shows back in January…guess what? That’s a business tactic! So what! I’m ecstatic these guys are still in business…should be an epic night, and hopefully epic tour as well!
Good point! Anytime that you see any artist performing anywhere, even if the show is free to the public, the artists always ALWAYS get paid for their work. That is not only the way it always has been and the way it continues to be now, but also the way it will always be. Frankly, I see nothing wrong with that! The thing that would most concern me is how much the artists really still love the music as the fans do and really still want to perform together. From what I can tell, the line-up that will be taking the stage at MSG on 10/31/15 (and, hopefully, MANY times after) feel 100% that way. That is all I can ask for.
Honestly I haven’t seen a single person get their panties in a twist. Maybe you’re just hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Sitting here in England, it sounds like fun. I wish I could be there, but can’t afford the flight. And from where I sit in England, it seems to me that any of the band should all play with who the fuck they want to play with whenever the fuck they want to play (with whoever the fuck they want to play with). Seems to me, anyway, but what (the fuck) do I know? 🙂
Whatever we get from members of the band at this stage of the game is a HUGE bonus. Quit whining folks.
Fare thee well was a fine send off for the Grateful Dead,as individual performers,I hope they go on for ever. Just don’t do any Jerry
As Bobby said when asked about singing “Jerry” songs in Ratdog
“These songs cry out to be sung”
They are for all of us – not just Jerry
This is rather silly.
My “panties” are not “in a twist”. I am not angry that 3 of the 4 are playing. I wouldn’t even be angry if all four were playing.
I just really don’t like John Mayer. I don’t like his music, I’m not impressed by his playing and he comes off in his interviews as being an uber-douche and kind of a racist as well.
Can I just not like John Mayer without being criticized?
I loved Fare The Well and I live in NYC and would have gone if it had come to NYC. But John Mayer? Sorry….no.
To each their own…did I personally say your panties are in a twist? No. Did I even talk about peoples dislike of John Mayer being synonymous with your panties being in a twist? No. I’m not a fan of John Mayer music either, but I’ve seen what he’s done with the boys thus far, and he’s an excellent player and understands the Dead canon. If you don’t attend…no sweat off my back…all that means is more tickets for those who want to be apart of this celebration. Be well…be kind 🙂
It says “Dear Deadheads: Please Don’t Get Your Panties in a Twist”
I’m Deadhead.
I am eternally grateful for every show I’ve seen since my last Dead show with Jerry at Shoreline in June of 1995. Every incarnation involving any or all members of the Grateful Dead has been a blessing.
To hell with anyone who has any complaints about anything any of the band members do. No one is forcing them to buy a ticket. Go see Hot Tuna if you want pure 60’s/70’s extreme crazy ass guitar. Jorma and Carlos and Steve Miller still tour. They are the last of the Summer of Love scene guitarists who are still rocking. Or go see Justin Beiber. Just do us all a favor. Shut the F up. Go complain to your mamma.
At least with Bieber you get CK5 lighting and the occasional Phish tease from Dan Kanter, bieber’s guitarist…lol.
How childish.
So because I do not like John Mayer and I am not happy that the members of a band I love are playing with a musician I despise….
…I should “go see Justin Beiber? You do realize that Beiber and Mayer have a lot more in common then The Grateful Dead and John Mayer, don’t you? I’m a DEADHEAD, pal. I love the Grateful Dead. There is nothing in my post that indicated that I listened to crappy pop music, like the shit put out by the likes of Beiber and Mayer.
..or I should “Shut the F up”??
Really? So…no one is allowed to have an opinion that differs from yours? Why has criticism become VERBOTEN? We are all supposed to be sycophants who love everything just because it has the GD name attached to it?
..or I should “Go complain to (my) mamma?”
Again. This reaction is completely childish. This is the internet, kid. Learn to accept other people’s opinions without telling them to “shut the fuck up”. And if you can’t see that Mayer and Beiber have a lot more in common than either of those pop stars does with The Grateful Dead, I guess I can’t help you. But DO try not to tell people to shut the fuck up when they disagree with you. It’s juvenile.
Did I say any Deadheads have their panties in a twist?!? No. All I said was not to get ur panties in a twist…ie: chill out folks…and if your chill now, don’t not be chill due to the unfolding of events that are completely out of your hands…
And dude…while this wasn’t directed at you personally AT ALL, you obviously took offense, which is fine…people are allowed to be offended by things…I couldn’t care less personally if you took my words completely out of context and made it personal…which you did by the way…and the more you comment hear, I gotta say, the more it seems that your panties are actually in a twist…self fulfilling prophecy? I don’t know…but you may want to take a timeout, regroup, and realize all this is supposed to be in good fun…