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The Dead Reunite For First Tour In Five Years

1/5/09, 8:50 am EST

Photo: Barnard/Getty

More than 40 years after initially forming and just months after reuniting to support Barack Obama, the Dead will embark on their first full tour in five years. The band features four founding members of the Grateful Dead — bassist Phil Lesh, guitarist Bob Weir and “the rhythm devils” Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — joined by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Allman Brothers Band/Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes. The 19-date “An Evening With” tour will kick off April 12th in Greensboro, North Carolina, then hang out on the East Coast for 15 shows (including an April 25th gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden) before heading to the Midwest and West Coast for four shows, culminating in a May 10th concert at the Shoreline Amphitheatre near the band’s hometown of San Francisco.

“We’ve got some unfinished business,” Weir said of the tour. “Everybody has a whole new bag of tricks; we have the body of material we worked up over the years and we have a mind meld going on here and it would be a sin to let that just wither and die.” The band reportedly started talking tour when they reunited for the “Dead Heads For Obama” concert in San Francisco in February ‘08. The band also linked up for Obama-inspired “Change Rocks” concert at Penn State University in October, but by then plans for a full-scale reunion tour were in place. “When you walk out on the stage the possibilities are infinite every time,” Lesh said. “It’s infinite and therefore you can still explore it till the day that you die.” Pre-sale tickets for the tour go on sale January 13th. Check below for the complete rundown of Dead dates.

The Dead

April 12 - Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum
April 14 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
April 15 - Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
April 17 - Albany, NY @ Times Union Center
April 18 - Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
April 19 - Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
April 21 - Buffalo, NY @ HSBC Arena
April 22 - Wilkes-Barre, PA @ Wachovia Arena
April 24 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
April 25 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
April 26 - Hartford, CT @ XL Center
April 28 - E. Rutherford, NJ @ IZOD Center
April 29 - E. Rutherford, NJ @ IZOD Center
May 1 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Spectrum
May 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Spectrum
May 5 - Chicago, IL @ All State Arena
May 7 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
May 9 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
May 10 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheater

Related Stories:

John Paul Jones, Allman Brothers, Derek Trucks Noodle Til Down at Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam
The Dead Reunite for Obama at Scorching Penn State Benefit Gig
How the Dead Came to Life


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Comments

Amelia | 5/5/2009, 12:23 pm EST

You knwo people seem to forget about the centeral part of the country. The Dead could play Tulsa, Oklahoma City, somewhere in the Great Plains area. The forgotten part of the country. The closest we get to a great gig is a stop over in the middle of the week as groups are passing through to the east and west coast.

first g-g-generration | 4/19/2009, 3:07 pm EST

Love how you people who don’t have a clue what they think-Think you do.
Like I used to say in SF in 1966.
If you want to see them go.
If not don’t.

North Star | 4/13/2009, 10:16 am EST

Wish they could have done a quick stop in Toronto after Buffalo. Crossing the border for a show means a lot of “searching.” I’m doing it anyway. Can’t wait!!!!

wolfman slack | 4/10/2009, 11:00 pm EST

P.L. does look angry. 81-83 aud. or sbd. sounds like a great idea. After 20 years being a young freak looks like going on tour means one or two stops and about 2000.00 dollars by events fini. BTW a miracle in my book was actually finding a real ticket to BUY. Could not give my Albany 04 extras away …was offered a piece and a woman turned down a trade ticket for a plain scarf. WTF . In spite will see Albany and Sun. Mass. Nice for Bobby to sport a Jamaican trip and not let us know till last minute. Go see it will be real fun.

Филипп Петров | 4/7/2009, 8:04 pm EST

Очень интересные мысли, хорошо рассказано, все просто разложено по полкам :)

DeadHeadBetty | 3/12/2009, 2:02 pm EST

I grabbed some tickets to the concert on the 18th in Worcester.. The DCU Center sent me a promotion for a present for the band.. I guess they wnat fans to put together a piece of a quilt and design it for the band, they will then put all of the fan’s pieces together and then present it to the band.. I’m having a hard time deciding on what I want my quilt piece to look like.. any suggestions?

Валерий | 3/11/2009, 10:00 pm EST

Хм… Мне кажется, минусы значительно превосходят плюсы. Думаю, не стоит заморачиваться.

Арнольд | 2/26/2009, 3:43 pm EST

Действительно, жизнь не должна быть идеальной :)

DandyDan | 2/5/2009, 2:25 pm EST

Does anyone know for sure if the Dead will do a summer tour? Any guess at a schedule if ther is one?

Nicholas DeMARTINO( Dr NICK ) | 1/24/2009, 8:16 am EST

T THINK JERRY, APPROVAS OF WARREN HAYNES’ES SKILLS TO MAKE THE CUT,AS THE MOST QUALIFIED , I CANT WAIT!!!

taije of grey | 1/21/2009, 2:41 pm EST

Actually, wah wah, Mickey was a founding member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage with Garcia and Dawson. Dawson went on with NRPS and the others eventually became the Grateful Dead…so…YES Mickey is a founding member.

Forrest Walker | 1/20/2009, 11:45 pm EST

Wah Wah, you are wrong, Mickey was an original memeber, left then came back.

I plan on being at at least one show. It has been soooooo long.

cheryl | 1/19/2009, 9:12 am EST

I am grinning ear to ear!!! A lifetime with the Dead…I knew they would never die!

Erik | 1/17/2009, 6:58 pm EST

I also am very happy The Dead are returning. They are very talented musicians. I will be at Shoreline on May 10. Thank you for Bob, Bill, Phil, and Mickey. Rock On.

TruthandConsequences | 1/15/2009, 11:32 am EST

The GD always were in a state of evolution … so it’s great and appropriate that the remaining guys want to carry on that evolution, but they should call themselves something other than The Dead. Grateful or not, without Jerry it can never be the Dead again. Even a cheeky name like the “Living Dead” would be better!

clikerur | 1/10/2009, 11:11 pm EST

Clike , , .
.
.

falcon | 1/10/2009, 11:49 am EST

let doooo it roll away the dew and the old let move on go dead.go

Fox Theatre St. Louis | 1/10/2009, 11:24 am EST

St. Louis does love the Dead.

jeannie | 1/10/2009, 9:13 am EST

hope to see mcgraw at the show at the spectrum

deadphriend | 1/9/2009, 8:51 pm EST

Amazing musicians,i miss the tours,the old days with Jerry.This is 2009,He’s Gone!!But it’s still going to be great music with Warren and the boys.Wish they were coming to Canada,the boarder guards don’t like me,HAHAAHAHA!!Have fun maybe they’ll even play Dark Star!!HAHA

dobzilla | 1/9/2009, 7:39 pm EST

St. Louis loves the Dead. Rock on!

Longshanks | 1/8/2009, 1:11 pm EST

God Bless The Good ‘Ol Grateful Dead. See you at the Spectrum boys.

Radio Zero | 1/7/2009, 4:43 pm EST

Hold your horses…did REO Speedwagon approve this tour? You better check into that…or we are shutting it down!!

MikeS | 1/6/2009, 2:32 pm EST

Becouse they are both haunted by voices of Garcia going “wtf are you doing releasing that Egypt mess?”

Whargarbl | 1/6/2009, 2:14 pm EST

WTF? Bobby looks like a deranged sea otter and Phil just looks pissed in that picture.

MikeS | 1/6/2009, 1:58 pm EST

Ya know, Garcia put the kabosh on ever releasing the Egypt 78 shows, becouse Keiths keyboard was out of tune, and lets face it, they were not their best at Egypt 78.
Then I see this picture of Phil and Bobby hawking the very show Jerry said no to, and it makes me wonder if this business inst all financial.
The integrity of this band checked out when Jerry took his last breath at Serenity Knolls in 95.
I would rather stay at home with an 81 aud. I cant get behind this!

Northern | 1/6/2009, 1:25 pm EST

Too bad they couldn’t make one Canadian stop! Toronto would welcome them with open arms!

Jace | 1/6/2009, 11:52 am EST

Awesome news, I just wish they would come to Tulsa. Cain’s Ballroom misses the Dead.

Al | 1/6/2009, 10:28 am EST

Yes the Dead are back for a couple more shows!!!! You haters lay off and let them rock on! can ya dig it?

Ralph E. | 1/6/2009, 10:12 am EST

Maybe this tour will fold the blinders back again like they did with Jerry and friends back in the beginnings of our rude awaking of the real world. I’ll be there in Greensboro, NC[like every time they are in our HOOD]

Mule | 1/6/2009, 8:43 am EST

There should be a law passed that Warren Haynes must be in every band. Life would be so much sweeter!!

gratefuldude89 | 1/6/2009, 12:30 am EST

cant wait for my first dead show! i have seen bobby and ratdog three times, and phil and friends once. i cant wait for this tour

roll away the dew | 1/5/2009, 11:41 pm EST

Why do so many people hate on this idea?? how is there anything negative in the fact that the dead want to get back together?? they are absolutely incredible musicians and when together, their sound becomes a spiritual being. i am so sick of people saying “they’re reuniting for money” blah blah blah - WHO CARES! they are sharing their talents and heart and soul with us so appreciate it. if you do not like it then do not go to their show but for god’s sake stop hating. if jerry were alive he would be so disappointed with the negative vibes - he was in it for the love of music and so are the rest of the band members.

rock on dead, rock on. i cannot wait to be front row center for the nyc and hartford shows.

Thief in the Orchard | 1/5/2009, 10:40 pm EST

So some old friends wanna get together and play some great tunes for their true fans. All you cynical fucks who have a problem with that should move out of your momma’s house and learn a little about life. Of course it ain’t the same without Jerry. So what? The Dead has always been a collective, not a solo project. And The Other Ones gave just as much to the tapestry. So lay off the old bastards and let them fly one more time…

David | 1/5/2009, 10:10 pm EST

Where the hell does Warren Haynes find the time to play with all these guys? No disrespect but these older guys like Gregg Allman and the Dead owe their ass to Haynes.

Eddie | 1/5/2009, 8:18 pm EST

who cares? and yes i’m a deadhead. they can’t deal w/the Phish reunion and let it go.

Wah Wah Exit Wound | 1/5/2009, 6:38 pm EST

Mickey Hart IS NOT A FOUNDING member of the Grateful Dead. Jeesh - seems like the reporter writing about the Dead should know something ABOUT the dead. I wonder where he could find this information? Maybe the biography for the band from the webpage he works for.

Wah Wah Exit Wound | 1/5/2009, 6:38 pm EST

Mickey Hart IS NOT A FOUNDING member of the Grateful Dead. Jeesh - seems like the reporter writing about the Dead should know something ABOUT the dead. I wonder where he could find this information? Maybe the biography for the band from the webpage he works for.

Ryan | 1/5/2009, 6:31 pm EST

You do realize that this is just a warmup for their summer tour…

Sorry, no Dead tour this summer. Both Lesh and Weir have said it. Otherwise, hell mother fucking yeah. You realize they make a damn good amount of money touring with their solo bands, which they normally do right? if it was about the money, Bob would be with Ratdog, calling the shots and making the dough his only way, as would Phil with Lesh and friends, idiots

Meh | 1/5/2009, 6:20 pm EST

Once your hands get used to counting money they dont wanna stop.

Nathan | 1/5/2009, 5:57 pm EST

Why Worcester for two nights?

lumpy | 1/5/2009, 5:53 pm EST

How about coming to Tulsa?

Matt | 1/5/2009, 5:47 pm EST

You do realize that this is just a warmup for their summer tour…

Jungleland2 | 1/5/2009, 5:08 pm EST

How about Atlanta?

TurdBurglar | 1/5/2009, 4:40 pm EST

Man, the Denver show is at the Pepsi center. LAME! Put it at Red Rocks, or a string of dates there.

DaveyG | 1/5/2009, 4:34 pm EST

good news. how about a trip north for some shows in Canada

Marc | 1/5/2009, 3:42 pm EST

The surviving members of the Dead have enough money in the bank to send their great-grandchildren to college. Adam (all 4 of you), I really don’t think you know what you are talking about. They’re doing this because they love playing together and miss the old tunes. Also, Lesh and Weir are really looking forward to playing with Haynes.

Anonymous | 1/5/2009, 3:42 pm EST

The surviving members of the Dead have enough money in the bank to send their great-grandchildren to college. Adam (all 4 of you), I really don’t think you know what you are talking about. They’re doing this because they love playing together and miss the old tunes. Also, Lesh and Weir are really looking forward to playing with Haynes.

Joe | 1/5/2009, 3:22 pm EST

OK can we get a plethora of “It’s not the Dead without Jerry” comments now? Oh that’s right, no one really cares.

Deep Pockets | 1/5/2009, 2:15 pm EST

Hopefully they play Deal. Cool they are playing the Spectrum in Philly though.

jljbird59 | 1/5/2009, 2:07 pm EST

PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSE PLAY Rothbury 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Backspace | 1/5/2009, 1:59 pm EST

Yikes, I’m tripping out just looking at those two dudes. Look in their eyes, they’re telling me “time is an illusion my friend, there is no truth, open up your doors of perception”. Cosmic.

kramkong | 1/5/2009, 1:48 pm EST

a summer Alpine show?

Adam | 1/5/2009, 1:47 pm EST

Unfinished business? They must mean unfinished at the bank. The remaining members of the Dead are hugely money hungry. Not doing it for the music or the fans just the cashola.

Adam | 1/5/2009, 1:47 pm EST

Unfinished business? They must mean unfinished at the bank. The remaining members of the Dead are hugely money hungry. Not doing it for the music or the fans just the cashola.

Adam | 1/5/2009, 1:47 pm EST

Unfinished business? They must meand unfinished at the bank. The remaining members of the Dead are hugely money hungry. Not doing it for the music or the fans just the cashola.

Adam | 1/5/2009, 1:46 pm EST

Unfinished business? They must meand unfinished at the bank. The remaining members of the Dead are hugely money hungry. Not doing it for the music or the fans just the cashola.

Dale | 1/5/2009, 1:45 pm EST

Please come to Texas, at least Austin.

Gene | 1/5/2009, 1:32 pm EST

How ’bout coming to Houston?

Luke | 1/5/2009, 12:20 pm EST

rock and roll boys…dig in and do it right

perly baker | 1/5/2009, 12:20 pm EST

that comment was corny, August. Go back to your burgundy.

August West | 1/5/2009, 12:14 pm EST

they just keep on truckin…..

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