Were the five "Fare Thee Well" shows in Santa Clara, California and Chicago truly the last stand for the Grateful Dead? That was clearly the intent when the late June shows were announced. Online Grateful Dead forums were rife with complaints about money-grabbing. "They were so adamant about these being the last shows, I think they have to stick to that. It would tick a lot of people off if they said, oh wait!", David Browne, author of So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead, said on the World Cafe public radio show.
But the tide has clearly turned.
Drummer Bill Kreutzmann announced on a public television interview that he would like to play more shows and that he and guitarist Bob Weir, at least, intend to keep playing.
On Tuesday, Trixie Garcia, daughter of Jerry Garcia and a board member of the nonprofit Rex Foundation, made it clear that Grateful Dead-related concerts would keep coming. In an interview with Glide Magazine, Trixie Garcia said "There's no one looking at all of those 70,000 people and thinking it's not going to happen again."
Concerts with the "core four" members? "With that exact lineup I highly doubt - but we'll see," Garcia said. "There's definitely going to be more large events."
Asked specifically if there would be shows with different members of the band, Garcia said "Right, there's going to be much more." And she affirmed that is a notion coming directly from within the Grateful Dead's inner camp.
"There's a feeling that our fanbase wouldn't be served if there were no more events," she added. "I think it's pretty obvious to everybody. Everybody wants to go to more shows." And Facebook groups are replete with comments begging for more concerts.
"I think this is one instance where most fans won't hold it against the band if they keep playing after doing a final show," said one Facebook poster. "I don't think even they knew how great these shows were going to be. Now that the momentum is there, may as well keep going." The 'farewell tour' had been expanded earlier, after all.
