Grateful Dead Core Four to reunite for 'final shows' at Chicago's Soldier Field July 3,4,5

As Billboard is reporting the Grateful Dead's core four members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann will be reuniting (joined by Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and one-time Dead pianist Bruce Hornsby).   Garcia died in August 9 of 1995 a day every Deadhead remembers where they were (ed. Waterton Lakes National Park, AB).  The Grateful Dead had already played their last concert a month before July 9, 1995 at Soldier Field.

Competition to promote this unique and potentially lucrative entertainment commodity was undoubtedly fierce.  As Billboard reports:

Competition to land the coveted booking was stiff, with such players as Goldenvoice's Paul Tollett and Live Nation mounting efforts to reunite the Dead at venues like the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif., the site of Coachella, and Bonnaroo (the latter, according to sources, offered the band $3 million for a headlining set -- and was rejected).

In the end longtime jamband promoter (and former Wetlands owner) Peter Shapiro unsurprisingly got the gig.  According to Billboard "Shapiro has an exclusive contract with Lesh and co-owns three Brooklyn Bowl locations... that are favorites of jam bands, as well as the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y.  where Anastasio previously joined Weir onstage."

Well yes that may all be true but things might have turned out much differently if Bob Weir hadn't had a rough day at The Palms on July 5 of last year when he and his band were contracted to play. Weir has a checkered history with highly inconsistent playing and what seems like some sort of combination of prescription drug abuse (what he calls a 'bad shoulder') and severe alcoholism. Weir collapsed onstage at the Capitol Theater in April of 2013 and infamously seemed to have been dosed during a show at the Nokia Theatre on July 28, 2010 (the youtube video has to be seen to be believed).  Weir who had apparently lingered at the bar after soundcheck, asked to 'take it easy' by Casino staff, allegedly hit on a waitress and was slapped.  Shortly thereafter Palms Casino Resort sent out a tweet cancelling the show (Ratdog his de facto cover band went on to play an actual set of covers):

Sorry to hear @BobWeir is under the weather, but RatDog is on stage now. Refunds can be obtained from the original point of purchase.

When Phil Lesh and Bob Weir announced in November of 2014 that they were disbanding their post-Dead vehicle Furthur (named after the Merry Pranksters school bus vehicle of the same name) it was a foregone conclusion it was to resurrect the Grateful Dead one last time.   Let's not forget that in addition to Phil's band Phil Lesh and Friends (the true standard bearer of their songbook), Bob's Ratdog, Furthur and previous incarnations simply The Dead and the Other Ones it's safe to say they've given this a long drawn out ride.  But Bobby's various stumbles and falls his made it impossible for any band by any name that included Bob Weir as a member to get tour insurance which paired down considerably original plans for the 50th Anniversary of the Grateful Dead.

 As the situation evolved insiders speculated that because of the insurance situation the band was likely to stick to the East Coast and go with a promoter they were familiar with doing residencies at friendly venues (at the time it was speculated more than three days) akin to the Allman Brothers Band's annual Beacon Theater residency (and final shows this year). In addition to Bonnaroo they turned down the upstart Lock'n festival as well as month long residencies at the Warfield and Radio City. So in the end they went with the familiar promoter but a stadium over three days.   From appearances they've made the best of the situation and settled on a single venue (one insurance policy?) Soldier Field that has great history and resonance with the band.

None of this should make light of what will undoubtedly be a magical occasion over three days of music  The addition of Anastasio but in particular Hornsby is a very smart touch.  While the core four members remarkably stayed consistent over the bands thirty year touring history their keyboardists were akin to Spinal Tap's drummers.  Everyone has their favourite periods and a major factor is who the keyboardist was at the time.  Few would doubt that Hornsby brought something very special during his brief tenure with the Dead and that he had a capacity to bring out greatness in Garcia- embolstering him at a time he very much needed it.