With shows Saturday and Sunday in Santa Clara, California, and another three at Chicago’s Soldier Field on July 3-5, the five shows cap roughly 2,300 concerts over 30 years.
Pioneers of psychedelic music in the 1960s, the Dead brought jazz-style improvisation to rock music. No two Dead shows were the same — not just the performances but the setlists were made up on the spot. Each show had a seat-of-the-pants quality that meant things could go wrong, but also that great heights could be reached.
The band’s run came to an end with the death of lead guitarist Jerry Garcia in 1995. This summer, the four surviving members of the band — guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — are performing.
