Grateful Dead

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Good points, Klang. Something else that isn't pointed out much is the fact that mail order tickets seem to have gone almost exclusively to people that sent in $199.00 requests. Makes one wonder how the "winners" of the mail order lottery were selected. Perhaps $79 mail order tickets were bypassed to make room for reassigned $199 orders. But like Klang, I'm going and gonna have some fun so don't give me the "don't spread the negativity" rap, lol. :-)

And no vaseline... I sent a request to customer service asking them to refund my money for the 400 level behind the stage seats so that I can buy floor seats or 100 level seats. I am sure that will be met with a positive reply. Not. So the choice is my friends and I can eat the $78 cost of the behind the stage seats and buy better seats, or sit behind the stage and fume about the screwing during what should be a happy, carefree time. I totally blame the promoter for these tactics - sell all the shitty seats in the lottery so they milk that revenue, and then miraculously come up with all of these better seats available at the last minute.

Well it turns out he is a slime ball promoter after all.I miss Bill Graham and Jerry Garcia!

dead....but no better....had his mind on his $ and his $ on his mind.... Or in who terms....meet the new boss same as the old boss..... Windmill windmill ..... We will get fooled regularly...again and again....

This will be the last time. Or something like that. (as Bobby might say)

I just got tickets to the Santa Clara show. I've never been to the area. I was wondering where everyone is staying? Is there camping on on or near the site where we might find others?

When all this started last Jan. I told my wife all I wanted is to get in the door. Finally got my tickets yesterday, I sent in 10 M.O. covering all the bases. I'm in different 200 sec. every nite.Not what i wanted, but I,m in the door and I, going to have a grateful time.

Congrats...we will bond....

I think it was totally luck of the draw. I did the same as you Klang (except I went for 2 sat and 3 sunday 95.50 plus 20 pit upgrade) but wound up in the pit both nights! My brother who has been mail ordering for decades almost as long as me (I did the very first one) got totally shut out as did my son in law. another 3 decade mail ordering friend put in for the same as me and wound up in the 400's. what is more of a shit show in my opinion is the ticketmaster deal and random ticket drops. another friend scored floor seats a couple weeks ago. Crazy. got to believe there will be another ticket drop soon. I don't understand the ticket business at all these days. seems corrupt as hell. Anyways let's all put that aside... It's going to be Great time when we are all together! ps I am shut out of Friday but will be at the New Riders aftershow. Hope to see some of you there.

Probably going to offend some people...but I have to say it!! Chicago is a giant commercial corporate money grab!! There will be a great deal of rich east coast liberal politician types,,, that wish they lived the life....The real so called warm up show in Cali will be EPIC!! No pressure!! No over hype...hell...not even sold out.. plenty of room to dance...beautiful weather and spending the week in Santa Cruz and Stinson Beach....WOW!! You tell me!!

Santa Cruz 40 min away, Half Moon Bay about 40 min away. Most camp spots may be booked for the summer?...Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountains may have some camp spots....I saw rooms near SF airport about 30 min away...Good Luck!!

Thanks for the reply. I'll check them out!

Bill Graham is spinning in his grave at the greed driven decisions made by Peter Shapiro, the promoter who the Dead made the mistake of entrusting with promotion of this special event. Shapiro has decided to eliminate all on field reserved seating and make the entire field general admission. The putative purpose of this decision was to increase the number of people who could attend the shows. Of course, it also had the incidental effect of greatly increasing the total revenues for the promoter. Due to this switcheroo, people are getting reserved tickets priced anywhere from $50-$120 more PER TICKET than the price was at the time they originally mailed in their orders. Rather than giving everyone a partial refund for the difference, Shapiro just decided to increase the prices for everyone. In an apparent effort to forestall the inevitable class action lawsuit, Shapiro has generously allowed all those who got screwed in the switch to request partial refunds after the shows. He encourages you to do this only if you feel you did not get your money's worth. In my view, anyone who does not send for a partial refund is only encouraging Shapiro's boundless greed.

Hey now, San Mateo County has an extensive park system, many of them less than an hour's drive from the venue, though not necessarily in the middle of the night. I would recommend the smaller parks west of Skyline Boulevard such as Sam McDonald Park, Pescadero Creek Park, Memorial Park, or Junipero Serra Park. Check ahead; some require reservations, others parks have some reserve campsites and others first come first serve. Santa Cruz County also has wonderful parks, somewhat farther away and likely more popular this time of year. Still, Big Basin in Santa Cruz is the crown jewel of Peninsula redwood parks, and if you're planning on camping for several nights and/or can get a good reservation, it's an incredible place to explore. Learn what poison oak looks like; a lot of it hasn't turned red yet. No state monies for the parks (need that cash to feed that Jones) so do expect to pay — I don't know, 15 bucks wouldn't shock me. This flash I had may explain a lot about the problems we've seen so far and the ones we may see in Santa Clara. The promoter, and in the case of Levi's the staff and management, are amateurs. They have very little experience in doing what they are about to attempt, and nothing on the scale of FTW. That insecurity may be what fuels their parental "we are in total control here" approach to crowd management. The best thing we can do is to share some of our experience with the security staff if they'll listen to us. If they try to enforce no hacky sacks (it's in the rules, no airborne missiles!) in the parking lot, things might "get out of hand" — or they might just get clownish! The truth is, I was sort of hoping for something with a little more chaos and a few less cops, and maybe a non-curated Shakedown Street. Something more like a Grateful Dead concert, just for old time's sake. But the truth is it's not 1982, I'm going to have to work with what I'm given, and I feel very grateful that they decided to play two shows here for us, and very lucky that I got tickets to go. See you there! ;-)

I have "2 extra tickets for Sunday night 6/28" of the Fare Thee Well shows in Santa Clara, CA. I won these tickets from the lottery and they are hard-copy tickets. I am looking to get face value plus fees/exactly what I paid for them. ***** TICKET AND PRICE INFORMATION ***** Sun Jun 28 2015 7:00 PM Fare Thee Well - Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead Reserved P5 Obstructed View Sec 121, Row 12, Seats ( 5 - 8 ) Although these section 121 seats are labeled obstructed view, they are on the side of the stage just before the sections start to have a decent view to the front. The seats are 12 rows up from the floor and I think in a pretty decent location for $85.00 a ticket. They are certainly in a much closer-in location than my $225.00 tickets I have for the first night. I will be in the Portland, OR area until Thursday night before I travel. After that I'll will be in Sunnyvale, CA on Friday morning and can meet you sometime that day or over the weekend to do a ticket exchange. You can email me direct at: cozmocatman@hotmail.com Here's my craigslist posting for additional information: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/tix/5086228930.html Thank you for a real good time! ~ B ~

I had a dream last night that the band did Victim>Lovelight. Ok, so it was a nightmare. Regardless, it's about that time, boys and girls. Some things to keep in mind for Chicago: 1) If you ever saw Jerry, Donna, and Keith perform live, you are old now, and since the weather in Chicago in July can be more like Cambodia than Illinois, remember to stay well hydrated, even if the water is $11.00 a bottle. 2) Anticipate VERY long lines for everything; security, sanitation, sustenance, etc. Please be polite and patient. 3) The unexpected 'hot ticket' and Big Money scenarios that have occurred are making this whole thing feel more like a Super Bowl than a Dead show. Notwithstanding, the only time our scene ever really worked was when a high percentage of the attendees contributed to it with kindness, sharing, synchronicity, and humor. What will you bring? Best of everything to you all. I'll meet you at the Jubilee.

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Yes, I agree that it can be hot in Chicago in July, but right now, it was actually fairly chilly by the lake last night, so bring layers. Being hydrated is key no matter what temps are. It was a beautiful day in Chicago yesterday. It has been a pretty rough month for weather here in the (Very) windy city. I know deadheads are better then Boy Scouts at being prepared though. Shakedown will be classic as Chicago welcomes these things with open arms. They have hosted Lollapalooza for a while now, and Deadheads are fairly tame comparatively speaking. Transportation is efficient and easy, but keep in mind that if you've never been to Chicago, Soldier Field is basically on Lake Michigan, so bring your bathing suit, 18th street beach is walking distance from the south lot.

I don't know about the rest of you, but it could be the greatest rock n' roll spectacle I've ever witnessed, and I'll STILL be seeking my refund.

I must be doing something right; I guess I'm not as bad as they say. When the Santa Clara shows were announced I asked my brother and sister, who pay my expenses, if I could go, and my brother said he had a Saturday ticket he would give me. I just emailed him to remind him to send me the ticket, and he replied he's sending me two, one for each show! I went to one show with him once, at Cal Expo, he was always the "firefly" type. I know I went to over a hundred, and a friend of mine worked as a roadie, another one in their office in San Rafael, and her husband in the backstage crew. All things must pass. I guess "The Music Never Stopped" for one of the days. Eric Abrahamson

Is there anybody by chance who has a hotel room reservation for July 4th (Saturday night) in Chicago that they want/need/are able to part with? Please PM me. Thanks!

Shapiro sure ain't no Bill Graham. Despite his harshness in some situtations involving people trying to sneak into shows, Bill Graham had our backs, and a big heart. He always carried a wad of extra tickets and gave them out as his heart dictated, as many of us found to our joy and relief. Shapiro has managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I wasn't worried, though. After Calico came to me in a dream and offered to sell me a ticket for $3, and then I dreamt I was on a flight back to Cali, (although at the time of the dream only Chicago had been announced) I knew it would all be alright. Despite beig shut out of the lottery, I now have two tickets to Santa Clara. $25 for Sun and $37 for Sat. And I got to pick my own seats. Muchisiamas gracias to the gamblers on Stubhub (my tickets came from some outfit in Vegas), for making this a reality for me, and at a discount. So, do you think we'll see Shapiro working the perimeter of the venue like Bill used to do? Hahahahahah. Love to you all, and see you there waving our clear plastic bags in the air.

Bring 'em down, show Shapiro you won't take it even if they turn out to be the shows of the year. He did offer perpetually unhappy people a refund and that is your right, but I'm not sure we care here either way as we prepare for these epic shows. Just saying....Enjoy Chicago then get your refund. Lol. It just seems contrary is all considering the alternatives that could have played out.

I intend to bring all 4 of these: kindness, sharing, synchronicity, and humor! Nicely stated Blue Mike!

Joe's got it right - find your inner boy-scout. Weather on the lakefront can change in an instant, and it can be chilly at night. Then again, maybe not. Right now, the forecast for the weekend is a mixed bag - a little of everything. Too far out to take a forecast seriously, though.

chaos...don't forget a little chaos...helps to balance desire, integrity and humility...

God bless Mother Nature .... Here comes sunshine and if the thunder don't get you the lightning will in the cold rain and snow good advice....gonna pack the flannel hot pants

Grate to know need some cool temps our nightly low in Ga has beat the high in Chi-town. Man spectacular news on all fronts. Gearing up for some epic shows and fam!

I sensed a bit of sarcasm in your post, but maybe I was wrong? Just to be clear... I'm very glad to be able to go to these shows. I'm planning on having a splendid time. I'm very well aware that I was fortunate to get tickets through mail order, and that lots of our brothers and sisters weren't so lucky. I wish everyone who wants to go could do so, and I have absolutely NO ill feeling toward the band and its members, etc. But let's be straight here. The band is being paid a sum certain to play these last shows. It is one of the many costs for the promoter to put on these shows. However, I totally agree with what bigtim voiced earlier. When Shapiro saw the overwhelming response, he saw an opportunity to squeeze more money out of this event. He changed the seating scheme (after we'd all sent in our money orders) by opening up the field totally to GA, thereby being able to sell more tickets. In the meantime, he took lots of us who were in for whatever price we could get through mail order for the most $$ he could, selling us "$200" tickets, but seating us in areas where the ticket prices were advertised as being less expensive. That is the very definition of a bait and switch. He took advantage of the overwhelming demand (a demand that he, as "one of us" as he so fervently claims to be, should have known originally would be there) after the announcement and the initial response to the mail order, to reconsider and figure out how he could make some extra money out of this gig. Problem is... he'd already made an offer, setting ticket prices in particular areas of the stadium, which thousands of us accepted. Then he completely skewed the ticket assignments to put us wherever he damn-well pleased, the original deal be damned. That "extra money" that he's generating goes directly in his pocket, not the band's. I will go have a blast, love every minute of it, but still seek to recover the difference between the ticket prices for the seats I got at the time the offer was made and accepted, and the ticket price that I was actually charged. If I did anything other than that, I'd simply be saying that it's okay for Shapiro to take advantage of fans of the Grateful Dead, and its okay for someone to attempt to defraud thousands of people for his own financial gain. Some people who are going to great lengths to attend these shows don't really have the money. They're making sacrifices because they love this band, and if they were overcharged even $50/ticket, it makes a big difference in their financial lives. Fortunately, I'll be okay, either way, but it's the principal of it. If I thought for a minute any refunded money would be coming out of the band's pockets, I would have to rethink my whole position on this, but I suppose the same principals apply, regardless of the beneficiary.

why is directv only showing 2 nights from Chicago????

I really got to thank the awesome people on Deadnet, I got two GA tickets for face value and am now splitting a hotel from some kind heads! These shows are going to be a great, feeling blessed. Real glad I held out and didn't buy from a scalper.

https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/t31.0-8/885997_102059… This pic is just about a view from my seat on Saturday!! https://www.facebook.com/dead50th/photos/a.1420273374938477.1073741829… https://www.facebook.com/dead50th/photos/a.1420273374938477.1073741829… https://www.facebook.com/dead50th/photos/a.1420273374938477.1073741829…

The pics are awesome! Gotta love progress.

Thanks EoR! Looks like side of stage will have a view after all. This is good news (if they keep the sides open). Great job!

KYtrips you nailed it!!!

I like to believe that converting the entire floor to GA was more to accommodate the incredible demand for Chicago tickets. Yes, more tickets to sell and more money to make is nice, but the demand was clearly there and I think the goal was to get more people in the house. I think complaints about mailorder folks getting 400 level tix at $200 prices are fair-- they should send in their stubs for partial refunds. The release of more tickets a couple weeks ago was interesting. I have a friend who scored for a night in Chicago via that route, but really, why weren't these tickets available on the on-sale date? Is this a strategy to foil scalpers? This is the only thing I can think of. Scalpers were sitting on lots of tickets and unlikely to purchase more-- this is a way of getting them into fans' hands. The Santa Clara folks who got no-view behind the stage tickets and now see there are floor seats not selling have a gripe. I think there are going to be lots of tickets for sale in the parking lots and streets of Chicago. Midwest Heads without tickets might score in the lot. Nine more days-- cannot wait for a groovin' good time. Good luck to all and let's hope for great weather!

Wow, after seeing the photos of the stage in SC it's finally setting in. We're almost home! Has there been any new info on when the lots open up, for sure? I read that they open at 3pm, but that seems like a short amount of time for an epic portion of the experience. I had also heard 1pm, and I received some 'mayoral' advice, here, that advocated just showing up early. I welcome more sage advice.

IMHO Honesty is the best policy. If you truly believe you have been wronged, then get a partial or full refund. If you think your ticket location was fair for the money you paid and really enjoyed your experience, don't ask for a refund just to spite Shapiro; or to get back at him for his mistakes; or to satisfy your need for revenge for what you THINK he did intentionally to others to make himself more money. It is not in the true spirit of things. I personally believe him when he said he opened up the floor to get more fans in the door (that normally wouldn't have). Just my 2 cents for what it's worth...

...and post the answer here. It would be helpful to know for sure what time they "plan" to open the lots. I am taking a train in, so it doesn't affect me but I am sure all who are driving in and parking would be happy to know the official answer. Peace and safe travels!

Wow! thanks eyes for stage pic ..peace and good vibes to all heads on this site.

One of the members of my travel party contacted Levi's Stadium. He was told all events at Levi have a 4 hour tailgating policy. 49er games at 1:00...lots open at 9:00... shows at 7:00 lots open at 3:00 etc. So it is correct that Sat. 6/27 lots open at 3:00 and Sun. 6/28 lots open at 2:00. It is what it is!! Hope this helps people plan accordingly....Peace!!

The good Lord knows any money coming from inflated ticket prices and getting more fans in the door is merely a subsequential cash Bonus. Good intentions and all.Any ticket holder that has any moral sense should return their used tickets to be paid back for what they initially paid for. This way Shapiro and other promoters will think twice before pulling a bait and switch. No slack for millionaires here. On another note, CANT WAIT TO HEAR THE BEAST !!! Let 'em have it Mickey !!!

That is more dressed down than I imagined. Very Grateful being I'm on the side in Chicago. More music less stage. Let the good times roll!

Thanks for the parking info. man! Well, maybe it's just me but it would seem that actual tailgating will not be available for 4 hours (except for the 1st car entering the lot.) Basic math. If it takes 2 hours to get into the lot because you are waiting in a traffic mess to get in there, you don't really get any tailgating time. Parking lot opens at 3, gates to venue open at 5, show starts at 7(ish). Leaves 0 time for tailgating. So you arrive at Levi's at 3:00. There is huge line of cars to get in. Takes approx. 2 hours to get the bulk of the cars into the lots. OK so now it's 5:00 o'clock already. Venue opens and people start lining up (or line already exists) to get in. Do you fire up the bbq at 5:00? Leaves no time to party, hang out, walk from whatever lot you're in to get to the stadium entrance and make into the venue by 7:00. How is this 4 hours of tailgating time? Sounds more like just enough time to get into the lot, park, walk, line up, wait in line for security checkpoints at entrance, get checked and go in. Just sayin'...

"Name That Tune" contest starts at 6 PM Pacific time today. Don't be late! (Don't be early, either)

If the stadiums administrators are smart, they will open the lots early to relieve local traffic. But that's just common sense talking (and the odds are against that, because it would make logical sense). P.S. Thanks for the reminder BOLO!

Sorry for the negativity this late in the game. The pessimist in me is peaking out again. Dang it! Maybe it's just my fears getting the best of me. I don't have a lot of faith in the Levi's stadium organization, but hopefully they will prove me wrong and treat everyone kindly (and vice versa). I honestly hope the best for all of us, so here's to: 1) Getting in the lots swiftly and trouble-free 2) People having enough time to hang out and enjoy themselves before going in the venue 3)and most importantly, the fans and the staff getting along and everyone attending having a great time inside and outside the stadium. Cheers!

The West coast scene was always so much more laid back than East Coast and Midwest. Lets hope it is on Sat and Sun at Levi's. Likewise for Chicago. Laid back in an intense happy psychedelic way I mean....

I hear you Klangstone...and if you have GA it is first come first served so you will want to be in line for gates to open and get the choice spots. This is a way to boost 12 dollar beer sales!! I plan to go expecting nothing from the lot...much partying in the hotel room and or by the pool and make the most of the 2-4 hours of tailgating we are allowed!! I can accomplish quite a bit in 2 to 4 hours!! All will be fine!!! Maybe I will I have too much too fast....hope so!!

I am trying to stay grateful that I have tickets already but I feel that I've been shafted. I submitted for the lottery minutes after it was opened and my tickets couldn't be more directly behind the stage. I can't sell them to get better tickets as they're not worth the paper they're printed on and I cannot afford new ones. I'm sure we're going to have a great time no matter what but I feel taken advantage of.