Dead, Allmans Ramp Up for ‘09

Peekin' again at the Beacon for the Allman Brothers, first tour in 5 years for the Dead.

By Blurt Staff

Okay, crusties, twirlie girls and aficionados of all things jammy: this new item's for you. (Memo to BLURT fave Warren Haynes: get some rest between those itineraries.) Read on....

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After months of fan speculation bolstered by an October 2008 performance at the "Change Rocks" concert/rally for Barack Obama in State College, PA and three recent viral internet videos with band interviews and performance footage, the DEAD today officially announced tour dates for 2009.  This marks their first trek since 2004's "Wave That Flag" tour.

Kicking off April 12 in Greensboro, NC and wrapping May 10 near San Francisco, the tour will encompass 19 shows--all to be performed as "An Evening With"--in 16 cities.  Pre-sale tickets go on sale Tuesday, January 13 and nationwide beginning Friday, January 23.  All the concerts are set for indoor arenas except for the final show at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA.

Original Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart will be joined by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Allman Brothers Band/Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Haynes, both of whom played with the band at the "Change Rocks" concert. The group first formed with lead guitarist Jerry Garcia as the Grateful Dead in 1965 and are legendary for their live performances.  The Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group always toured relentlessly, allowing their "Dead Head" fans to tape and trade their exploratory, free-flowing concerts.

"We've got some unfinished business," says guitarist/singer Bob Weir.  "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."  Drummer Mickey Hart adds, "A mind meld is a terrible thing to waste." Bassist Phil Lesh says, "For me, it's the question mark that's really pulling me in...what's gonna happen?  When you walk out on the stage the possibilities are infinite every time.  The musical possibilities are infinite: there is no end to it, there's no back wall and there's no ceiling, there's no floor.  It's infinite and therefore you can still explore it till the day that you die."  Drummer Bill Kreutzmann says, "I get goose bumps just thinking about the possibilities."

Seeds of the idea of touring again were first planted in February of this year when Hart, Lesh and Weir played a "Dead Heads For Obama" show at the Warfield in their native San Francisco, and last year Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart performed at a post-inauguration for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Always sonic and technological adventurers, the Grateful Dead formed in San Francisco's electric Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in the mid-‘60s, combining their love of bluegrass, country, electric rock and jazz to create one of the most iconic repertoires in rock music.  By touring continuously and never relying on radio hits or latest trends, the Dead and Dead Heads created an unparalleled bond.  Fans were turned on to the group by live bootlegs and word of mouth, with many following the band on the road for whole tours. 

For more information, go to www.dead.net or www.Dead.Net/Dead09.

Date:               City:                            Venue:

Sun 4/12         Greensboro, NC        Greensboro Coliseum

Tue 4/14         Washington, DC        Verizon Center

Wed 4/15       Charlottesville, VA    John Paul Jones Arena

Fri 4/17           Albany, NY                 Times Union Center

Sat 4/18         Worcester, MA          DCU Center

Sun 4/19         Worcester, MA          DCU Center

Tue 4/21         Buffalo, NY                 HSBC Arena

Wed 4/22       Wilkes-Barre, PA      Wachovia Arena @ Casey Plaza

Fri 4/24           Uniondale, NY            Nassau Coliseum

Sat 4/25         New York, NY Madison Square Garden

Sun 4/26         Hartford, CT               XL Center

Tue 4/28         E. Rutherford, NJ       IZOD Center

Wed 4/29       E. Rutherford, NJ       IZOD Center

Fri 5/1             Philadelphia, PA       Wachovia Spectrum

Sat 5/2            Philadelphia, PA       Wachovia Spectrum

Tue 5/5           Chicago, IL                All State Arena

Thu 5/7           Denver, CO                Pepsi Center

Sat 5/9             Los Angeles, CA       The Forum

Sun 5/10          Mountain View, CA      Shoreline Amphitheater

Meanwhile, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND--honored this past November with Billboard magazine's "Legends of Live" award--will celebrate their 40^th anniversary in 2009 the best way they know how: on stage and on the road.  Rock's definitive live performance act have confirmed they will kick off the year with 10 shows at New York City's newly-renovated Beacon Theatre, where they've played 175 times since 1989 and established the most acclaimed and longest-running residency in rock and roll.  Ticket information will be announced in mid-January.

The group--GREGG ALLMAN (vocals and keyboards), BUTCH TRUCKS (drums and tympani), JAIMOE (drums), WARREN HAYNES (vocals, lead and slide guitar), DEREK TRUCKS (slide and lead guitar), OTEIL BURBRIDGE (bass) and MARC QUINONES (congas and percussion)-will, as usual welcome many special guest musicians at the Beacon.  "I'd love to tell you what we have planned," ALLMAN recently told Billboard, "but it's just kick-ass, that's all I can tell you."

Check out www.allmanbrothersband.com for the latest news.

Date:               City:                            Venue:

Mon 3/9          New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre

Tue 3/10         New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre

Thu 3/12         New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre

Fri 3/13           New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre

Sat 3/14          New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre

Mon 3/16        New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre

Tue 3/17         New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre

Thu 3/19         New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre

Fri 3/20           New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre

Sat 3/21          New York, NY                        Beacon Theatre