Saturday, April 11, 2015

Grateful Dead Add Two California Farewell Shows, And Demand Your Firstborn Just To Park There

I got so excited when I learned the surviving members of the Grateful Dead would be performing a couple of farewell shows in Santa Clara, California, a bit closer to where I'm residing these days than is Chicago. But then I started looking at the details. They're going to charge $60 per car to park at the venue. And if you have a bus or RV, you'll be charged $180. Just to fucking park. Why don't they just rape us right here in our homes instead? Seriously. This whole venture seems to have less and less of what I would consider the Grateful Dead spirit. Also, the varied ticket pricing is disgusting. For example, the general admission floor isn't really general admission floor, because there is also something called "reserved front of stage seating." Apparently, they've put some expensive seats right up front. So the general admission floor won't get you near the stage. This is just all wrong. It won't be the biggest fans up front, but the richest. You can forget about revisiting the good old days. This just seems like a way to completely rape the fans and utterly destroy our memories of the band. Sixty dollars to park a car? Also, you have to get a prepaid parking pass in order to park there. Yes, you have to pay your sixty dollars ahead of time. You can't just show up at the venue and pay. Ridiculous.

Anyway, the shows are scheduled for June 27 and 28, 2015. Tickets range from $59.50 to $199.50, but that doesn't include the $4 facility fee or the service fees (whatever those might be). And don't forget to buy your parking pass. And after all that, try to forget that it's Trey Anastasio on guitar, and maybe you'll have a good time. Sorry if I seem overly cynical about this thing, but it's truly upsetting. The Grateful Dead ended twenty years ago. This thing - whatever it is - is certainly not a Grateful Dead concert.

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