The Dead continues to revive itself for U.S. tour

On the heels of reuniting for a "Dead Heads for Obama" concert in their San Francisco hometown, four original members of the Grateful Dead have announced a 19-date tour across America. Perhaps they've been inspired by Obama's campaign slogan: "Yes we can," they figured, "keep playing shows without Jerry Garcia or Mel Saunders." Or did they go back earlier? "Ask not what your country can do for you, but how many shows you can play for your country?" Equally likely: "Speak softly and carry big amplifiers."

Guitar Bob Weir explained the more plausible truth to Rolling Stone. "We’ve got some unfinished business,” he said. “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.” The foursome of Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and percussionists Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann will be joined by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and guitarist Warren Haynes (of Allman Brother Band/Gov't Mule fame).

The tour kicks off April 12 in Greensboro N.C. and stays east for a good portion before winding west and culminating at a Shoreline Amphitheater show in Mountain View, Calif., just south of San Francisco. Ticket pre-sale began Tuesday (Jan. 13).

Dead men walking:

April
12 - Greensboro, N.C. @ Greensboro Coliseum
14 - Washington, D.C. @ Verizon Center
15 - Charlottesville, Va. @ John Paul Jones Arena
17 - Albany, N.Y. @ Times Union Center
18 - Worcester, Mass. @ DCU Center
19 - Worcester, Mass. @ DCU Center
21 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ HSBC Arena
22 - Wilkes-Barre, Pa. @ Wachovia Arena
24 - Uniondale, N.Y. @ Nassau Coliseum
25 - New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden
26 - Hartford, Conn. @ XL Center
28 - E. Rutherford, N.J. @ IZOD Center
29 - E. Rutherford, N.J. @ IZOD Center

May
1 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wachovia Spectrum
2 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wachovia Spectrum
5 - Chicago, Ill. @ All State Arena
7 - Denver, Colo. @ Pepsi Center
9 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Forum
10 - Mountain View, Calif. @ Shoreline Amphitheater

Related links:
Dead.net
Grateful Dead at the Rock Hall of Fame
Grateful Dead Radio

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