An exciting tribute to one of the Grateful Dead‘s most popular albums featuring seasoned Dead musicians is coming to a city near you. LIVE DEAD ‘69, a special live tribute to The Grateful Dead‘s classic 1969 live album “Live/Dead,” kicks off their US tour this week. The skilled lineup features early Grateful Dead pianist Tom Constanten, who was the keyboard player for all of the recorded performances on Live/Dead, as well as Rat Dog/The Other Ones lead guitarist Mark Karan, Jefferson Starship/David Crosby Band guitarist Slick Aguilar, and bassist Robin Sylvester. JGB’s Pete Lavezzoli will handle drum duties for the first week of the tour (5/3 – 5/10) while Rat Dog/Electric Beethoven drummer Jay Lane will take over for the tour’s final run (5/12-5/16).
The tour will make stops throughout the east coast, including in D.C., Brooklyn, Providence, Buffalo. Philly, New Haven, and Syracuse. You can watch video of LIVE DEAD ’69’s performance of “St. Stephen” > “Turn On Your Love Light” > “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” (in two parts) from their 3/18/17 performance in at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, CA below, courtesy of YouTube user Philip Gangi:
LIVE DEAD ‘69 is an all-star band performing the classic “Live/Dead” (recorded at various shows in 1969) in its entirety. They are the only touring entity that applies Grateful Dead’s classic zeitgeist of extemporization and interpretive improvisation beyond an ever-expanding repertoire, much of which is created entirely ‘in the moment’ – without rehearsal or traditional preparation. The players’ unique history & pedigree offers a familiarity with Grateful Dead’s halcyon material, and by their association implies an improvisational prowess beyond merely playing the songbook or re-creating old Grateful Dead shows. Rather, LIVE DEAD ‘69 is sampling the philosophy, technique & approach and crafting their own modern interpretations to great effect. To get more information about these shows, head here!
You can check out a full list of tour dates for LIVE DEAD ’69 below:
LIVE DEAD 69 Tour Dates
5.06.17 Salvage Station – Asheville, NC
5.07.17 Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC
5.09.17 Bright Box – Winchester, VA
5.10.17 Gypsysally’s – Washington DC
5.12.17 The Hall at MP – New York, NY
5.13.17 Toads Place – New Haven, CT
5.14.17 The Met – Providence, RI
5.16.17 The Westcott Theater – Syracuse, NY
5.18.17 The Ardmore Music Hall – Ardmore, PA*
5.19.17 Flying Monkey Movie House & Performance Center – Plymouth, NH*
5.20.17 The Cabot – Beverly, MA*
* w/ The Airplane Family