25 Years Ago, the Grateful Dead Played Their Last Show

July 9, 1995 is a day that has been imprinted in the minds of Grateful Dead fans everywhere. Whether they got on the bus before or after the passing of Jerry Garcia in August of the same year, they all know that 7.9.95 represents the final performance of the band known as the Grateful Dead and a month later (to the day 8-9-95), the captain of that ship of fools would be gone from this world.

7-9-95

Grateful Dead

Soldier Field, Chicago, IL

Set 1:
Touch Of Grey
Little Red Rooster
Lazy River Road
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Childhood’s End
Cumberland Blues
Promised Land

Set 2:
Shakedown Street
Samson And Delilah
So Many Roads
Samba In The Rain
Corrina
Drums
Space
Unbroken Chain
Sugar Magnolia

Encore:
Black Muddy River
Box Of Rain

Personal Story:

July 9th, 1995 was a Sunday night and night 2 of a two night tour closer at the massive Soldier Field in Chicago, IL, home of the Chicago Bears football team. By this point in the “tour from hell,” hte boys and Jerry especially were showing signs of being road worn and the music was reflecting that. I had driven up to Chicago from Muncie, IN where I was living at the time. I had tickets to both nights and was looking forward to seeing them close out the tour.

I had skipped the Deer Creek show, which was always my local show. That was the show, first night of two, that the fence crashers tour down the fence at the top of the lawn and rushed into the show. Night two was cancelled.

Night one of Chicago was good but not great. I witnessed the obvious deterioration of Garcia personally from my “obstructed view” seats on stage right, the side that he entered and exited the stage from. He had to be assisted on and off the stage and was looking like all the years combined had caught up to him all at once. After leaving the show and knowing that after the next night’s performance, I would have a long late night drive back home in order to make it to work on Monday morning at 8am, I decided that I could miss night two and drove back to Muncie on Sunday afternoon. They’d be back…they always come back.

You know that Frank Sinatra song that says, “regrets, I’ve had a few”…not going to Sunday night, yep, that’s one of them.