The Dead Shake Up ROTHBURY

© Dave Vann / RumBum.com

The Dead at Rothbury 09

Deadheads flocked to ROTHBURY on Independence Day to the tune of 30,000. Everywhere you looked, and at every show, there were tie-dyed shirts, Grateful Dead patches, The Dead Flags, Dead tattoos, Grateful Dead Face Paint, Dead body paint, and even Grateful Dead super hero costumes. In fact, even The Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson displayed a Grateful Dead patch on the left knee of his jeans during The Crowes earlier set.

The enormous crowd and show of love for The Dead is not surprising when you learn that the three-hour, 45-minute concert The Dead played at ROTHBURY is their only summer date this year. The! Only! One! So as far as Dead concerts go, this one was bigger than a talking pink elephant singing The Dead's greatest hits. It was a mind-blowing end to their 2009 reunion.

The Dead played many of their fans favorites, including "Friend of the Devil," "I Know You Rider," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Franklin's Tower." They also rocked on with some great Dead treasures like "Shakedown Street" and "Loose Lucy." One highlight had to be guitarist Warren Haynes singing the cover of Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic." They also did a few other cover numbers including Bonnie Dobson's "Morning Dew" and Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away."

Early on in the show, guitarist Bob Weir expressed a patriotic quip; he asked the crowd for "a big round of applause for the guys who thought this country up and did something about it."

Many of those in the audience used the show as an opportunity to express themselves freely. Those not dressed in Dead attire or waving an American flag came to the show dressed up in everything from a lamb's head mask and short-shorts to a full body neon green spandex suit. There were many Deadheads wearing nothing but body paint.

Freedom rang at ROTHBURY during The Dead's encore-another highlight of the show. As The Dead performed their classic "US Blues" a top-notch, Independence Day fireworks display complemented the finale of their sets. 

Deadheads continue to be hopeful that The Dead will continue to play shows in the future. And while nothing is official, if this is the show they go out on, The Dead quite literally went out with a bang.

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