Tomorrow my Father-In-Law (henceforth known as FIL) and I
fly to the Second City to catch, what seems to be the last time that the “Core
Four” of the Grateful Dead will play a concert together. With two shows in the books during their warm
up in Santa Clara, California, the Dead, with help from Trey Anastasio (lead
guitarist of Phish) and Bruce Hornsby (lead keyboardist for Bruce Hornsby),
will take the stage at Soldier Field, Chicago, one last time, July 3, 4 and 5 (you have 3
last chances!). To say that I’m excited
is a ridiculous understatement. And,
what’s best is that, in addition to FIL, I’ll be flying/catching the show with
some fantastic friends Emkay and Eekay (OK?) and Chef Paul, who are all on the
same page with regards to the aforementioned excitement and appreciation for
the music.
That said, according to the Chicago Tribune, the Grateful
Dead shows have made Chicago the Nation’s top July 4th travel
destination. Siting Orbitz Worldwide
data, the Tribune has shown that hotel bookings are up 122% from last year
during the same time, and that hotel rates, due to demand, are up 77% averaging
$340/night! The venue is expecting
70,000 fans each night…but that figure doesn’t include the pilgrimage some of
the ticket-less are making just to be part of the scene. I would guess that the number of people in
Chi-town for Dead-related business will be close to 200,000. Most of the clubs and smaller venues have
booked bands that would complement the genre that the Grateful Dead cater to
for shows after the official shows.
Chicago is going to be a hippie madhouse!
And, while the music will be the focus…the scene will be
frigging amazing. The Chicago Field
Museum has made a place for a Grateful Dead Exhibit, with banners off the front
of the building showing two T-Rex skeletons, all wearing wreaths of roses and
cutting a rug.
The Congress Hotel is doing a PhanArt show of dead-inspired
art and posters. Stan’s Donuts in
uptown, promises psychedelic donuts. The
Labriola Ristorante will be serving “Magic Mushroom” pizza (sans
hallucinogens). Shake Shack is debuting “The
Jam Band” which will have vanilla custard swirled with lemon curd and raspberry
jam. And, there will be an “Oasis in the
Lot,” honoring the art of Stanley Mouse known for his quintessential psychedelic
album and poster art for the Dead and many other bands.
Basically, this place is going to be rockin. Calls of “Cash for your extra” and “I need a
miracle” will echo down the streets.
High fives and peace signs will be prevalent. Me? I’m
excited to see Chicago through this lens, a city I’ve never visited
before. From the moment we board the
plane to the flight home, I’ll have that ear-to-ear grin, just taking it all
in. So happy that FIL urged me to put in
for tickets. Even happier that FIL and I
will be there together…a couple of dudes who need to let their proverbial hair
down after a rough year. As tickets,
airfare, and hotel are covered…once quitting time hits today, I’ll have nothing
to do but smile, smile, smile.
No comments:
Post a Comment