This project was done with humor, truth, and sarcasm. At the University of California, Santa Cruz, UCSC, where I went to college, there were many fans of The Grateful Dead. They called themselves Deadheads. I had not heard of the band before attending the school. I listened to the music, and I didn't understand why people felt so passionately about the band. I was intrigued. So in 1986, I decided to try and understand these people and the music they loved, and to create a video of my quest. This documentary project is the result. Enjoy.
Drop out of school to ride with the Merry Pranksters. Form America’s most enduring jam band. Become a family man and father. Never stop chasing the muse. Bob Weir took his own path to and through superstardom as rhythm guitarist for The Grateful Dead. Mike Fleiss re-imagines the whole wild journey in this magnetic rock doc and concert film, with memorable input from bandmates, contemporaries, followers, family, and, of course, the inimitable Bob Weir himself.
The Grateful Dead performs live at Winterland in San Francisco in October 1974.
Set 1: Good Times(Sam Cooke cover) Truckin'(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Smokestack Lightning(Howlin’ Wolf cover) (>) Deal(Jerry Garcia cover) Me and My Uncle(John Phillips cover) Dear Mr. Fantasy(Traffic cover) (>) Hey Jude(The Beatles cover) (coda only) (>) Terrapin Station(Grateful Dead cover) Don't Ease Me In(Henry Thomas cover) Set 2: Eyes of the World(Grateful Dead cover) Shakedown Street(Grateful Dead cover) (>) St. Stephen(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Cumberland Blues(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Milestones(Miles Davis cover) (>) Days Between(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Sugar Magnolia(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Scarlet Begonias(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Sunshine Daydream(Grateful Dead cover) Encore: Going Down the Road Feeling Bad([traditional] cover)
Set 1: Feel Like a Stranger(Grateful Dead cover) Brown-Eyed Women(Grateful Dead cover) Samson and Delilah([traditional] cover) Friend of the Devil(Grateful Dead cover) It Hurts Me Too(Tampa Red cover) Ramble On Rose(Grateful Dead cover) High Time(Grateful Dead cover) Let It Grow(Grateful Dead cover) Set 2: They Love Each Other(Jerry Garcia cover) (1973 version) (>) China Cat Sunflower(Grateful Dead cover) (>) I Know You Rider([traditional] cover) Fire on the Mountain(Grateful Dead cover) (Mickey Hart raps verse 3) (>) The Other One(Grateful Dead cover) (verse 1) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (>) The Eleven(Grateful Dead cover) (>) U.S. Blues(Grateful Dead cover) Morning Dew(Bonnie Dobson cover) Encore: Ripple(Grateful Dead cover)
Set 1 The Music Never Stopped(Grateful Dead cover) Alabama Getaway(Grateful Dead cover) When I Paint My Masterpiece(Bob Dylan cover) Mr. Charlie(Grateful Dead cover) Tennessee Jed(Grateful Dead cover) Dire Wolf(Grateful Dead cover) Bird Song(Jerry Garcia cover) (>) Big Railroad Blues(Cannon’s Jug Stompers cover) Set 2: Sugaree(Jerry Garcia cover) Estimated Prophet(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Scarlet Begonias(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Viola Lee Blues(Cannon’s Jug Stompers cover) (>) Dark Star(Grateful Dead cover) (verse 1) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (with 'New York State of Mind' tease) (>) Cumberland Blues(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Black Peter(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Casey Jones(Grateful Dead cover) Encore: Black Muddy River(Grateful Dead cover)
Set 1: Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo(Grateful Dead cover) Here Comes Sunshine(Grateful Dead cover) Next Time You See Me(Junior Parker cover) Loose Lucy(Grateful Dead cover) (with 'Take Me to the River' tease) Friend of the Devil(Grateful Dead cover) They Love Each Other(Jerry Garcia cover) Lost Sailor(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Saint of Circumstance(Grateful Dead cover) Set 2 Playing in the Band(Bob Weir song) (>) The Wheel(Jerry Garcia cover) (with 'Diamonds on the Soles… more ) St. Stephen(Grateful Dead cover) (> 'William Tell Bridge' >) The Eleven(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Dark Star(Grateful Dead cover) (verse 2) Althea(Grateful Dead cover) Stella Blue(Grateful Dead cover) (>) One More Saturday Night(Bob Weir song)
Set 1: Jam (>) Cassidy (Bob Weir song) (>) Deal (Jerry Garcia cover) Samson and Delilah ([traditional] cover) Friend of the Devil (Grateful Dead cover) It Hurts Me Too (Tampa Red cover) Tennessee Jed (Grateful Dead cover) If I Had the World to Give (Grateful Dead cover) (>) Going Down the Road Feeling Bad ([traditional] cover) Set 2: Althea (Grateful Dead cover) Estimated Prophet (Grateful Dead cover) (>) China Cat Sunflower (Grateful Dead cover) (>) I Know You Rider ([traditional] cover) (>) Eyes of the World (Grateful Dead cover) (>) Drums (Grateful Dead cover) (with Oteil Burbridge) (>) Space (Grateful Dead cover) (>) Terrapin Station (Grateful Dead cover) (>) Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson cover)
Set 1: The Music Never Stopped(Grateful Dead cover) Next Time You See Me(Junior Parker cover) Me and My Uncle(John Phillips cover) Row Jimmy(Grateful Dead cover) Dear Mr. Fantasy(Traffic cover) (>) Hey Jude(The Beatles cover) (coda only) Cassidy(Bob Weir song) Iko Iko(Sugar Boy and His Cane Cutters cover) Set 2: Here Comes Sunshine(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Viola Lee Blues(Cannon’s Jug Stompers cover) (> 'Cissy Strut' jam >) Looks Like Rain(Bob Weir song) (tour debut) (>) China Cat Sunflower(Grateful Dead cover) (>) I Know You Rider([traditional] cover) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (>) The Wheel(Jerry Garcia cover) (>) Wharf Rat(Grateful Dead cover) Casey Jones(Grateful Dead cover) Encore: Touch of Grey(Grateful Dead cover)
The Closing Of Winterland documents the Grateful Dead's landmark New Year's Eve 1978 concert that marked the end of the famed San Francisco Bay Area venue Winterland Aena. The Dead celebrated the closing as an approximately five-hour-long party (complete with breakfast with the audience at dawn) and invited some guests including guitarist John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service and Ken Kesey as well as actor Dan Aykroyd who provided the midnight countdown.
Set 1: Good Times(Sam Cooke cover) Scarlet Begonias(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Deal(Jerry Garcia cover) Black-Throated Wind(Bob Weir song) Dire Wolf(Grateful Dead cover) Bird Song(Jerry Garcia cover) Going Down the Road Feeling Bad([traditional] cover) Set 2: They Love Each Other(Jerry Garcia cover) (>) Terrapin Station(Grateful Dead cover) (>) He's Gone(Grateful Dead cover) (>) The Other One(Grateful Dead cover) (verse 1) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (> 'The Other One' verse 2 >) Days Between(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Turn On Your Love Light(Bobby “Blue” Bland cover) Encore: One More Saturday Night(Bob Weir song)
CBS TV news special hosted by Harry Reasoner explores the way-out world of the Hippies and the Haight-Ashbury psychedelic 1960s LSD scene. Footage of LSDs users experiencing bummer trips. The Diggers, the Oracle and cool street and Golden Gate Park scenes with hippies tripping out. The Grateful Dead are interviewed and are shown performing "Dancin' in the Streets" on a flatbed truck in Golden Gate Park. The Hippie Temptation!
Set 1: Feel Like a Stranger(Grateful Dead cover) Franklin's Tower(Grateful Dead cover) (John Mayer on vocals) Mama Tried(Merle Haggard cover) Alabama Getaway(Grateful Dead cover) (John Mayer on vocals) Dear Mr. Fantasy(Traffic cover) (John and Bob shared vocals) (>) Hey Jude(The Beatles cover) (Coda) (everyone on vocals) Truckin'(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Deal(Jerry Garcia cover) (John Mayer on vocals) Set 2: Scarlet Begonias(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Fire on the Mountain(Grateful Dead cover) (Oteil on vocals) Estimated Prophet(Grateful Dead cover) (with 'Get Up, Stand Up' by The Wailers tease) (>) Eyes of the World(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (with Oteil) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (>) All Blues(Miles Davis cover) (>) Cumberland Blues(Grateful Dead cover) (Bob and John shared vocals) (>) All Along the Watchtower(Bob Dylan cover) Morning Dew(Bonnie Dobson cover) Encore: Brokedown Palace(Grateful Dead cover) (Bob and John shared vocals)
Set 1: Bertha(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Good Lovin'(The Rascals cover) (>) Loser(Jerry Garcia cover) High Time(Grateful Dead cover) (Oteil vocals) Samson and Delilah([traditional] cover) Althea(Grateful Dead cover) Dear Mr. Fantasy(Traffic cover) (>) Hey Jude(The Beatles cover) (coda only) (>) Bird Song(Jerry Garcia cover) Set 2: Help on the Way(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Slipknot!(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Franklin's Tower(Grateful Dead cover) Estimated Prophet(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Eyes of the World(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (with Oteil on banjo bass and… more ) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Days Between(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Cumberland Blues(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Sugar Magnolia(Grateful Dead cover) Encore: Truckin'(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Brokedown Palace(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Not Fade Away(The Crickets cover) (Reprise from 7/14)
The tale of the Grateful Dead is inspiring, complicated, and downright messy. A tribe of contrarians, they made art out of open-ended chaos and inadvertently achieved success on their own terms. Never-before-seen footage and interviews offer this unprecedented and unvarnished look at the life of the Dead.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Grateful Dead, the "core four" original members - Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir - reunited at Chicago's Soldier Field on July 3rd, 4th and 5th for the most anticipated concerts in recent history. Joined by Trey Anastasio, Jeff Chimenti, and Bruce Hornsby. Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years Of Grateful Dead is the original members' last-ever performance together nearly 20 years to the day of the last ever Grateful Dead concert with Jerry Garcia, which took place at the same historic venue.
Set 1: Bertha(Grateful Dead cover) New Speedway Boogie(Grateful Dead cover) Cold Rain and Snow(Obray Ramsey cover) Jack Straw(Grateful Dead cover) Althea(Grateful Dead cover) Playing in the Band(Bob Weir song) (Followed by weather delay) Set 2: Uncle John's Band(Grateful Dead cover) (Preceded by 'Playing in the Band' continuation) Help on the Way(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Slipknot!(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Franklin's Tower(Grateful Dead cover) (>) He's Gone(Grateful Dead cover) (>) The Other One(Grateful Dead cover) (verse 2) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Standing on the Moon(Grateful Dead cover) (>) All Along the Watchtower(Bob Dylan cover) (with Dave Matthews) (Dave on acoustic) (>) Not Fade Away(The Crickets cover) (with Dave Matthews) (Dave on acoustic) E: Knockin' on Heaven's Door(Bob Dylan cover) (with Dave Matthews) (Dave on acoustic) The Weight(The Band cover) (with Dave Matthews) (Dave on acoustic)
Set 1: New Speedway Boogie (Grateful Dead cover) They Love Each Other (Jerry Garcia cover) Mama Tried (Merle Haggard cover) Easy Wind (Grateful Dead cover) Ramble On Rose (Grateful Dead cover) Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic cover) (>) Hey Jude (The Beatles cover) Bird Song (Jerry Garcia cover) Set 2: Sugaree (Jerry Garcia cover) St. Stephen (Grateful Dead cover) (>) William Tell Bridge (Grateful Dead cover) (>) The Eleven (Grateful Dead cover) Iko Iko (Sugar Boy and His Cane Cutters cover) (>) Drums (Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space (Grateful Dead cover) (>) I Need a Miracle (Grateful Dead cover) (>) Wharf Rat (Grateful Dead cover) Casey Jones (Grateful Dead cover) Encore: Black Muddy River (Grateful Dead cover)
Set 1: Good Times(Sam Cooke cover) (Cover of Grateful Dead's… more ) Hell in a Bucket(Grateful Dead cover) It Hurts Me Too(Tampa Red cover) Jack Straw(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Big Railroad Blues(Cannon’s Jug Stompers cover) (>) Cassidy(Bob Weir song) They Love Each Other(Jerry Garcia cover) (1973 version) (>) Turn On Your Love Light(Bobby “Blue” Bland cover) Set 2: Deal(Jerry Garcia cover) (>) Playing in the Band(Bob Weir song) (>) The Other One(Grateful Dead cover) (verse 1) (>) Terrapin Station(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (> 'Unusual Occurrences in… more ) Uncle John's Band(Grateful Dead cover) (> 'Playing in the Band'… more ) Morning Dew(Bonnie Dobson cover) Encore: Ripple(Grateful Dead cover)
Set 1: Hell in a Bucket(Grateful Dead cover) Sugaree(Jerry Garcia cover) Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Mr. Charlie(Grateful Dead cover) Friend of the Devil(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Lost Sailor(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Saint of Circumstance(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Big Railroad Blues(Cannon’s Jug Stompers cover) Set 2: Samson and Delilah([traditional] cover) Playing in the Band(Bob Weir song) (>) Help on the Way(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Slipknot!(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Franklin's Tower(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Death Don't Have No Mercy(Reverend Gary Davis cover) Throwing Stones(Grateful Dead cover) Sugar Magnolia(Grateful Dead cover) Encore: Werewolves of London(Warren Zevon cover) (> 'Playing in the Band' reprise)
Set 1: Cassidy(Bob Weir song) Brown-Eyed Women(Grateful Dead cover) I Need a Miracle(Grateful Dead cover) Here Comes Sunshine(Grateful Dead cover) Tennessee Jed(Grateful Dead cover) China Doll(Grateful Dead cover) Viola Lee Blues(Cannon’s Jug Stompers cover) The Music Never Stopped(Grateful Dead cover) Set 2: New Speedway Boogie(Grateful Dead cover) Dark Star(Grateful Dead cover) (verse 1) (>) The Other One(Grateful Dead cover) (verse 1) (>) Terrapin Station(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Drums(Grateful Dead cover) (>) Space(Grateful Dead cover) (> Jam (theme mashing up… more ) Black Peter(Grateful Dead cover) Casey Jones(Grateful Dead cover) One More Saturday Night(Bob Weir song)