Dead Reunite For Obama

10/15/08 11:24am

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

The four surviving members of the Grateful Dead took to the stage for the first time since their 2004 reunion tour to play a show in support of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday night.

Guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann played Obama's "Change Rocks" fundraiser at Penn State University. Kreutzmann did not join the other three members at an earlier "Deadheads For Obama" fundraiser that they played on Feb. 4.

"I believe [Obama] enough to be able to get up in front of my constituency, these people out there, and tell them 'I believe,'" Hart told The Associated Press. "That's really important. The Grateful Dead does not take this lightly. We've never really done something quite like this."

The Allman Brothers opened the show, and Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes joined the Dead on guitar, while Ratdog And The Dead (the moniker that the Grateful Dead used after singer Jerry Garcia passed away in 1995) member Jeff Chimenti provided keyboards.

"We're all deeply into this, into Barack Obama and the thought of taking this country back in some shape or form, what's left of it," Hart told Rollingstone.com. "It's probably one thing we can all agree on."

Rollingstone.com also reports that the set included such Dead classics as "Truckin'," "Dark Star," "St. Stephen" and a medley of "Help On The Way/Slipknot!/Franklin's Tower."

Police were also apparently kept busy at the show. Penn State police Lieut. Jason Zajac told State College, Penn.'s Centre Daily Times newspaper that the university's police reported over 24 drug-related incidents during and after the show.

According to the paper, there were a few alcohol related incidents, along with the usual people caught hucking pot brownies, smoking marijuana and hash and dropping acid. But three people were also caught inhaling nitrous oxide from tanks and balloons in their vehicles. Keep on truckin', indeed.