The Dead play on despite Chicago stage collapse, add West Coast dates

On what would have been Jerry Garcia's 62nd birthday, an unusually strong wind collapsed part of a stage near Chicago on Friday (8/1), threatening Saturday's concert by the late Garcia's former bandmates The Dead and Bob Dylan.

The concert start time was delayed, but the show went on, albeit without the psychedelic light show usually projected on a backdrop behind the band, according to press reports. The only reported casualty of the incident was the planned opening set by moe.

Saturday's concert marked the mid-point in the eight-show co-headline run for Dylan and The Dead, the first time the two acts have performed together since touring together in the late '80s. The pairing comes with an unusual "No Taping" stipulation for Bob Dylan's portion of the show. As stated on the official Dead website, "While you can bring in your tape gear, you will not be allowed to set up or tape during Bob Dylan's set. If you are caught taping during his set, your gear will be confiscated!"

That limitation falls away when Dylan leaves the tour and The Dead continue on their own for a pair of shows at New York's Jones Beach Theater on Aug. 9 and 10, for which the band is promising special 3-set shows that will include an acoustic set each night.

From there, the tour has been extended into September to work in a West Coast leg, hitting Irvine, CA; Mountain View, CA; and The Gorge near Seattle, WA. At press time, tickets for the new dates had just gone on sale.