Grateful Dead: Ticket to New Year's Eve Concert

Director: Len dell'Amico Len dell'Amico

Overview

They used to say "There's nothing like a Grateful Dead concert," but this video offers the next best thing -- two and a half hours of the Dead onstage at Oakland Coliseum on New Year's Eve, as they stretch out (as only the Dead could) on such songs as Bertha, Uncle John's Band, The Music Never Stopped and Hell In A Bucket.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/12/2013
UPC:	0826663138382
Original Release:	1987
Source:	Shout Factory
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	2:25:00
Sales rank:	34,648

Special Features

Visible Lyrics Option; Bios ; Special "Dead Facts" fan quiz!

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jerry Garcia	Performer
Grateful Dead	Primary Artist
Mickey Hart	Performer
Bill Kreutzmann	Performer
Phil Lesh	Performer
Brent Mydland	Performer
Bob Weir	Performer

Technical Credits

Editorial Reviews

Prior to being issued in the VHS and DVD home video formats, this New Year's Eve performance -- featuring the Grateful Dead and special guests the Neville Brothers -- was simulcast as a pay-per-view event for North American cable and closed-circuit television subscribers. The video festivities also included several surreal skits featuring bandmembers -- such as a cooking segment with Jerry Garcia or Mickey Hart as Star Trek''s Mr. Spock. However, as always, the main impetus is the music. Included on Ticket to New Year's are two of the three full-length sets that the Grateful Dead performed on December 31, 1987/January 1, 1988, at the Oakland Coliseum Arena as well as the "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" encore -- which also features contributions from the Neville Brothers. The Grateful Dead were at the height of their popularity in the mid- to late '80s, having come off of their biggest (and only) Top Ten hit, "Touch of Grey." The band's symbiotic relationship with their audience is evident through their consistently stellar performances during this era. This show is no exception. They mix old favorites such as "Bertha," "Uncle John's Band," and "Wharf Rat" with newer material from In the Dark (1987) -- including a pair from Bob Weir ("Hell in a Bucket" and "Throwin' Stones") as well as the rarely played Garcia track "When Push Comes to Shove." While the entire show is pulled off with considerable aplomb, the unabashed highlight is the extended "Lady With a Fan"/"Terrapin Station" suite. All of the various elements flawlessly coalesce into an inspired reading so perfunctory that the band incorporated much of this exact performance footage into their So Far (1988) home video. Inclined enthusiasts will find much to enjoy and revisit in this audio-visual time capsule. [Ticket to New Year's was released on DVD in 2103.] ~ Lindsay Planer