The Grateful Dead Back Barack Obama

Jerry Garcia has been dead for over a decade. Over the years, four keyboardists have even succumbed to "The Grateful Dead Curse". But it may come as a surprise to some of you that "The Grateful Dead" is still around and their music is just as popular as ever before. The surviving members play festivals and concerts quite frequently, either with brand new backing bands and all new, original material, or making appearances playing personal versions of classic "Grateful Dead" tunes how they remember them. But very rarely do the surviving members play together on the same stage at the same time.

Indeed it takes something big to bring the original 4 surviving members of the psychedelic era's most popular group back together again, and Barack Obama is it. In February of 2008, 3 of the 4; Phil Lesh on bass, guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart, played a show at The Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, California dubbed "Deadheads for Obama".

This marked the first time in 4 years that the trio had played using the moniker "The Dead" - they have also appeared with a changing lineup in a group called "The Other Ones". But the psychedelic super-group has announced yet another show; this one is also set to benefit the Presidential campaign of Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Set to take place on October 13th at The Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania, the group has most recently been updated to include the 4th original surviving member, drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Plans for a tour in April and May of 2009 have also been announced, though no details have been finalized at the moment.

Diehard fans of The Grateful Dead's music have mixed reactions to this. Some of them are undoubtedly angry and feel betrayed that the group is now playing their music for a political cause. For the most part however, fans are anxious to see the group get back together again and hear the upbeat, thought provoking and inspiring songs that we have come to love over the years.

If you plan on catching a show or two on this tour, you'd better be quick. Performances by The Dead are rare, and there is no telling when or even if they will tour again after this. There is no doubt in my mind that tickets will sell out quickly for every venue they play, as old Deadheads and new fans alike all scramble for tickets.