I’m an old guy, I have been an activist much of my life and
during my years of being a “professional student”, I followed The Grateful Dead
around between 1978 and 1990, almost without fail, on almost every single tour,
it didn’t matter if I had tickets or money or permission or anything, it’s just
what I did to enjoy my more youthful years. Like everyone, I was excited about
this 50th anniversary performance, I did/do have concerns for the
wellbeing of those going to Chicago but when the Ticket Master and Stub Hub debacle
started erupting this week, I was blown away by the audacity of someone re-selling
tickets for such outrageous prices! Never, in all my years of touring, would I
pay more for a ticket to the show. I might chip in a little extra because the
dude I scored the ticket from had to bail out his old lady or something, but
like trading tapes, it was a “honor among hippies” and we didn’t rape each
other on ticket prices. There were scoundrels, always scalpers who tried to get
me to buy a ticket for more than face value…but every time, every single time,
it was like a game of chicken. I stood there, the fans disappear, the show
started and the scalper is selling me the ticket for less than face value.
So that’s my suggestion, play chicken with the assholes,
start telling everyone to hold off as long as possible to NOT BUY TICKETS…but
make plans to be there, wait for it because in a game of chicken verse money,
they’ll start lowering prices fast come the middle of June! These people are
scum bags and they will play your emotions for every penny they can get, but
your job, what you need to do is stand strong in the Love We Share and NOT BUY
STEAL YOUR FACE VALUE TICKETS! I know it’s really hard to do, right? I mean,
who fucking does not want to be there and hey, if you can swing the price of
even one show…you might enjoy the show, but the bastard who walked away with
your over-inflated cash thinks you’re a fool! Don’t let them win, make them
think they won’t get a high return on their investment scam…or else let people
like 1%, the elite…Hey, you know, Kanye West is from Chicago, think he’ll buy a
million dollar ticket. Yep, he would. Good for him? Nope, just shows what an
idiot he is again and he’ll jump on stage to rip the mic from Bobby or Trey…but
hey, for a million bucks a ticket, that’s the clientele you’ll get, right?
Look, I’m really not to tell anyone what to do or how to deal with this
situation. This very kind of issue is what kept me away from those last 5 years
(I started following Phish because nobody really knew them yet). I don’t even
plan on going to this event, I moved FROM Chicago back to Northern California
and I’ve never enjoyed ANY ROCK & ROLL show at Soldier’s Field (this
includes Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and The Grateful Dead
on several occasions), so who the fuck am I to say shit, I get that, I dig that
and you’re right, I don’t have any reason to say shit. But it’s so sad, it’s
such a pathetic situation and very unfair to MILLIONS of Deadheads around the
world…and that’s what I do, I fucking say something when I see how wrong it is
and this, dear friendly readers, is very wrong. Please think before you sink
hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars to a ticket for a show…for a fucking
rock and roll show, it’s not even really The Grateful Dead, it’s four original
members only. Shit, if I was going to pay a $1,000 for a ticket to see The
Grateful Dead, they fucking better have re-animated Jerry Garcia and Brett
Myland!
Okay, so that’s it…I was compelled to write this, even
though it’s out of the rotation of my typical publishing schedule. This is the
last article I will write about this entire event and since we’re still at a
stagger 14 signatures on the petition, I’ll kill that and the entire #splitapple2015
concept has gone as far as I intend to carry it; it’s been circulated to Peter
Shapiro, the promoter for “Fare Thee Well”, it’s been shared with both local
radio (WXRT) and The House of Blues and I passed through my backdoor channels
to GDP, so it’s out there as best I can get it…if somebody decided to get
behind this concept, I do have some detailed plans and outlines I’d gladly
share for free. I would offer my services to host the event too, but for all
intent and purpose, in the daily life I live, the idea is dead. I have many
other things to get busy on too, like promoting my current book (“My BiPolarReality; How Life Goes On…”) and working on the first draft of my next book
which is about Spirituality, Mental Illness and Music.
Naturally I love this
on-line community and the delightful interactions we all have, so I hope I’ve
not stepped on any toes, bruised any feelings or said something a bit too
insensitive, please forgive me, it’s not me, it’s my mind! This week is barely
half over and I have been so swamped with business shit, it’s driving me mad! I
am in communication, on the phone/skype thing, with some people in both London
and Tokyo, the time shift paradigm is getting to me quickly! I have several
other articles in the works for the weeks ahead, most of them are related to
the book, but I’m starting to get a bit agitated with the growing signs of
anarchy that seem to be “cracking through” the thin fabric of our collective
reality. In the meanwhile, if you think this is a good article, I am very
Grateful if you’d please share it, re-post it and get people thinking and
talking about this idea…or not, it doesn’t matter much to me.
As always, I
sincerely wish everyone a very safe, healthy and content week! I’ll try to stay
in touch, but no promises…this is March and it seems to stepping all the hell
over me!
Peace,
d’Philip
3 March 2015
San Joaquin Valley,
Republic of California
