Life lessons on two wheels to the tunes of the
Grateful Dead
Robert Hall Weir, né Parber,
October 16, 1947 – January 10, 2026
Let the words be yours, I’m done with mine.
I first saw Bob Weir on October 19, 1974 with the Grateful Dead at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. I last saw Bob Weir on June 14, 2024 as a member of Dead & Company at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Over the course of almost 50 years, it was my privilege to see Bobby perform countless times as a member of the Grateful Dead, Kingfish, Ratdog, the Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur, Dead & Company, the Weir Robinson & Greene Acoustic Trio, and probably others that I have failed to remember.
Other Posts
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 3 – January 17, 1979
And the seeds that were silent
The Grateful Dead rarely toured during January, and understandably so. After their traditional year-end multiple night stands, the band was more inclined to grab some well-deserved “R & R” than to hit the road during the first few weeks of the year. One notable exception took place in ’79, when the Dead played nineteen shows throughout the East Coast and Midwest before returning home to punctuate the tour at the good old Oakland Coliseum. Along the way was an appearance with a unique story at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven CT, on 1/17/79, my choice for T.W.I.G.D.H. (This Week In Grateful Dead History).
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 7 - February 13-14, 1970
All I said was, “Come on in.”
In 1974, around the same time I became a Deadhead, I came across a wonderful little book which made a permanent impression on me, called, “How to Make Your Life Work or Why Aren’t You Happy?” At the time, I found the central message in this book so compelling that I have retained it over several decades and used it as a life-guiding principle. This now-obscure book was a collaborative effort that featured the work of Ken Keyes (as opposed to Ken Kesey), a prominent countercultural figure, the author of 15 books (including the Handbook to Higher Consciousness) selling millions of copies, and the creator of the Living Love self-help system.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 28 - July 8, 1978
Sometimes we live
When a band has played more than 2300 shows, it’s hard to imagine that any one of them would achieve legendary status. But there are certain Grateful Dead concerts that firmly fit into that category. For starters there’s little disagreement that 5/8/77 at Cornell University’s Barton Hall would be on such a list; the 12/31/78 Closing of Winterland comes to mind; 2/27/69 at the Fillmore West – from which the epic, Side 1-long Dark Star on the Live Dead album was derived – would have to be included; the Great American Music Hall show on 8/13/75 is an obvious choice; 5/26/72 at London’s Lyceum Theater, the final date of the Europe ’72 tour, has been immortalized on the album of the same name; and more recently, the 12/15/86 show at the Oakland Coliseum arena – the Dead’s first performance in more than 5 months after Jerry Garcia collapsed in a diabetic coma on July 10 of that year and almost died – easily deserves such distinction.
All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo