NASHVILLE |DATE: OCTOBER 14, 2008
FROM: TODD BRODGINSKI/MITCH SCHNEIDER/ANGELA VILLANUEVA
The DEAD
Reunite For Senator Barack Obama Benefit Last Night
At Sold-Out Penn State University Concert
The DEAD reunited last night (Monday, October 13) for the first time in four years, thrilling a sold-out crowd of devoted fans when they performed in State College, PA. The “Change Rocks” concert, which also featured the Allman Brothers Band, was held at the 15,000-capacity Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State University to raise awareness for Senator Barack Obama and the upcoming November 4 election.
Original Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart were joined throughout the whole show by Jeff Chimenti on keyboards and Allman Brothers Band/Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes. They tore through a 15-song, two-hour set that included such Dead classics as “U.S. Blues,” “Franklin's Tower,” “Playin' In The Band,” “Dark Star,” “St. Stephen” and “Touch of Grey.” The crowd–a mix of college students, longtime Deadheads and Barack Obama supporters–were on their feet from the first notes of show opener “Truckin,’” through the psychedelic explorations of “Dark Star,” to the end of “Not Fade Away,” the night’s closer.
In a video-taped message shown between sets, Senator Obama told the audience:
“For twenty months, I’ve been traveling this country from town to town-even developing a ‘Touch of Grey’ of my own. And on that journey, I’ve seen Americans who are hurting under the politics and policies of Washington. They need change, and I am running for President to bring about that change.
“On November 4th, you’ll get to make a choice between two different candidates with two dramatically different visions for our future. You’ll get to choose which direction you want to take our country. I believe that now is the time to put Americans back to work and rebuild our middle class; to live up to the promise of affordable health care for everyone; to guarantee a quality education for all our children; to end our dependence on Middle East oil; and to bring this war in Iraq to a responsible end. We can do all that. And on November 5th, I hope to announce that we ‘Ain’t Wasting Time No More.’”
The Grammy-winning, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band–founded as the Grateful Dead in 1965–last performed in 2004 on their “Wave That Flag” tour. In February of this year, Hart, Lesh and Weir played a “Deadheads For Obama” show at the Warfield in their native San Francisco, and last year Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart performed at a post-inauguration for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
For more information on the Dead, go to www.dead.net.
Here’s the whole set list:
Truckin’
U.S. Blues
Help on the Way
Slipknot
Franklin's Tower
Playin' In The Band
Dark Star
St. Stephen
Unbroken Chain
Other One
Throwin’ Stones
Playin’ In The Band (Reprise)
Encore:
Touch of Grey
Not Fade Away
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THE DEAD REUNITE FOR SENATOR BARACK OBAMA BENEFIT LAST NIGHT AT SOLD-OUT PENN STATE UNIVERSITY CONCERT
