Incredible Demand For Grateful Dead Farewell Tickets, 60,000 Requests Mailed To Stinson Beach Address
STINSON BEACH (KPIX 5) – For an American institution that loved to keep things loose and easy, saying goodbye to the Grateful Dead is proving to be very hard work, and it all started when the promoters went old school.
"When they did the mail order - I mean, what a lovely touch," Grateful Dead fan Jeffrey Alexander told KPIX5.
Fans would send perfectly completed index cards and postal money orders to an address in Stinson Beach.
"I spoke with the ticket lady who admitted that before the announcement they said, 'Do you think anybody will order 5,000? 10,000 envelopes?'" former Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally recalled.
They ended up getting more than 60,000 requests.
"Truly stunning - they literally had tens of millions of dollars come crashing through the Stinson Beach post office," McNally said.
For Deadheads who tried mail order, the odds were long.
When Ticketmaster put the remaining seats on sale Saturday morning, half a million people found themselves staring at their screens, saying the shows were sold out. Every single seat in Soldier Field, for three nights, was gone in an hour.
On the secondary market, tickets run from expensive to insane. In fact, the lowest single ticket price for just one show is $600, and that comes with an obstructed view.
"They are the ultimate American band. Americana, to me," Alexander said.
Vintage Americana, headed for a final chapter - bittersweetly called "Fare Thee Well."