For Grateful Dead’s Final Shows, Long, Strange Trip Ends in Sea of Mail
Band’s Fans Go Retro to Snag Tickets; Psychedelic Envelopes
By MIKE AYERS and JARRARD COLE
Feb. 13, 2015 7:32 p.m. ET
STINSON BEACH, Calif.—Time has always been elastic for Grateful Dead fans in thrall to tunes that last more than 45 minutes and shows that go on for hours.
So when the group announced it would mark its 50th anniversary in the summer of 2015 with three final performances, Deadheads took the old-school route, flooding the band’s ticket service here with handcrafted requests rather than clicking online.
Since the shows were announced a month ago more than 60,000 envelopes—many painstakingly adorned with the Dead’s typical psychedelic skulls and skeletons—have poured into a post office box in this picturesque Marin County spot…. Jim Harvey, Stinson Beach postmaster, said of the vivid No. 10 envelopes…. “It indicated that the Grateful Dead culture is alive and well.”
For some Deadheads, requesting tickets by mail was a trip down memory lane. For others, like Josh Brady, a 33-year old.., it was a new experience. “[I]t’s fun to do the old-school mail order.”
Scott K Fish 