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.

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This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 1 – December 31, 1978The storyteller makes no choice

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 1 – December 31, 1978

The storyteller makes no choice

The Grateful Dead were famous for their New Year’s shows, and played twenty-one times at the stroke of midnight on December 31, at six different venues, all in the Bay Area. Six of those shows took place at the Winterland Ballroom, an erstwhile ice skating rink which became a storied rock music venue with a capacity of some 5000. Sadly, Winterland was shuttered in 1979, but not until one final concert had taken place. For reasons ranging from its eight-hour length, to the line-up that included the Blues Brothers and the New Riders of the Purple Sage, to the almost-six-hour DVD – The Closing of Winterland – that was made to commemorate the event, this was easily the most famous of the Dead’s New Year’s shows, and the Deadhead Cyclist’s choice for T.W.I.G.D.H., as well as the best New Year’s Eve show of all time.

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This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 29 - July 18, 1976The work of his day

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 29 - July 18, 1976

The work of his day

After an interminable hiatus in 1975 (and by “hiatus” I mean 4 Dead concerts, numerous recording sessions, the release of the Blues For Allah album, and plenty of shows by Kingfish, Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders, and the other splinter groups that performed that year), the boys (and the girl) finally hit the road for a summer tour in June of ’76. After 17 shows in Boston, New York, Passaic, NJ, Upper Darby, PA and Chicago, the summer revival continued with 6 wonderful shows at the 2200-seat Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. The last of these concerts, 7/18/76, was a clear choice for T.W.I.G.D.H.

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This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 24 - June 9, 1977If you plant ice

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 24 - June 9, 1977

If you plant ice

Franklin’s Tower was first performed at Winterland on June 17, 1975. As was most often the case – inclusive of the studio version on the 1975 release, Blues for Allah – the tune was the exclamation point on the seminal Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklin’s Tower medley that leads off and occupies most of Side 1 of that album. Franklin’s Tower was found in the Dead’s setlist six times during the Spring ’77 tour, culminating in arguably their best performance to date, as part of this week’s pick for T.W.I.G.D.H., June 9, 1977, also at Winterland.

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Stew Sallo, A.K.A., The Deadhead Cyclist

Stew Sallo is the author of the book, The Deadhead Cyclist, and founder/owner of Boulder Weekly, an award-winning alternative weekly in its 33th year of publication in print and online at BoulderWeekly.com. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz, he cut his teeth as a publisher in Santa Cruz for 10 years before relocating to Boulder to start the Boulder Weekly. He has been a Deadhead since the summer of 1974, attended his first Grateful Dead concert at Winterland in San Francisco on October 19, 1974, and has since been to some 200 Grateful Dead concerts. Stew is an avid mountain biker, plays competitive baseball on three teams in his home state of Colorado, and travels each year to play tournament baseball in California, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, South Dakota and Florida. In 2003, Stew founded the classic rock band, Hindsight. Stew lives in Boulder, CO with his wife of 26 years. He has two daughters and two grandsons.

All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo