On the day of July 9, 1995, the Grateful Dead played the second and final night of their tour-closing run at Chicago’s Soldier Field featuring an opening performance from The Band. The show marked the completion of a long and winding spring/summer tour, a run throughout which lead guitarist Jerry Garcia seemed to many like a shell of his former self.
Once again, he was beleaguered by addiction—this time in front of huge, stadium-sized venues packed to the brim with excited fans. Garcia struggled through equipment difficulties all night, eventually having to replace his “Rosebud” guitar with his older “Tiger.” According to Bob Weir in his Netflix documentary The Other One, he and Garcia shared some short but sweet words as they walked offstage: “Always a hoot,” Garcia said, “Always a hoot.” Exactly one month later, on August 9th, 1995, Jerry Garcia passed away, his heart finally giving out after years of hard living and declining health. July 9th, 1995 at Soldier Field became the Grateful Dead’s final show.
Presented here for your bidding consideration is an original ticket stub that was used to gain entry to the fateful final concert. The stub exhibits some jagged edges on the left side from where the venue portion was torn off during entry, but stands in otherwise fine condition. Authenticated and encapsulated by PSA/DNA.