Furthur and Furthur

After weeks (months?) of misspelling the band's name, the two-day Furthur concert finally arrived at MCU Park this weekend.  Phil Lesh and Bob Weir -- of Grateful Dead fame -- brought their new band to the ballpark, and brought two nights of sold-out crowds with them!

I have to admit, I came into this with some negative bias.  My only experience with the Grateful Dead involved my college baseball coach blaring endless jam tapes for 12 hours straight as we drove 35 guys in two 15-passenger vans (do the math) to Nowheresville, North Carolina for our spring trip while I tried to drown Jerry Garcia & Co. out with Metallica or Tupac on my headphones and not think too hard about my non-teammate friends enjoying themselves on a beach in Cancun.  So, you could say I was decidedly not a Deadhead.

The concert at the ballpark was pretty cool, though.  I worked on Sunday night, and heard Saturday was just as good.  A completely different crowd of people in the ballpark, and a very unique vibe.

Furthur clearly touched all the people who were here.  The mass of people on the floor, in the seats, and on the concourse was dancing and singing (and dancing some more) for over four straight hours!  They were having a great time, and were all so passionate and energetic about the music it was almost impossible not to enjoy yourself, no matter what your musical taste.  For Furthur/Dead fans, it was a little bit of heaven.

Check out some pictures:

When all was said and done, almost 25,000 people saw the two shows, and made it a truly unforgettable experience at the ballpark.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who attended.  Stay tuned for more great events at MCU Park all summer!

-- Dave