This weekend I made a quick trip to Chicago for Dead & Company back to back nights at Wrigley.
Friday night I had a pit ticket, and Saturday night I had a ticket up in the second deck (section 204).
Friday I got there at open, grabbed a shirt, and found a spot on the left of the stage, which was a mistake. Jeff's setup really blocks a lot of the view from that side, so at set break I switched sides and the view was much better. It was a great show and a ton of fun. On the way out I actually ran into a guy from home. Small world.
Night 1 highlights: Deal, Brown Eyed Women, Terrapin, Stella Blue
Saturday I got a little mischievous.
After experiencing the pit I could not stomach 204 and being that far away. Wrigley has a weird system where you go into one specific entry if you are GA, but they don't give you a wristband right there. You have to go to another booth to get that, and it's set up in the concourse where everyone is. On Saturday night they also had a two step process at that booth. You scanned your ticket at the back of the line, then went into an area that was barricaded with those half height metal barricades, and at the front of that area you got your wristband. Well I am hanging out just, I don't know, praying a wristband flies through the air, when I hear a guy tell his friend "Have you figured out the loop hole? Two of the barricades aren't connected. There is a gap!" Well I proceed to watch his friend slip through the gap and something in my usual rule follower brain screamed "GO! GO! GO!" So I slipped in the gap, right next to a group of four guys who see me and said "Hell yeah! Come here buddy!" They fist bumped me and put me in the middle of their group so it looked like I was with them and was simply catching up. We talk about Fridays show, get to the front of the line, I stick out my wrist, and I get a wrist band! We walk out a ways and they tell me "That was awesome! Have a great night!" and we go our separate ways
Learning from Friday, I set up on the right side this time. I also didn't leave to pee anytime so got to move up a bit during set break. Saturday night was even better. The crowd just had so much more energy and the set list was blistering!
Night 2 highlights: Watchtower straight into Bertha, Help On The Way>Slipknot>Franklin, Brokedown Palace
Sad they are wrapping this thing up, as I've really become a big fan since my first show in The Woodlands in 2021, but a great weekend all around!