Grateful Dead Reunion Show Hits Snag

MILWAUKEE (Dead.net) - A county highway committee denied a permit to the promoters of a Grateful Dead reunion concert Tuesday, saying the area could not handle the enormous crowd expected.

The Walworth County Highway Committee voted 4-0 to turn down the request by Clear Channel Entertainment to stage "Terrapin Station - A Grateful Dead Family Reunion" Aug. 3-4 in East Troy. "You can imagine the amount of humanity that's going to converge on little old East Troy in Walworth County," said committee chairman Odell R. Gigante. "We only have 80 some sheriff deputies. Short of bringing in the National Guard we just couldn't handle it."

The two-day concert would have been the first time Mickey Hart , Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir staged a concert together since the death of Jerry Garcia , the Dead's leader and founder. Garcia died in 1995 of a heart attack.

Michael Cotter, an attorney for Walworth County, said Clear Channel can appeal the decision. The county would set up another hearing, and Clear Channel could present more evidence on why it deserves the permit. The company also can sue the county for the permission.

A representative who answered the phone Tuesday at Clear Channel in Milwaukee said the company had no comment. "The ball is sort of in their court for what route they choose to take," Cotter said. "I'm sure they are not going to go away quietly."

Dennis McNally, a publicist for Grateful Dead Productions, and Big Hassle Media, the festival's publicist, had no immediate comment.
Gigante said 200,000 were expected at event, but only 35,000 are allowed in the Alpine Valley Music Theatre, about 30 miles southwest of Milwaukee.

The festival took its name from a 1977 Grateful Dead album. The concerts were to feature performances by the four surviving members as a band and also with their separate projects.

During their 30-year history, the Grateful Dead attained a fan base so devoted it reached cultlike status. Some die-hard fans, nicknamed Deadheads, followed the band around the globe for the jam concerts that became the Dead's trademark.