Jay Cridlin: TAMPA — Minutes after midnight, Uncle John’s Band closes another sprawling set at Skipper’s Smokehouse with the Grateful Dead’s U.S. Blues, drawing cheers from the tie-dyed faithful.
Bassist Mike Edwards deflates into a stoop at stage right, wincing, rubbing his hip and his head. He fingers a cigarette as giddy fans share kudos.
“That was a long four hours,” he says, limping off stage.
The hours are all long these days, but Uncle John’s Band keeps rolling. This was the Grateful Dead tribute act’s 850th gig at Skipper’s. But for Edwards, the group’s sole remaining founder, their gigs this weekend will top them all.
Friday through Sunday, for the first and last time, Uncle John’s Band will finally cross paths with the band they so faithfully honor. The Grateful Dead’s four core surviving members — Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart — are reuniting for three star-studded, 50th anniversary farewell concerts at Soldier Field in Chicago. Each day, Uncle John’s Band will headline a four-hour pre-show party at the Field Museum just across the street.
It would be a tasty gig for any tribute band. But for Edwards — a Deadhead lifer who has seen the band live about 95 times, more than all other members of Uncle John’s Band combined — Chicago represents something greater. It’s the culmination of a life in service of the band that shaped his identity.
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