| | |  | Music & Musicals | Home » » The Grateful Dead - Ticket to New Year's | | | | | | | Description: | | One of the saddest times for Deadheads since the death of Jerry Garcia is New Year's Eve. The Dead's legendary performances in the Bay Area ushered in a couple of decades worth of new years, and even if you couldn't make it, it was comforting to know the band was carrying on the tradition. Well, that tradition is gone, but there's a video experience that comes pretty darn close--The Grateful Dead: Ticket to New Year's, taped on New Year's Eve 1987 at the Oakland Coliseum. It's a creatively photographed and extraordinarily performed concert film that ranks among the best Dead performances on video, packed with delightful surprises. Some of the best: a robust "Terrapin Station," a rare rendition of the stoner fave "Dark Star," and an unflinchingly bluesy "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." The effect of the whole performance is that of a bittersweet valentine to a way of life that may be gone but is still beloved. --Anne Hurley | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh | | Director:
| Len Dell'Amico | | Format:
| Color, DVD, HiFi Sound, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| WEA/Rhino | | Run Time:
| 147 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| October 07, 1998 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 25 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 25 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Classic Late 80's New Year's Performance.Nov 25, 2004
By Jeremiah Ezekiel Amos Isoquant
This DVD captures the Dead in their late 80's peak. The show is spirited, well played, and soulful throughout. The extras (fan questions, Jerry's backstage kitchen, and Mickey as Spock/Jerry as Santa) have to be seen to be believed--they're hilarious. The band is having fun throughout. You can tell by Jerry's face on the fantastic opener "Bertha" which DeadBase (a Grateful Dead stat book) ranked as the all-time fan's favorite version, and for good reason. Here's the thing about those controversial special effects: I watched this live on pay-per-view that night, and the effects were part of the broadcast. I videotaped the performance directly off tv and had it for many years. This DVD is essentially an edited version of that broadcast. So, the DVD company did not add the effects, they were already there. The extras also were longer in the original broadcast. Why they axed the rousing Promised Land from the DVD and VHS versions, who knows, but it's a notable omission. It's still worth a purchase.
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Ticket back in time...Aug 19, 2002
By John Q. Public
Just watched the "Ticket to New Year's" DVD and thoroughly enjoyed it. Of the four Dead DVD's out as of now, I don't know if its the best, I seem to like View from the Vault I. But hey, this well worth having in your collection. The audio is crisp and sharp and while the special effects that were added to the video may annoy some, I thought they are pretty funny. Funny in the sense that I wonder if whoever was in charge of putting the effects on the video was saying "Wow man, this is gonna trip people out..." Whatever, no big deal. I recommend getting your hand's on every Dead DVD you can, in hopes that the powers that be see that there is a demand for them. There are alot more shows that could be put out (View from the vault III in October) and I hope they come around soon. It's a great escape to tune into Jerry and the Boys for a few hours, they were a unique band that communicated a vibe that doesn't seem to be prevelant anymore... MY ADVICE TO YOU: TURN OFF THE SIX O'CLOCK PARANOIA NEWS CHANNEL OR WHATEVER OTHER JUNK THAT MAY BE ON TV, POP A COUPLE OF HEINEKEN'S, SLIDE IN A DEAD DVD AND YOU'LL FEEL MUCH BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF.
15 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 This one should get six starsFeb 22, 1999
By Jo.smith@csfb.com
This concert DVD is one of the best things I have ever seen. The camera work is perfect and there is good visual work with the video lightshow. The setlist is basically perfect with maybe one exception. SetI Bertha//Cold Rain and Snow//Red Rooster//When Push come to shove//Masterpiece// Birdsong//Music never stopped Set II Hell in a Bucket//Uncle John's//Terrapin (2 tracks)// Drumzspace//Other 1//Wharf Rat//Throwing Stones// Not Fade Away//E:Knockin' w/Neville's. So as you can see the song selection is meaty and Jerry's face is HUGE!! This one is a must purchase and other bands such as Phish, Dave Matthews, and Widespread Panic should start makin' em like this. Enough said
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Da' Boys , Brent , JERRY , This DVD is required viewing !!Sep 17, 1999
What can I say , I love this DVD . Cold Rain , Terrapin , Bertha , Uncle John's etc.... This DVD has Jerry all over it . If you miss the band or just Jerry you should get this DVD . The sound is excelent . This is soul food if their ever was soul food . Do yourself a huge favor and buy this DVD and if you need to a DVD player . It is worth every penny , some like me would say it is a bargin at that price . Thank you , Grateful Dead Productions , for releasing this show ( my first New Years show )PLEASE RELEASE MORE SHOWS ON DVD . We love Jerry and miss him , nothing helps fill the whole like seeing him again , Thank you very much .
18 of 23 found the following review helpful:
 Stop the madness!Nov 20, 2003
By John Dana
If there are any GDP people reading I am BEGGING YOU to stop putting out DVDs with those disastrously cheesy video effects which you inevitably lay on thick during the most interesting musical improvisations ("have pychedelic experience here"). They really ruin it for me. Allow me to create pictures in my own head, thanks (I recall seeing some pretty wild stuff back then but can't for the life of me remember a sailboat gliding across Jerry's axe!). As the years go by these horrible effects just seem more and more dated and embarrassing. The only way to go forward with these releases is to preserve maximum video and audio integrity, let the Grateful Dead speak for themselves and RESIST THE URGE to press the effects button. Let me try to put this as succintly as I can: NOBODY WANTS TO SEE THAT GARBAGE! In the case of this DVD it really ruins for me what is an otherwise very enjoyable experience. For those who have the disk, watch UJB again and tell me that the video retards don't go absolutely ga-ga PRECISELY when you don't want them to. Please people, get a clue. Stop the madness!
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