Last night, the current incarnation of The Grateful Dead (Furthur) played a sold out show in Barton Hall. The same Barton Hall that housed their legendary 1977 set, often cited as their best show ever. From what I saw, they were mostly a tame and peaceful bunch, excited to see the show. And yeah, there was a questionable school bus lurking around Collegetown sporting a tie-dye color scheme, but it wasn’t particularly troubling.
But what was a little unsettling was the beefed up security the Cornell Police had brought in to deal with threat level Deadheads. Here’s a copy of the email they sent out to all the students:
To Cornell Community:
This Sunday, February 14th there will be a concert hosted in Barton Hall featuring a band called Further. This band in part has members from the old Grateful Dead band and will certainly generate an active crowd of what are affectionately referred to as “Deadheads”. This fan base is very loyal to the Grateful Dead and their remaining members. We are confident that they will be showing up in large numbers as early as this Friday.
Our concern is that this particular group of fans will set up camp wherever they can and will certainly avail themselves to the warmth of any open building. Even if they do not have tickets to the venue, they will still come in the hopes of gaining access to the concert, and they will be seeking shelter from the elements over the weekend.
Please be extra vigilant in securing your buildings this Friday and throughout the weekend.
Sgt. Philip D. Mospan
Coordinator, Office of Professional Development
Cornell University Police
Thankfully, we all survived the night of the living Deadheads.
Read more over at IvyGate where our kinda sorta acquaintance Justine Fields gives a bit more sass and background on the threat. Gotta love IvyGate.
UPDATE: According to the Cornell Sun, over 1500 Deadheads gathered outside after the concert started trying to get into Barton Hall. They later relocated the party to the Parking Garage on Campus Road, where a number of them were arrested for Marijuana possession. Gasp.
