''Ticket to New Year's'' is a concert video by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

. It was recorded at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

on December 31, 1987. It was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

video tape and on

Laserdisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

in 1996, and on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in 1998.

Cooking with Jerry

The December 31, 1987 concert was broadcast on

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

TV. The broadcast included several sketches that had been recorded in advance with members of the Grateful Dead. These are included in ''Ticket to New Year's'', between the first and second sets. First we see Tom Davis, explaining to the camera that people need not use drugs or alcohol to have a good time on New Year's Eve. As an example of this he interviews

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

who, in a short satire of a

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a Television studio, studio set, or at the host's p ...

, explains how to make

hors d'oeuvres An hors d'oeuvre ( ; ), appetiser, appetizer or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or th ...

and non-alcoholic punch. Next, all six members of the band answer pre-recorded questions from

Deadhead A Deadhead or Dead head is a fan of the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The Deadhead subculture originated in the 1970s, when a number of fans began traveling to see the Grateful Dead in as many shows or festival venues as they could. As mo ...

s. Some of the questions and especially the answers are less than perfectly serious. After that is a brief scene of

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

Mr. Spock Spock is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as science officer and first officer (and Kirk's second-in-command) a ...

using a

Vulcan mind meld Vulcans, sometimes referred to as Vulcanians, are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. They are noted for their strict adherence to logic and reason and suppression of emotion. Known for their p ...

to read the thoughts of Jerry Garcia as

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

. The sketches conclude with the band answering more questions from Deadheads. Then, back at the concert, the clock has struck midnight, and as the second set begins, Bill Graham can briefly be seen, riding in over the audience on a replica of the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

Track listing

:''First set:'' * " Bertha" ( Garcia,

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

) * "Cold Rain And Snow" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) * "

Little Red Rooster "Little Red Rooster" (or "The Red Rooster" as it was first titled) is a blues standard credited to arranger and songwriter Willie Dixon. The song was first recorded in 1961 by American blues musician Howlin' Wolf in the Chicago blues style. Hi ...

" ( Dixon) * "When Push Comes To Shove" (Garcia, Hunter) * "When I Paint My Masterpiece" ( Dylan) * "Bird Song" (Garcia, Hunter) * "The Music Never Stopped" (

Weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

, Barlow) :''Second set:'' * "Hell In A Bucket/Happy New Year" (Weir, Mydland, Barlow) → * "

Uncle John's Band "Uncle John's Band" is a song by the Grateful Dead that first appeared in their concert setlists in late 1969. The band recorded it for their 1970 album '' Workingman's Dead''. Written by guitarist Jerry Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter, "Unc ...

" (Garcia, Hunter) → * "Lady With a Fan" (Garcia, Hunter) → * "Terrapin Station" (Garcia, Hunter) → * "Drums" (

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) * Hart (surname) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department store ...

, Kreutzmann) → * "Space" (Garcia, Lesh, Mydland, Weir) → * "The Other One" (Kreutzmann, Weir) → * "Wharf Rat" (Garcia, Hunter) → * "Throwing Stones" (Weir, Barlow) → * " Not Fade Away" ( Hardin, Petty) :''Encore:'' * "

Knockin' on Heaven's Door "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film '' Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid''. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, ...

" (Dylan) — with

The Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 19 ...

, David Nelson, and

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliott Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer, songwriter and story teller. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adno ...

Concert set list

At the December 31, 1987 show at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the second song of the first set was "

Promised Land In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...

", which does not appear on ''Ticket to New Year's''. The concert also had a third set, the first four songs of which are not included in the video — "Man Smart, Woman Smarter", "

Iko Iko "Iko Iko" () is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written and released in 1953 as a si ...

", " Day-O" and "

Do You Wanna Dance? "Do You Want to Dance" is a song written by American singer Bobby Freeman and recorded by him in 1958. It reached number No. 5 on the United States ''Billboard'' Top 100 Sides pop chart, No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, and No. 1 in Canad ...

". The Grateful Dead performed these songs with members of The Neville Brothers. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" concluded the show. On the video, it is presented as the encore. At the concert, it was the fifth and final song of the third set.

Credits

Grateful Dead

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...

– drums, percussion *

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (March 15, 1940 – October 25, 2024) was an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he developed a unique style of improvised six-string bass guitar. He was their bassist throughout their 30 ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Brent Mydland Brent Mydland (October 21, 1952 – July 26, 1990) was an American keyboardist, songwriter and singer. He was a member of the rock band The Grateful Dead from 1979 until his death in 1990, a longer tenure than any other keyboardist in the ...

– keyboards *

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...

– guitar

Production

* Len Dell'Amico – director, producer * John Cutler and Phil Lesh – post production, audio mix *

Candace Brightman Candace Brightman (born 1944) is an American lighting engineer, known for her longtime association with the Grateful Dead. She is the sister of author Carol Brightman. Brightman grew up in Illinois and studied set design at St John's College, Ann ...

– lighting director * Dan Healy – concert sound * Allen Newman – line producer * Jeffrey Norman – audio post editing * Bill Weber, Western Images – video post editing * Justin Kreutzmann – second unit director

References

* * * Scott, John W; Dolgushkin, Mike; Nixon, Stu. ''DeadBase XI: The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists'', 1999, DeadBase, {{Grateful Dead Grateful Dead video albums Concert films 1996 films 1990s English-language films