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Deadheads Gather for Start of Tour Thu Nov 14, 6:22 PM ET Deadheads, their children and others — many of whom weren't even born when the Grateful Dead started playing in the 1960s — swarmed the city, arriving for the first show in the band's new 14-city tour. Officials refused to allow fans into the parking lot at the Roanoke Civic Center until 4 p.m. to minimize the rowdiness and illegal activities that followed Garcia and crew when they last appeared in Roanoke in 1987. But when 4 p.m. came, the lot filled fast. Shusen Shibata of Toyko rolled into town Wednesday night to catch 'the scene' that is one of his favorite aspects of American culture. And Steve Smith, who came from Alaska to see the kickoff show, said: 'I'm just excited to see some rock 'n' roll.' The band hardly resembles the gang that first entranced fans 40 years ago. Band founder and lead singer Jerry Garcia died of a heart attack in 1995, when the band last toured, and Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart are all older than 55 now — and each has his own band. Jimmy Herring, a journeyman who's sat in with the Allman Brothers, also was brought in and given the daunting task of handling Garcia's guitar part. Band members say they will shuffle about 130 songs during the tour, including a number of Dead standards. They've also pulled out several songs from the early 1960s, such as 'Till the Morning Comes,' that have never been played live, as well as songs from their own bands.
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