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Sensational original color 15.5 x 23 promotional poster (Tea Party, 1988) for a series of Grateful Dead concerts at the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts, on April 7-9, 1988. Printed by Wex Rex (Gary Sohmers) for Tea Party Concerts, the poster features a design by artist George Sargent, who, like Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley, used an ‘angel of death’ illustration of E. J. Sullivan from the 1913 book Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. The poster was deliberately printed slightly off-register to give the vibrant magenta and cyan blue colors a 3-D effect, which per Sargent, was to pay homage to the Mouse and Kelley ‘Elephants’ poster promoting the Grateful Dead’s debut album. The words “Dance” and “Concert” can be found in the dragons to either side, and the original artist ‘signature’ is a small dragonfly to the right edge, which represents Sargent’s Dragonfly Studios (Woonsocket, Rhode Island). Matted and framed to an overall size of 20.25 x 28.25. In fine condition.
The Grateful Dead arrived in Worcester with several of the crew suffering from lingering colds, including Jerry Garcia. The band played as promised, but the scene slowly turned into a chaotic mess over the three days, with ever-present police and divided parking areas contributing to a subdued lot scene. After the final show, police held signs directing the remaining Deadheads onto the highways and out of town, and the city of Worcester vowed never to let the Dead return. All three shows were broadcast on WCUW radio and exist as CDs.
From the collection of Fred Bramante, the founder of Daddy’s Junky Music.
