Bob Weir's much publicized fall at a Furthur show in last year fueled questions about his health. Now he's cancelled all summer tour dates due to "circumstances," which have "necessitated that all scheduled tour dates for Bob Weir & RatDog are being cancelled. This applies to all dates on the summer tour starting on Thur., Aug. 14 in Boston through Sept. 14 in Nashville, and also includes the Jamaica event in January of 2015," according to a statement posted at ratdoglive.com.
Weir tipped over on Apr. 25, 2013 - the last of seven Furthur shows at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York - during the second set, hitting guitarist John Kandlecik. He landed on his right side and had to be lifted up and placed in a chair by roadies as the band played on (for 10 more minutes on "Unbroken Chain," with bassist and co-bandleader Phil Lesh delivering the vocals). They left the stage after the song and came back a few minutes later without Weir to finish the set. When the band returned, Lesh told the crowd, "You could see Bob is having some problems. He hurt his shoulder today and had to see the doctor. We're going to finish the set for you."
Weir performed with Furthur two nights later in Atlantic City. However, his condition forced the band to cancel their next show. "Due to unforeseen circumstances, Furthur regretfully will be unable to appear as scheduled at BottleRock Napa Valley on Thur., May 9. Grateful Dead and Furthur co-founder Bob Weir is unable to perform in any capacity for the next several weeks," the band reported
Message boards chirped about Weir's "dope fiend lean" and possible heroin use. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out what a person nodding out on dope looks like," contended Concert Joe, who was at the Port Chester show. "Bobby didn't look so good. He came down like a knockout punch."
But one source close to the singer-guitarist told CelebStoner that's "100% wrong." The same source says about the latest cancellation, "He needs a vacation."
San Francisco Giants third-base coach Tim Flannery posted this email sent to him by Weir:
'I’m doing fine, just a bit too much work and especially travel. This year has been especially busy; I’ve put in more miles in the first six months than I normally do in a year. Taking some time off, which I haven’t done in 50 years.'
After deleting Weir's comment, Flannery added: "I put up his email he sent me to let those who cared about his health see what he said to me. I shouldn't have shared it. Some of you said I made that up, that it wasn't from him, some went off on him. Listen, I'm not a deadhead. I never grew up with their music. I became friends with Bobby on my own terms. I will leave it at that."
Furthur, featuring founding members Weir and Lesh, is the closest version of the original Grateful Dead. The group also features John Kadlecik, Jeff Chimenti, Joe Russo, Jeff Pehrson and Sunshine Becker. They were scheduled to play at the Lockn' Festival in September.
Weir & RatDog, his solo group, last performed at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado on July 12. "Refunds are available at place of purchase" for the canceled shows, the site states. "We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience."
