At Sail Inn, Dead songs are sailing on

From the Arizona Republic:

At Sail Inn, Dead songs are sailing on
Craig Astwood
Special for The Republic
Aug. 13, 2005 12:00 AM

It's time for the hippies to gather at The Sail Inn. The 10th annual Jerry Garcia Memorial concert will be tonight, featuring Xtra Ticket, a popular Grateful Dead cover bands in the Valley.In February, the group played a show at The Sail Inn and former Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick sat in.
"I think it's the coolest hippy gathering," said Gina Lombardi, owner of The Sail Inn. "Last year's (memorial) show was the record attendance for The Sail Inn. We thought we were way past capacity."The Sail Inn holds the event every year around the anniversary of Garcia's death Aug. 9, 1995. Xtra Ticket guitarist and lead vocalist Dave Hebert, 33, said the band did its first Garcia memorial show at another Tempe venue the night after he died. About 900 showed up, Hebert said. Tonight will be the band's 11th concert honoring the legend.Hebert said the band will do a 90-minute acoustic set on the outside stage beginning at 9 before moving inside and plugging in at 11."Last year was just an indoor show," said drummer Charley Gnecco, 33, a Chandler resident. "We want to give something extra (this year)."Hebert and keyboardist Dan Biederman, 28, a Tempe resident, said the outdoor show will focus on songs Garcia wrote in his projects outside of The Grateful Dead, as well as cover songs he performed."When he covered a song he put his own stamp on it," Biederman said. "Some people didn't even realize it was a cover."Hebert added, "When we celebrate his life, there's a real big well (of songs) to choose from."Lombardi said she expects another large crowd tonight."All the hippies are in full force," she said."They come out to honor the Grateful Dead."Biederman said the 10-year milestone should make tonight's show special."I don't know why 10 years is different than a six- or seven-year anniversary, but 10 years is always a big deal," he said.In addition to the music, Lombardi said vendors come out for the show and set up in the outdoor areas of the bar to sell T-shirts, jewelry and artwork.
The Sail Inn is at 26 S. Farmer Ave.
There is an $8 cover for the 21-and-older show.
Doors open at 8 p.m.Information: http://www.thesailinn.com/ or http://www.xtraticket.com./