Say Hey, Jerry: Garcia to Be Feted by Those Other S.F. Giants

You won’t find many baseball nods in the Grateful Dead catalog — “Dupree’s Diamond Blues” is one helluva stretch — but the San Francisco Giants think well enough of native son Jerry Garcia to honor him with an Aug. 9 “Tribute Night,” to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Dead frontman/guitarist/godhead’s tragic departure from this plane of existence. The evening at AT&T Park wraps a citywide observance, from Aug. 1-9, known as “the days between” Garcia’s birthday and death.

What does this mean for the diehard Dead Head who also happens to dig the sweet summertime swat of the bat? The opportunity to watch the hometown heroes smoke the Chicago Bowls — er, Cubs, from the vantage point of the “Jerry Garcia designated section,” likely the mellowest part of the stadium. Commemorative take-home swag includes a limited-edition bobblehead modeled on Garcia as he appeared on April 12, 1993, at Candlestick Park, where he harmonized on “The Star-Spangled Banner” before a Giants/Marlins game. Contrary to rumor, however, fans will not be invited to smoke the outfield.

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Also on deck: a flurry of pre-game cover acts followed by the genuine Bob Weir on national-anthem duty — this time, sadly, without Garcia or the late Vince Welnick to offer brotherly vocal support. Jerry’s daughter Annabelle (0.00 lifetime ERA) will take the field to throw the first pitch; drummer Mickey Hart is scheduled to lead a full-house kazoo march through a seventh-inning “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” He hopes to make the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Annoying Noise Ever. Hope they don’t use that Wall of Sound!

For $175, fans are invited to a VIP party from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the park’s Triple Alley. It’s a long, strange trip of Q&As, private performances, and the chance to breathe the same air as Weir and Hart, various Garcia family members, and representatives from the band- and friends-founded Rex Foundation, which supports artistic endeavors.

Aside from the neat-o Jerry Garcia baseball ties and caps, is there any indication that the man himself followed the national pastime? “Jerry Garcia wasn’t a big sports fan,” Dead publicist Dennis McNally told Craig Fenton, author of “Take Me to a Circus Tent: The Jefferson Airplane Flight Manual” (Dear 49ers Marketing Dept.: “Jefferson Airplane Tribute Night,” with Airplane/Starship scrimmages and free bowls of hot tuna), “but he was a fan of San Francisco. The Giants were part of his childhood, players like Willie Mays and Willie McCovey.”

Neither legend will likely be on hand Aug. 9, but will you? For more information, call 415-972-2233 or visit the Giants website here.