Bob Weir Collapses Onstage During Furthur Set in New York

Grateful Dead legend and Mill Valley resident Bob Weir left the stage again during a performance of his post-Dead band Furthur Thursday night, but this time it was after he collapsed during the second set of the band's ninth show at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.

Weir, 65, had become increasingly incoherent throughout the show until he was stumbling on stage, leaning hard to his left. A roadie brought him a chair that he declined to sit in and he eventually collapsed to the ground. Roadies rushed to the stage to help him up while his band mates kept playing “Unbroken Chain.” The band did not skip a beat.

Fans tensed up and yelled out “Bobby!” to Weir in hopes of bringing his focus back.

After he got up, Weir sat in the chair, where he struggled to finish the song. The whole band then took a break and returned without him.

Singer and guitarist Phil Lesh, Weir’s longtime Grateful Dead collaborator, told the crowd Weir had sprained his shoulder earlier in the day and that the band wold finish without him. There is no current word on Weir’s condition.

Some fans left and have complained on fan message boards that the band did not stop playing when Weir tumbled. Many stayed behind to watch the last part of the show. Many fans posted on the band's website their concerns about Weir's health.

The band then closed the show with “Stella Blues,”  “China Cat Sunflower,” and “I Know You Rider.” They encored with “Built to Last.”

Just before the encore Jerry Garcia’s daughter Trixie came on stage to announce the new Capitol Theatre bar will be named Garcia’s, in honor of Jerry Garcia, who died of a heart attack in 1995. They presented a statue of Garcia's right hand that will be displayed in the bar.

Thursday night’s show was the ninth and last of Furthur’s performances over the last 12 days at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. The band is scheduled to perform at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Saturday night and is also one of the headliners at the BottleRock Napa Valley Festival on May 9.