I had a lot of friends who were bigger fans than me in the late 80’s and 90’s, so I saw a few shows, and I never really felt like it lived up to the hype. I went for the party haha.
Now looking back I have a lot of respect and I enjoy Jerry’s guitar playing, he was a real talent for sure. But most of the rest of the band grate on my nerves. (edit to add)I also felt like even then it was people pretending it was the 60’s.
I saw them at Madison Square Garden, Hartford Ct, Oxford Plains Speedway. Me and two friends drove from CT to Maine (Oxford) on a whim the night before, traded weed for tickets… I don’t even remember going into the show at all but I know we got tickets so I must have haha. Anyway, it was fun.
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The first Dead show I attended was at a “love-in” in either Griffith or Elysion Park in L.A. in early 1965. Free show, of course. Later that year I saw them at another free concert in Golden Gate Park. I have both attended Dead shows as a paid concert goer and security staff at several concerts in Oregon. Always a good time, and if the concert was at an indoor venue, like the Hult Center in Eugene, you could go up into the walkways above the stage and get seriously fucked up in no time!
I love the Grateful Dead, them being an integral part of my youth, but know they are an acquired taste. Many never acquire that taste. (Me, I hates me some Phish! 
)
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That’s awesome!!!
Imo
Nothing
It was the acid
Lol
No shit
After a good trip
One can latch on to.an oak tree
Seriously
It’s like man
I tripped so hard under that tree.
Next thing ya know
Chics are showing up
Beers a pouring
Folks are tripping
Girls getting naked
Oh, but I digress.
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Jerry. He had “it.” Real good musician. And Hunter. He had the other half of “it.” And then Owsley. He had the third half of it. The band weaves magic together. The sum is more than the parts. The band playing all of the covers was good too. Something for everyone. The overall style of the Dead is Americana. And the songs are kind of like the tarot. There are only so many situations one can find themselves involved with in a life. Themes. And so you can relate to them so much so that it seems like it is your situation. The “scene” is weird,but it takes all kinds.
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'And yeah they get out there in their jams, but to me its really hard to classify them as a “jam band” because theyre so much more and lump them in w the early 2000s scene when phish was taking a break. ’
They were the ORIGINAL jam band. Period.
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Ahhh man I bet those 3 nights IN A ROW in Vegas were a blast you’ll never forget. Wow 
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If you ask me “jam band” means “Dead Inspired band”
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Reminds me of that 10 string base I need to build…5 strings doubled up…like 2 drummers, etc 
.
Also need that 7 string electric… hmmm 
Anyone notice that Sony headphones seem particularly tuned to the Greatful Dead?
I love this…however it’s really more of a misnomer…the “Jam” concept comes from the fact that not all the members read sheet music. While Jerry obviously read sheet music, the members that wouldn’t read had to keep up…thus came in the “Jamming concept”.
But jam bands are obviously Dead inspired!
The Dead played runs at the Silver Bowl in Las Vegas (aka Sam Boyd stadium, home to UNLV football for almost 50 years, but permanently closed in 2020) in:
1991 with Santana opening
92 with Steve Miller Band
93 with Sting
94 with Traffic
95 with Dave Matthews Band
I caught all three nights in 92 and 95. 92 was the better year. On 5/30 my mind was blown when a storm gathered in the distant desert behind the band. As Terrapin Station devolved into Drums, the storm made a bee line to the stadium while the drummers played the thunder and lightning. The storm shot over the stadium providing a cooling rain as the band went into Space. I heard the crowd going nuts behind me as the opening notes of Spanish Jam played so I turned around to see the most incredible rainbow left in the storm’s wake. It was a really powerful experience, enhanced by some mushrooms and NL5 x Skunk1. I didn’t think they could top that the next night but they kicked off the show with the trio of Help On The Way> Slipknot> Franklin’s Tower - always a good combo - and late in the second set they brought out Steve Miller to join them for a half dozen tunes including the blues classic Spoonful and the encore which covered The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” and The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”.
There is video of the 5/31/92 performance. Steve Miller comes out around 2h21m.
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Thanks for the link, I may check that out later on.
I was there once, for two shows. It was immediately following a week traversing/camping on the river in the Grand canyon. Many mushrooms, no tent;) '93 I believe, and all I really remember from it was the heat. Holy crap was it hot. Dangerously hot, they had fire trucks lined up around the floor, and they were just hosing down anybody they could reach with the streams of water. 
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That’s freaking rad! I was looking at the 92’ tickets, figured it was a good story you’d remember & sure enough 
I love when people say cannabis screws your memory… then I see a detailed write-up like this, that sounds like it happened yesterday. Love it 
I’ll definitely watch that set tonight 
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Yes!!! The heat was brutal there. They had the fire hoses running both years I was there.
Things cool off once the sun goes down. In '95 I attended the late night “Las Vegas Fish Fry” at the Aladdin Theatre with Hot Tuna and The Radiators following the Saturday show. It was fun randomly running into several groups of friends from Minnesota that night. I had moved from MN to Albuquerque in '93…
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I personally don’t like the Dead’s music.
I appreciate Jerry’s and the gangs talent, and a lot of stuff they did. But the music just doesn’t do it for me.
But music was not the only thing they created!
There was a whole American subculture that came directly from them. Art, clothing, attitude, drugs, literature, awareness, countless other aspects.
THEY created all that too!
Well, maybe the fans created it… but it was all fostered and nurtured by the band.
Yes, a lot of it was already there from the 60’s counter culture in general, but that scene burned out pretty fast and the Dead kept the whole thing moving forward and evolving for decades after everyone else abandoned ‘hippie’ culture.
I consider the whole movement its own kind of art. And for that, I absolutely love the Dead.
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I don’t want to sound ummm foolish, but The Greatful Dead is underdeveloped… almost like the band was just in its infancy…a little difficult putting it into words, but you can tell that Jerry and the rest of the band aren’t always exactly on the same page all the time. But again, I attribute this to the band being in its “infancy”… My 2 cents 
.
Maybe you should get some inexpensive Sony earbuds… The $20.00 ones, the Greatful Dead sound great on them! 
@firehead Do you listen to Widespread Panic…or maybe Phish?
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Like the way Jerry sings in high B? Snake in the grass move…he’s about to bust out the baritone.
…I’m a Greatful Dead fan!
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Agree on the Phish, I just don’t get them. What I think was one of the most extraordinary things about the Dead was that they were able to keep it together, and create cosmic music, while doing some very potent, even extremely potent psychedelics that were around at that time. To me, that’s what it was all about. Opening the third eye, lifting the veil, connecting to the inner wisdom, reaching for the light but never being able to stay there very long. Those were the days that illuminated most of my 72+ years.
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