Shitty songs by great artists

[Beebs]

I wasn't at that show--Buckeye Lake 91, correct--so I can't speak to the crowd's reaction. I did go to the first Buckeye show in 88, the first time Hornsby opened for/sat in with the band. That said, take note that the Grateful Dead didn't have opening acts EXCEPT on summer tour at stadiums or huge venues like Buckeye Lake. So heads weren't used to opening acts. On top of that, while I love my fellow heads, most of them had/have pretty myopic tastes when it comes to music so I can easily see why many wouldn't grok the Femmes. I saw the shows right after this in Charlotte, with no opening acts since it was at the Coliseum. RFK was right after that and Dwight Yoakum opened. On the 1991 tour they had random opening acts (Femmes, Dwight, Santana, Little Feat) for the summer stadium shows but after that they went to having just one opener for the summer tour (92 Steve Miller, 93 Sting, and 94 Traffic)

I saw Sting open Rich Stadium '93. I recall it being an odd fit but pretty rocking.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I wasn't at that show--Buckeye Lake 91, correct--so I can't speak to the crowd's reaction. I did go to the first Buckeye show in 88, the first time Hornsby opened for/sat in with the band. That said, take note that the Grateful Dead didn't have opening acts EXCEPT on summer tour at stadiums or huge venues like Buckeye Lake. So heads weren't used to opening acts. On top of that, while I love my fellow heads, most of them had/have pretty myopic tastes when it comes to music so I can easily see why many wouldn't grok the Femmes. I saw the shows right after this in Charlotte, with no opening acts since it was at the Coliseum. RFK was right after that and Dwight Yoakum opened. On the 1991 tour they had random opening acts (Femmes, Dwight, Santana, Little Feat) for the summer stadium shows but after that they went to having just one opener for the summer tour (92 Steve Miller, 93 Sting, and 94 Traffic)

Yep, 91. Not everyone was turned off by Violent Femmes but as you point out there were a lot of Deadheads at that time who's idea of stretching out musically was Bob Dylan and if they were feeling really wild the Allman Brothers Band.

[Beebs]

a lot of Deadheads at that time who's idea of stretching out musically was Bob Dylan and if they were feeling really wild the Allman Brothers Band.

This is the stuff that eventually drove me away.

[Iowan]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

#notallDeadheads,brah

[Iowan]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

#notallDeadheads,brah

Not saying that at all. It just surprises me when I read people talk about the Dead. The way things are described is almost like reading a history textbook and mechanic's guide at the same time. There were rules, structures, stats, numbers. But it was free wheeling and crazy all at the same time. It fascinates me, being as I was 10-11 when Jerry died.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

#notallDeadheads,brah

Not saying that at all. It just surprises me when I read people talk about the Dead. The way things are described is almost like reading a history textbook and mechanic's guide at the same time. There were rules, structures, stats, numbers. But it was free wheeling and crazy all at the same time. It fascinates me, being as I was 10-11 when Jerry died.

It's all that times 10,000

anyway, my post was totally in humor. I'm Dead to the core and I love talkin' smack about some of "my people" However, like a lot of families, it's OK for me to make fun of my cousin but it's on when outsiders pile on.

This is a totally pathetic thing to say, but I honestly often think I was never better at anything than I was/am being a Deadhead. I sometimes think that between 82-95 my feet never touched the ground. OK, stop me, I've said way too much

Damn you've made me feel old: I was 29.5 when Jerry died

[John A Arkansawyer]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

I will say this: After GD and Bob Marley t-shirts, the next most common one I saw at that hellish deathtrip of a show that was Jerry's fortieth birthday was Miles Davis. You can't knock that.

[linkous]

Grateful Dead are another band I've been lucky enough to largely avoid these last 40 years or so. If only those hairy cave men look a likes hadn't persisted in playing their dirges on the pub juke box I'd be a Dead virgin

[Zip City]

I saw the last Dead show ever at Sokdier Field and was pretty bored

[4sooner]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

I will say this: After GD and Bob Marley t-shirts, the next most common one I saw at that hellish deathtrip of a show that was Jerry's fortieth birthday was Miles Davis. You can't knock that.

Zoo Amp-OKC
I was there but don't remember the T shirt breakdown.
Accurate show description.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

I saw the last Dead show ever at Sokdier Field and was pretty bored

not much in that show to get worked up over, alas, though in hindsight it is pretty obvious what the problem was

Was that the only GD show you ever saw?

[Zip City]

I saw the last Dead show ever at Sokdier Field and was pretty bored

not much in that show to get worked up over, alas, though in hindsight it is pretty obvious what the problem was

Was that the only GD show you ever saw?

Yep

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

I saw the last Dead show ever at Sokdier Field and was pretty bored

not much in that show to get worked up over, alas, though in hindsight it is pretty obvious what the problem was

Was that the only GD show you ever saw?

Yep

[Flea]

I saw the last Dead show ever at Sokdier Field and was pretty bored

not much in that show to get worked up over, alas, though in hindsight it is pretty obvious what the problem was

Was that the only GD show you ever saw?

I saw the Dead in 86 and left before the show was over from boredom. Just a bit too much directionless noodling for my taste.*

*Edited to add: Alternatively, I may not have done enough drugs beforehand.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

I saw the last Dead show ever at Sokdier Field and was pretty bored

not much in that show to get worked up over, alas, though in hindsight it is pretty obvious what the problem was

Was that the only GD show you ever saw?

I saw the Dead in 86 and left before the show was over from boredom. Just a bit too much directionless noodling for my taste.*

*Edited to add: Alternatively, I may not have done enough drugs beforehand.

86 was pretty up and down, again Jerry health issues looming huge (coma/near death experience). That year had its moments but overall not their finest. Too bad, in 87 they were back in tremendous form and rode mighty high all the way through early 91, a really smoking run of years. 86 and 95 were overall pretty bad, especially 95, though even then there were still shining moments

[John A Arkansawyer]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

I will say this: After GD and Bob Marley t-shirts, the next most common one I saw at that hellish deathtrip of a show that was Jerry's fortieth birthday was Miles Davis. You can't knock that.

Zoo Amp-OKC
I was there but don't remember the T shirt breakdown.
Accurate show description.

A few years later, I heard a tape of that show. The performance wasn't that bad. But my god, what a horrid experience.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Dead fandom is a funny thing. I was initially drawn in on the strength of "Casey Jones." I had little to no knowledge of Deadheads, their concerts or the culture that had sprung up around them (though my older siblings were deeply immersed in hippiedom). I just heard this song on the radio and liked it. That was probably around '74 or '75. I have an older brother that would roll his eyes when friends and other family members related concert experiences or the impact songs had on them. Despite having ample opportunity to do so, he never attended a single Grateful Dead concert. When Garcia died he openly admitted he regretted seeing them live. My oldest nephew will talk to you until he's blue in the face about how much he hates them but reserves a special disdain for Deadheads. In private, he will reveal that he really likes Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. I figure that probably has to do with his hippie parents who no doubt exposed him to Grateful Dead music non-stop as an infant. His hatred of them is more of a front to live up to some sort of punk rock cred that I don't really understand. I appreciate those that are real about what they like whether it's Phil Collins, Foreigner or Gordon Lightfoot. I may not always share their tastes but I'll take their brutal honesty of what truly moves them over putting up a facade just because they're embarrassed to admit they like a band. Life is too short for that bullshit.

[Slipkid42]

Pretty sure I could come up with 4 1/2 albums worth of great Who songs but I ain't too crazy about Who Are You.
Dear Prudence always tarnished the Beatles for me.

[Zip City]

Huh, I love Dear Prudence

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Huh, I love Dear Prudence

me too, what's not too love?

there's a thousand bands out there that would kill their moms to have one Dear Prudence

and since there aren't any Beatles live versions

[Dean]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

and jam band culture in general, imo

[Kudzu Guillotine]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

and jam band culture in general, imo

On the other end of the spectrum, in the alt.country community there seems to be an averseness towards jam bands. I remember reading a review of a reissue of the first New Riders of the Purple Sage album (which included Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart) in No Depression that, while complimentary, also had a certain smugness to it. As though it was beneath the reviewer to even acknowledge the influence of that band on country rock, alt.country, etc. Though I love the Grateful Dead, the Allmans, Donna the Buffalo, etc., I can be guilty of this as well. It seems to be a rare exception when a lengthy, exploratory number captures my imagination. It's much more likely that it's going to bore me. Not always, but a great deal of the time. Aside from maybe Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers, I've noticed the hardcore No Depression crowd also has a difficult time acknowledging the influence of hippie influenced "Cosmic American" artists like Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Pure Prairie League, Poco, etc. as though it's somehow beneath them to speak their names. Maybe this is because there's more of an adherence to the "alt" side of the equation meaning punk, new wave, etc. I imagine I would have liked the Gourds, Uncle Tupelo, Drive-By Truckers, Lydia Loveless, Lone Justice, etc. anyway but the country rock artists I grew up listening to in the 70's from Goose Creek Symphony to John Prine and Guy Clark certainly had an influence.

[211poundsofpork]

Picasso Moon by the Dead. Heh? Anyone?

[Slipkid42]

Well I gotta admit, after listening to that '90 version of Dear Prudence by the Dead; the Beatles version is downright wonderful.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Well I gotta admit, after listening to that '90 version of Dear Prudence by the Dead; the Beatles version is downright wonderful.

Huh, I love that version and Jerry's lead lines are gorgeous.

[Iowan]

When I refer to the Deadhead community being rigid, I'm somewhat talking about the academic way Deadheads discuss the band. Those conversations read like history book text, which isn't intended to be a criticism - merely an observation. There seem to be (relatively) agreed upon true opinions about certain eras and a real depth of knowledge regarding lineups, song fragments, tours, etc that seem shockingly structured when contrasted to the other side of the Deadhead thing. Duality and all that. Throw in some narrower musical tastes and "rigid" was the word I used.

[Tequila Cowboy]

When I refer to the Deadhead community being rigid, I'm somewhat talking about the academic way Deadheads discuss the band. Those conversations read like history book text, which isn't intended to be a criticism - merely an observation. There seem to be (relatively) agreed upon true opinions about certain eras and a real depth of knowledge regarding lineups, song fragments, tours, etc that seem shockingly structured when contrasted to the other side of the Deadhead thing. Duality and all that. Throw in some narrower musical tastes and "rigid" was the word I used.

There is some truth to both of those. Some of it was informative, some of it silly. It exists with Panic fans as well.

[John A Arkansawyer]

There seems to be a strange rigidness to Deadhead culture.

and jam band culture in general, imo

Rigor mortis?

[Dean]

When I refer to the Deadhead community being rigid, I'm somewhat talking about the academic way Deadheads discuss the band. Those conversations read like history book text, which isn't intended to be a criticism - merely an observation. There seem to be (relatively) agreed upon true opinions about certain eras and a real depth of knowledge regarding lineups, song fragments, tours, etc that seem shockingly structured when contrasted to the other side of the Deadhead thing. Duality and all that. Throw in some narrower musical tastes and "rigid" was the word I used.

There is some truth to both of those. Some of it was informative, some of it silly. It exists with Panic fans as well.

Panic fans, Phish fans, Mule fans, There seems to be a subset of groups that these people listen to and they don't wanna know about anything else. They also tend to get a little precious about it as well.