Grateful Dead

I saw almost all my 90s shows in the Pacific NW. Eugene 90, 93 and 94, Seattle 94 and 95, Portland 95. I think the scene was overall a lot healthier but the 94 Eugene shows still attracted enough fools clowns and jerks to kill the Dead's return there the next year which is why they ended up at a lame Portland race track in '95. By the third show in Eugene 94 (a huge show) it was clear that they wouldn't be allowed to return. The camp zone in the parking lot was a freaking trash dump (I was lucky enough to be staying on a "peacock farm" outside of town). Stories of messed up and disrespectful behavior throughout the town - and the locals being rightfully angered by that - were already circulating. By chance I was visiting family in the Midwest early July 95 and saw the last 2 shows in Soldier Field (brother had extra tickets he bought for friend who then changed his mind.) Wasn't there for the scene so didn't spend much time in the lot but do remember a young woman describing all the weird stuff that had gone down earlier on that summer tour and it was clear she was spooked by the vibe. The 12/89 shows at LA Forum (my only SoCal shows) were the only time I was offered "chiva" - what's that I had to ask and it was H - by a non-scene, just dealing, guy out in the lot. Politely turned down that offer.

I saw that written about in Golden Road fanzine

Paul Bodenham was publisher

The Ticketless Hordes was my name for the cling-ons

My final 3 attended GD shows were fine in my opinion 5/24, 25, 26/95. No problems, perfectly acceptable shows. Then came the Tour From Hell after Shoreline. Oy.

Oro-yes, what you say is consistent with how I saw things at the time - and how I see things now. I didn't know anyone into the band at that time, but excitement was generated by the "Spiral Light" fanzine that came out every two months or so. So I was aware of the recent return of Dark Star, and also of the increased popularity of the band in the U.S, following Touch of Grey. This was tempered by Brent's sad demise during summer 1990 - so there was also a sense of not quite knowing how this would affect the band. I can remember thinking that Tom Constanten would probably rejoin - which shows how much I knew !

I wasn't aware of the Merry Pranksters coming to Britain in 1990 - although they did come in the year 2000 for the millenium celebrations. Both Ken Kesey and Ken Babbs were part of this, and they put on a show at The Barbican in London - showing footage of the bus trip from 1964.... interspersed with comedy sketches!

Back to the Dead - I was amazed at how many Americans had travelled over for those shows. They seemed to make up most of the crowd. I saw Santana at Wembley in 1991, and I wondered if a similar scene would follow them over. It did not. No other American band I saw - I saw live shows from 1972-2019 - had anything like the same following The Dead did, that travelled over here to see them.

Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to articulate.
That the environment that we and the band were now forced to live in was perhaps the biggest factor in the diminishing returns etc.
I don’t think they liked it any more than we did, but what were they going to do, other take a break like they should have…
And of course that environment was created to attempt to deal with the over extended masses. And yeah, overall the people weren’t generally as bad as I may portray, but bad actors and behavior were increasingly evident, and often more heinous, and especially in specific places or types of places etc.

Daverock, Im guessing in your unusual situation:
1- yes, probably not your usual run of the mill DHs like some of us here.
Fanatics with the ways and means perhaps. Ya know, the more invested in something, the more folks will get worked up. For some perhaps combined into a lifetime European vacation.
I know DL saw some of those 90 shows, as I think he was studying there? I forget…
2- extra hype and excitement as they hadn’t been to Europe recently
3- I believe Kesey and co were there and even brought Futhur 2
4- the return of DS, Attics etc inserted a huge hit of adrenaline to the scene in general, so guessing over there also.
5- the popularity explosion via TOG/ITD must have had an effect over there too
6- concerts and crowds in general had changed by then
7- perspective: you weren’t that experienced in live GD madness etc (that’s not a criticism! I mean how would you be…) and the saying “there is nothing like a GD concert” worked on many levels. So unlike us, who almost took for granted usually hitting as many shows as we reasonably could on spring, summer, and fall tours (say between 5-15 a year average) it must have been a very unusual and eye opening experience, especially compared to 81!

But of course as first show says, much of this is perspective dependent fo sho!
Like many of our more aaa “mature” heads here, they got turned off in the 80s because of the environment changes etc.
if your normal perspective was the Fillmore, even a small hockey rink might become unenjoyable, especially with reserved seating and so many people, comparatively.But If all you’ve ever known is Giants stadium, and never freaked freely in Maine, or Cali, Hampton, or any of the many sweet, smaller, outta the way places they used to be able to play, well your perspective might not think things so bad?
To me no more GA was the biggest negative factor that effected our show enjoyment. Sure a stadium is never gonna give you the same vibe, but if you were able to hang out where you wanted, which as sound freaks was usually the SB, it made a big positive difference.

So the slow but steady population growth, later exasperated by the tsunami after 87, which also attracted too many civilian non heads just about for the bollocks, which led to having to play big crappy venues in crappy places, and no wonder folks used to a completely different experience in every way, gave up…

Another factor in crowd behaviour may be related to where the show took place. The shows I saw were in London, so U.S. Deadheads had to travel some considerable distance to be there. This must have made it impossible for many who followed the band to attend. I have never read a message on the board from anyone in the U.S. who went to Wembley in 1990. What distinguished those who travelled from those who didn't ? Lack of responsibilities? More money? Youth...
I don't know if this relevant, but young Brits abroad used to have a terrible reputation for behaving less responsibly abroad than they did at home, simply because they were on holiday. They were renowned for over doing it in Amsterdam in the 90's where some of them flocked for the ready availability of dope. A few hours after arriving, many of them would be incapacitated!

So...in a nutshell, the shows I saw cannot be regarded as typical simply because they took place in England.

I saw the GD and offshoots when I could from 1975 until, well, today. I was never what you'd call "hardcore" in that I never went on the road, but was, and am, a very avid fan. I guess I'm a little clueless since, other than the sheer size of the crowd and therefore venues, I never really noticed the deterioration in the "quality" of the fanbase that I've read so much about.
Well, until 1995. I was in Maryland Heights, Mo. for the show after the Noblesville fiasco. The fans in the lot were pissed. The band was pissed based on the letter they circulated, nd their general demeanor.
The 7/6/95 show was lackluster (great setlist, though)...partly due to Jerry's health, but I'm also sure due to the band's state of mind.
I appreciate the perspective of those were more intimately involved with the entire scene than I was, over time. Thanks for posting.

Nice essay Pedro!
It is about perspective I suppose.
I had so few shows compared to everyone here but that timeline felt the same. Luckily I had nice venues so the ugliness just wasn't that noticeable. That said I knew I was done after my '94 show and even had the weird feeling that either Jerry or I wouldn't be around much longer. Somehow I'm still here, lol.
Cheers

Saw a few shows between Jan 79 and at the last one, 29 years ago tonight!
Not sure I remember as much free stuff early on, more so over the years for sure.
Same with the folks that Daverock described.
Basically no hangers early on, but by the end the ratio was phuched, with too many posers and way too many people who came just to party, (or worse, bye/sell bad drugs,) wether for only Shakedown street or the show itself.
All I can say is I’m glad there were no phones yet…these folks were clueless enough! And I try not to be prejudiced, but I will always unfortunately have an aversion to extremely unwashed dudes wearing nothing but a skirt…

And I’m not singling out touchers either, as there were always plenty of nice new young people coming along who were really into the music and wanted to learn the ways and means from us veteran heads etc,
No, these folks I speak of were not heads!
I have younger cousins who came up then who saw hundreds of shows and ended up working in and around the organization that are nothing like the clueless hordes that overtook us.
Unfortunately, the sudden popularity brought a literal explosion of too many and the wrong kind, to an all ready fragile environment that could in no way sustain itself. It saddens me all these years later to think back to it while it was happening, experientially. The thing you loved more than anything, slowly dying right in front of you and not much you could do.

You could feel it building slowly through the eighties, probably similar to how my “generation” of heads noticeably grew and thus felt to originals during the late seventies success, but it hadn’t gotten too bad yet.
85 was perhaps the peak of how big it could get and still be fun etc.
And boy was it fun ; )
I don’t recall it in 90 as much as Daverock describes—probably perspective, and after 87 which became so unbearable I skipped fall tour (that and the venues they now played because of the population explosion)—so maybe after 87, we were just desensitized and 90 didn’t seem so bad? I’m also positive the venues I was at in 90 helped a little.
But then you could still have some choices…
Luckily, I recall things did settle back somewhat, though never like when I started, or before I’m sure, and by the end it seemed completely ruined.
Too many people, most of whom didn’t know or give too shits for us, our culture, our host places, (or even the music )we so lovingly tried to keep alive all those years.
Popularity, this kiss of death, like that Eagles song, the last resort “call something paradise and kiss it goodbye”

All these years later I’ve had a long time to reflect on it, and get better acquainted with the music of later era (91-95) shows. What I’ve found is, it wasn’t so much the music that turned me off near the end, it was the set and setting etc. I grumbled then because I wasn’t seeing what I wanted to see, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Just perspective…
No, I now think where and how I experienced the Dead then had much more to do with my dwindling enthusiasm at the end.

And I’m not talking about being electric, I mean in any psychoactive state or not, having to go to big, expensive cities with all they are, instead of kind small and/or awesome outta the way places like Maine, Roanoke, the Rocks or all the sweet little places: Greek, Frost etc Even Hampton BITD…
Yeah, big, horrible venues in big horrible expensive cities, with uptight cops, overrun by selfish clueless rude wannabes, and worst of all, shitty sound!
Although the dead’s legendary crew always did a damn fine job with what/where they were forced to work, let’s face it, sitting up on the side of a giant stadium hearing only half of an overly stereo mix if your an Audiofile tech is torture!
We went to try to experience the MUSIC the best way we could, wether in the front row, or in front of the soundboard. Later, when GA unfortunately was not allowed, or only existent on the floor of huge stadiums, we’d just hope we could find a spot directly back but in the middle to try to get the best stereo sound we could under the circumstances, and hope some non DH regular civilian type concert goer didn’t show up half way through the first set and want “their” seats…
Yep, I’ve loved the Dead probably more than is healthy lol, but getting in your thirties, and becoming a returning poor college student, having only horrible big crowded places to go to, it’s no wonder I wasn’t able to better grasp and enjoy the new music.
Now, all these years removed, in the comfort of home etc, most of those negatively influential conditions and their memories are gone or smoothed over as age will do, and I’ve been able to finally get to know and really enjoy much of the later music. Im not suggesting that things weren’t changing musically too, just that I haven’t found things to be as dire as everyone seems to just off hand suggest.I blame that on the internet…
But Add the setting changes, to the human practice of comparing now to “the glory days” and it’s perhaps too easy to just write it all off as undesirable.
Im mean even if things hadn’t gotten so outta hand later on, it was never going to be the same for me as the early years in the front row, or say in 85 hanging out at the SB, just like that probably wouldn’t have felt the same to someone who experienced the music and scene ten years prior to me.
As awesome as say front row Rochester in 1980 was, I’m sure it was nothing like hanging at the Fillmore west etc.
So comparative experiences and personal change will always be an influential factor, but upon much further review, I’ve found the unfortunate changes popularity fostered a much bigger negative factor than just the music.
I’ve said before, I’ll say it again, they should have taken another hiatus after Brent died! Or, if not then, after JG had the second health scare in 92.
Sigh…
Well, at least it was a Hellava run while it lasted!
Singing, thank you, for a real good time!

Your description of crowd behavior in days gone by is very interesting. I had a big gap in my show attendance, from later ‘70s to FTW 2015.

I’m intrigued now by what seems more and more prevalent behavior:
people walking around passing out stickers and other trinkets at no charge.

How common was this in the 90’s?
It may not have really gotten going until graphics arts software became widely available.

MKAV- they were great shows to be at, those in 1990, but I did sense a kind of disconnect, if that's the right word, between the people in the audience and those on the stage. The Deadheads at that time were quite domineering. Quite significant, perhaps, that the British press at the time spent as much time reviewing the band's following as they did the band itself. In a sense, the Deadheads, if that's what they were, became more of a media event than the band itself, and to some extent served as a misleading distraction. The behaviour of the crowd seemed incongruous with the music being played.
We had to leave half way through the second night as my girlfriend couldn't stand it. It wasn't the music she objected to, it was the people in the audience pushing and shoving.

It was very different at the two shows I saw in 1981, at The Rainbow in London. There was still plenty of dancing and high times of course, but it felt as though it was more in response to the music. In 1990 the music was more like a background to a party. In 1981 it was the party.

Very subjective, all this of course! The first night at Wembley, 10/31/90 I was right at the front in the stalls, so there was less people between me and the band. Amazing watching Jerry so close, singing Black Peter. That couldn't have had the same impact if you were up in the balcony, where, if the following two nights were anything to go by, people could have been singing along. That first night was great - my favourite of the three.