Grateful Dead

Anymore thoughts on this one? I don't think you really can... My X girlfriend (at that time) called my friends and I a bunch of tree huggin hippys before we were prepairing to embark on a weekend of camping to Nelsons Ledges for a Dark Star Orchestra show. I tryed to explain to her the good vibes and kind people that are there. Ever since then, i've alway wanted to know how you explain a dead show to someone.

I love the music very much but the distinction of a Dead show is that it is like a huge family getting together to celebrate a way life like a family going to church to hear a sermon. It's the only concert where you walk into another world and walk out a changed person for life. And what other show can make you seriously consider quitting your job and going on tour?? "Everybody's braggin' and drinking that wine, I can tell the queen of diamonds by the way she shines. Come to daddy on an inside straight, well I've got no chance of losing this time"

Your right, there is know other Tour or Show in the world like it, atleast that I know of. Damn!! I'm EXCITED bout this tour!! Phatmoye

A Dead Show is a place where true fellow brothers and sisters can let go, get along, share love and ride the magic wave of everyones positive peaceful vibes, not be judgmental, but instead understanding and open. It is a safe coven for people to express themselves and to be creative, a place where everyone can shine, keep in mind you've gotta love yourself before others can love you....your never too young to start diggin the dead, theres still hope yet.A Dead Show where the sub counter culture reunites, where the state of mind becomes intense and passionate, but still free. A dead show is the place you want to be to get your groove on, to share your life with familiar souls that you feel connected to....so make sure you find your connection, theres something there for each and everyone of us, stay in the moment and keep moving forward...a rolling stone gathers no moss....music to me is a beautiful cure for the mind and body.....so roll away the dew and sweet the winds shall blow. remember alot of nice things go bad out there, it surely is a wild world.... "did ya ever waken to the sound of street cats makin love and guess from their cries you were listening to a fight well you know, hates just the last thing they're thinking of they're only tryin to make it through the night" peace hugs and lots of love to anyone whos open for it....

your right man, there is no better show on earth, atleast none that i know of.Phatmoye

freakin' magic!!............a big, cracklin' warm and fuzzy ball of energy, draped in tie dye and covered with a smile!!

You sure got a way with words!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep em coming. ((HUGS)) Johnman! How bout a dead show is better even than a great piece of cake? ********************************* It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

For those who understand, there's no need for explanation,For those who don't understand, there IS NO explanation. Peace ya'll and see ya out there.

it is something that you need to experience, and my experiences were all in Europe so are different to people from the states - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Spanish Jam

Whom I've been trying to turn onto the Dead for 34 yrs (and counting). All of my persuasion has gotten me nowhere. I love him, but it just ain't going to happen. Not suprisingly, this ongoing 30+ year discussion has turned into a running joke with us. We do have a Grateful Dead connection that we share and have fond memories of. If I cue up "Sugaree" in his presence (one song that he seems to like), he'll immediately smile, or start laughing -- usually laughing. It isn't what I was looking for, but it's still something good...

PERFECTO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love how you said that!Any kind of missionizing campaign is dangerous and yukky-including an "everybody needs to be a Deadhead" one. Exposure and explanation one thing, fanatacism something else all together. ********************************** It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

Keep em coming friends.Phatmoye SO THE KIDS THEY DANCE AND SHAKE THEIR BONES!

I'm embarrassed to admit it took me awhile to get on the "bus" i was a head banger in the early 80's while a good portion of my friends were heads. They planned all there skool breaks to tour and I just did nt see what all the hype was about. Until the tour with csny i decided to go without a ticket. My friends said "just go check it out it wont cost u anything just hang in the lot and see the 2nd set 4 free when they opened the gates." My reply was "u guys will all be in there and i'll be by myself". They just laughed as if the joke was on me. It sure was, I was not by myself I was meeting my family that whole day. I ate drank smoked and tripped until my heart and head were full of the luv as I never new was possible.I had one of the best days of my life it ranks up there with getting my cherry popped; no it wasnt even close the dead show was a whole day of peace & luv getting my cherry popped was 3 pumps and a squirt!! The luv that was given to me by strangers can never be compared to . Now 20 +yrs later I've gone to so many dead related shows they all blend into a hodge podge of True Luv and happiness that only compares to dancing with my soulmate Sarah'bel at a Dead show. Cant wait to shake my bones with 'bel in Albany & Bflo.Atheas daddy!!!

To paraphrase some dead guy: We came, we heard, we came again... we left It, but It did not leave us. "The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer." - Ken Kesey

I always said the circus is back in town. Now, not everyone loves the circus, but those who do, really love the circus.Peace

On a good night it was bettern the best sex. The interplay between each other, the sometimes silent, somtimes thundering ques, the ability of any one member to lead the rest of the band down a new path with a simple phrase or chord was improvisation at its finest. Never stuctured, always right on the edge. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. On a bad night like a plane crash. Did someone say coverband??? Who else can pull off Merle Haggard and the Stones in the same set. The mix of country, folk, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and straight ahead rock and roll have never been equalled. Uncle Bobo said it best "Theyre not only the best at what they do, theyre the only ones who do what they do" And then there was the cat in the GD movie "The bottom line is quite simply stated, there is NOTHING like a Grateful Dead concert

You just drop your jaw, your eyes get big and you start dancing. If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake

You just drop your jaw, your eyes get big and you start dancing. If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake

over and over without even knowing it If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake

Went to a show,People were spinning, Looked at the crowd, People were grinning, Their about to come on, I heard someone say Then I got lost in the music, From the first song they played, Didn't take long, To find myself there, Everone was happy, No one seemed to care, After it was over, And all said and done, Twas then I awoken, To the grateful dead fun! Phatmoye So the kids they dance and shake rheir bones!!

To semi-quote a Great American:"A DEAD SHOW IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES:YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL GET."

explanation.....ya just have to do it..Well, other than FUN ...xoxo Gypsy Cowgirl

Grate poem, Grate idea for explaining. Will take the liberty of doing the same-post a show poem here that I put in the poetry thread ages ago! Drops fall softly While the notes flow through our ears We keep on dancing Our fingers draw the music Patterns in the air Our feet mimic the rhythm Drums on the grass My neighbor smiles at me As a rainbow appears over the stage The melody changes Sunshine daydream We are still dancing Twirling our own rainbow Along the moon-path ********************************** It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

Gypsy Cowgirl has nailed it. You don't explain it. You can't explain it. The shows explain themselves. Until you've been to one, you can't possibly comprehend. And once you have, you never need to ask again. It's an experience that traverses more dimensions than mere verbal language can communicate. Admittedly, it's not going to work for everyone. But for those who do "get it," they all seem to get it instantly and intuitively. Best taken with eyes, ears and mind open. Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.

:)

I would have to agree with Dedhed4ever which is the most concise way to say it, but that doesn't give those who genuinely want to know any info, and for the most part, we really can't explain it. It's like an ancient esoteric teaching, it's so abstract to the everyday mind that it can't be easily explained and thus comprehended. I once had a hallucination while I was inside a show and the "heat" from the boy's was intense. The only way that I could explain it was that I felt like I was IN a bowl of jello, and that jello around me was God, I was IN God. I was just browsing through on of those Grateful Dead books or almanacs, can't remember the title, but in one of the interviews the questioner offered a very viable explanation to "our" phenomenon....He made the point that this communal feeling we get by being around so many people that are striving for this kindness and peace that we so all want created...scientifically...the Alpha wave state. I think that what he is infering is that...with everything that went on...The Grateful Dead brought us closer to that vibration that is just a bit closer to God. With all Love, Light, and Laughter....CM

eat the crystal, touch the sound, it's calliopes and clowns, come and dig my earth, transitve nightfall of diamonds, all his children ran an hid, creepy, nothings for surtin it can always go wrong, sunshine and river , while the boy's sing round the fire! stranger ones have come by here, hey man dropped your sock, can you catch the rabbit, listen to the river roll ' roll, roll and flow and breath in the air maybe cheshire will take you to the other side, ishall be released from a bucket of what the hell was that? rrrrr lookin through a hole in the sky, uh O here comes suuuuuuuuuun shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. give be Liberty or give me Dead, what the fuck are we watching for, you'll get your eye poked out, out to the ends of the mind. And shall "IT" never end, breathing Dragons in a rainbow of sound, is that really the time man, get rid of IT cause IT might just kill you, IT is uphill both ways, IF is the middle word of Life, and if maybe I had only had????????????????????, Charlie Chan WTF gotta say FUCK, in every windowpayne, raining again, come sit by my fire is always warm as are our hearts and, support wildlife everything you touch, is touched, if there is no pebble tossed or wind to blow than how do we Breath with knee's in the Breeze. the earth and sky be my mother and and al that is, is my brother, sun and showers, wind and sometimes don't say that word.......................... Be happy with what you have , because Death awaits you, and when you accept that you are alive forever. it

You all have been quite helpful to me on this topic. My way of explaining it is probably that you just have to go to understand it. Or lots of beautiful colors. Hee hee heePhatmoye

Aww yeah Shoreline 89 my first Grateful Dead show. What a journey ever since! Shoreline 2009 will mark the 20 year anniversary of those shows. I am so excited that I will be there!! Thanks for sparking up those memories! "Everybody's braggin' and drinking that wine, I can tell the queen of diamonds by the way she shines. Come to daddy on an inside straight, well I've got no chance of losing this time"

A dead show is pretty much like Christmas, that would be a good way of putting it."You can never stop learning," Phatmoye

sparky colorful ball of anticipation

You know, to sum it up, every time I think of a dead show, I just imagine hippys twirln and the eleven playin in the backround."You can never stop learning," Phatmoye

phil put it well when he said (and i am paraphrasing): 'a dead show is one part sports event, one part church.' this explains the two 'poles' of how deadheads view the experience. some heads see the show as a raucous good time rock-n-roll event, and nothing more. some see it as a religious experience (i.e. jerry is god) and refuse to see the more down to earth (sometimes negative) aspects of the show. most of us are somewhere in the middle. here's my take: the grateful dead provide a space for a psychedelic dance experience. this happens to take the form of a rock concert. in actuality, people have been doing this for tens of thousands of years. we just happen to live in a time and a culture where this sort of thing is rare and marginalized, so it seems unique. not so. other 'jam' bands have been able to get in on the act, to a degree. (none of them come close to the dead's subtle blend of bucolic pastoralism and cosmic terror.) in the late 80's / early 90's house music and rave culture came very close to matching the grandeur and heady rush of the dead scene. in fact, for a brief period from about '92-'93, the rave scene was kicking the dead scene's ass. (i was doing both, so i know.) of course, that scene has now been co-opted by alcohol, speed, and bad attitudes, but sometimes you can still find a kind party. one final point: a dead show is PARTICIPATORY. the band and the audience feed off each other's energy. there are good nights and not so good nights. it is never exactly the same twice. it is a huge, ever-growing, pulsating brain that rules from the center of ...

Kdingijhingn! I nondkopanot a cindoijck apnna fgop an ekijgnaihihythajkhga.That should do it... works every time for me. (~) ;- } "The task is, not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees." - Erwin Schrödinger

people that can actually read gibberish, as well as speak it, i'll have to agree........freeeeeeeen!!

You don't. You get your groove on. But if someone asks, just tell em it's a lot of fun.

I wish I knew how to explain it - but it seems a mystery... I ran across this scientific american piece on musicians and synchronized brain waves - I don't think they are that far off - it's just the tip of the iceberg. to quote from the article "People have an extraordinary capacity to synchronize their actions," he says. "When two people concentrate on the same thing, gestures and head movements are highly coordinated and supported by brain synchronicity. We think what we are getting through music has wider implications and social bonding behaviors are part of those wider implications." I'm a thinkin that when you get a really special band that knows how to sync themselves not just with each other - but with the audience as well -Magic does happen... The alpha wave state note above fits with this. http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=musicians-brain… Like someone said some get it some don't... It has spread it's deep roots in me though (25 years on the bus)- and it keeps on growin. Anyway - forget this gibberish and let the music play the band.

it's a really really big therapy session wif multiple patients, right??

Great description johnman! And the Dead's the family doctor. All you need All you really need Is good love

I am in need of a major therapy session ! Chicago here we come ! I can't help you with your troubles If you won't help with mine...

a building full of happy people enjoying the magic of the moment:-)(-:

Months ago I asked Marye to post this topic:) Thank you Marye. There is no easy way to explaine a dead show, but the only way I could explaine it to "normal" people would be......SMILES EVERYWHERE:)I guess you just have to go to experience it:) Loaved the shows, thank you Mickey,Billy,Phil, Bobby,Warren and Jeff for making iIT happen:) And thank you all you deadheads for creating a positive atmosphere:) Without YOU deadheads, none of this could ever be possible!! :) Peace- Moye

This guy Bob Wire wrote a blog asking what the deal is with the grateful dead. He doesn't get why people like them or what real contributions they provided the music world. He asking for people to enlighten him. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/whats_the_deal_with_the_grateful_d…

when I was at a Grateful Dead Show, I knew and understood that there was no other place in the entire universe where I would rather be, and that there were no other people with whom I would rather be with at that moment.That is how I explain a Dead show. "One watch by night, one watch by day If you get confused, listen to the music play"

Id have to say..."Strangers stopping strangers, just to shake their hands...."Peace- Moye

and from that, everybody's playin' in the Hearth of Gold Band.

Lots of fun !!!! Dead heads getting together enjoyin the scene & the music....Listen to the river to sing sweet songs and rock my soul...

.......to someone who has never been? Damn near impossible & I have pretty much given up trying. Language/words are way insufficient to portray the depth of the experience.These days I mostly fall back on my standard response.........Greatest experience in my life. You had to be there. Magic. But I must add.......well said Pomo. That works for me. Peace