On The Bus? There are No Right/Wrong Answers

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I'm just curious as to the makeup of Viva. Everyone has a favorite era of Grateful Dead. Please don't let this deteriorate into name calling etc, what's your favorite period ? I am just assuming that the "older fans" who no longer post would favor early, as opposed to say Brent years, I may be wrong. As for me , up until Pig died and for a short period with Keith (before drugs took over) was the best. I tried with Brent, not Vince, the scene was different for me and not as much fun as it wasn't about the music anymore. As for those shows themselves , I' appreciate Brent but he didn't do anything for me, sorry I know he has a lot of fans here. I returned to the bus about 2001 for PL&F first show was at the Beacon with Jeff Pevar, as the band rotated the shows got better, but I've stopped seeing Phil since 2006 at I think Hammerstein due to my lack of interest in the players and other bands I wanted to see with my concert money

 

Favorite eras... 72-74, 87-90

I saw, and listened to, nothing GD related from 93-09.

 

These days I listen to very little JGB, and even less GD. I have no interest in the GD related bands, including Phil's and Bob's efforts. 

 

*should read 94-09, i saw two shows in the fall of 93.

I rarely listen to recordings or records, but when I do I would say everything from '68 through '82, and for a personal attending era I'd say '79 through '84.

These days I still will see lots of GD related stuff as I love the songs and the style/format of GD improv. There are a lot of really good improvisational players involved in GD music.

And Phil? Just about any chance I get, as IMO he's still at the Coltrane, Monk, Jarrett, Miles, Garcia level of player.

There just aren't very many that great.  

Thanks to OP Elvis for creating the possibility of a positive discussion of music....  personally I am in awe of 72-73 & 77 but was seeing lots of shows by the 87-89 revival with lots of new songs and the return of Garci/Hunter material (Attics was my personal favorite return to the rotation.

77 & 87 seem the tightest to me .... for spaceiness, I listen to 69-70 final sets

I was totally on the bus for the Q years of Phil and the few years earlier/after.

Still remember being in the 1st row of the balcony and seeing the dude next to me's head explode when he realized that they were playing I Am The Walrus.

Nice to be around for a couple of different World Series runs of Rock N Roll ....

my go to years tend to be 73/74 and spring 90, with honorable mentions for 72, 77, and "angry bobby" 89 shows

this is probably blasphemy but i almost never listen to anything before 1970

Got on the bus in ‘91.  Saw shows throughout the 90s not much in the 2000s.  Favorite years are between ‘72 - ‘77.  

This is interesting because I just played with a much younger guitarist (early 40s), who is a very good lead and plays a lot of Dead with heavy Jerry influence. This was the first time we performed together. During the break our chat brought up the old Dead days (60s/70s). I recalled some of those times as a teenager growing up in the home base area where the Dead and other bands and musicians performed with regularity.

I’d have to say, when I got full into the band around ‘68/’69, the times were much different and shows were more intimate. My friends and I used to ask each other, “wanna go to a dance tonight?” There were times I didn’t even know the Dead were playing until I got there. Other than larger venues, like Winterland or the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, many of the “dances” would only have a few hundred people. The DNB scene reminds of those halcyon days.

While I have no real partiality to any Dead era, I will say I preferred the smaller shows to the stadium/arena gigs. Mainly, because the accessibility was more like a party or a dance event. I think the Dead brought that vibe to many of the big crowd shows into the 80s, which helped make them a little different than seeing touring attractions like the Stones, Who, etc.
When I first started going to and working Dead shows just to see them, there was a sense of camaraderie with the band. Phil giving me my first Heineken, sharing a joint with Jerry, Bobby letting me and a couple of friends sneak into the Veteran’s Auditorium in Santa Rosa, etc. While we didn’t know the band and crew in the sense that they were close pals, personally I always felt there was a kinship. I think that’s what made them so special to me.

Later, when their circle became less accessible, even back stage, I remember feeling a little sense of loss. Their concerts began to feel like any other music event, except the crowd was still cooler than most other big shows. An Allman Brothers show in the late 80s comes to mind where there were several fights in the audience. Never saw that at a Dead show.

Of course, the incredible music the Dead made was inspiring to me as I grew to become a musician myself and their individual influences helped to broaden my perspective.
Was I (am I) on the bus? I guess you could put it that way, but I think it was a good thing to take a transfer once in a while, too.

I prefer  my Dead music with either Lesh or Garcia in the band, preferably both. For my money Phil is the only thing of value left of the once great scene. If Lesh is involved I'm interested, otherwise pass on anything Bobby and the Devils are doing.