re: Is there a more disappointing first listen than the Grateful Dead?

Veneta Oregon 8/27/72 - my personal favorite. Just about everything from Europe ‘72 is a great place to start as well.

I’m very partial to early 70s dead but everyone has their own preference.

Honestly any of the dicks picks are a great start. Just comes down to which era you like.

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5/8/77 - Cornell
Europe 72

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That was my starting spot. I accidently/randomly found these on Amazon music playlist while working on my garden.

"Here is an amazing show from 3/29/90 at the Naussau Coliseum with Branford Marsalis on sax ... 16 minute - Eyes of The World jam "

You are correct. I was at all 3 of those. Of course the night before The Weight breakout was sweet and a smoking Cumby. The third night was awesome and overlooked. The whole tour was smoking and I only missed the Omni.

About 5 years ago Branford played at a small college out here and we went. Very short but there was a meet and greet after. I went up to Branford and told him how awesome the Nassau show was and he says..."aw man everyone says they went to that show". He then talked about the band members like he read it in a book then tried to get me to buy the Nassau cds. I was polite and left laughing that I had the videos a week later. My wife was pissed and thought he was rude. I sent his website a pic of me holding the stub and one from when he played UMASS. I have all my stubs, well most.

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Do you accept that argument when it comes to Bruce Springsteen?

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Apples to oranges. Springsteen's music is like a series of paintings. Each song is separate from each other and he uses words like a painter uses colors. The Dead's music is a tapestry where songs are woven and intertwined into each other. There is nothing at a Springsteen concert in the manner of a Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower, Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain, China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider, Estimated Prophet/Eyes of the World portion of a Dead show. I'll admit Springsteen also doesn't waste 20 to 30 minutes of time with a Drums/Space bathroom break either. The Dead have there weaknesses and that is one of their primary ones. I never said they were perfect, just damn good when they are on.

Another difference between the Dead and Springsteen (and between the Dead and just about anyone else for that matter) The Dead once played six two and a half hour shows in a row without repeating one song in any of them. Has Springsteen ever done that?

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5/8/77 - Cornell

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I might be an oddball here (you could argue that since I am a huge Dead fan that has never so much as smoked one joint or done one drug in my entire life I already am) but other than the Scarlet/Fire part this show is a bit overrated. My favorite show of theirs is actually the next night in Buffalo but there is a bunch of really good stuff from 1977. I'm pretty much a sucker for anything between 1972 and 1978. The Winterland '73 box set is sick. The 11/11/73 show on it is my second favorite show of theirs I've heard.

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The Winterland '73 box set is sick.

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great place to start listening
they are at an absolute peak in those shows, they are remixed and remastered beautifully and sound like you are in the room with them

if you don’t like 73 you just don’t like the dead’s music.

Unpopular opinion:
Throwing stones, lyrically, is a top ten song of all time. Not just the GD.
Never hear it mentioned in any GD discussions, but feel it’s vastly underrated.

YT Vid

love me some Phish .When i was at Ohio University in Athens ,Ohio ,the home of Joe Bureaux , I saw this band called Phish circa 1988 in a little bar on campus .Place was packed with Heads . Thought they were ok then my Xtasy kicked in and they were great !!!! Then i transgerred to LSU and here i am back in the TD nucleus .

The Grateful Dead isn’t for everyone. I get that.

But I have to wonder where you are on your journey through music that you think they are “lame”.

Who would you consider “not lame”?