I understand where he’s coming from and agree with a lot of it. Pre-1979 tapes are what made me love them, and I was fortunate to be part of the audience during that renaissance from ’88-’91. Experienced some real magic during that time, but never felt inspired by a show after ’91. Part of that may have been that I’d become a bit jaded and moved on to other primary personal interests, but this article isn’t the only one that makes me think it probably wasn’t just me. My last show was also Portland ’95, the first night. It was bad enough I ditched out and went surfing the next day instead of sticking around for the second night show. It wasn’t just the band; I ran into old tour friends there from the east coast who were going nowhere in life and really kind of bummed me out. It seemed like a band and culture in decay, and Jerry’s passing shortly thereafter served as a confirmation of this to me. So from an historical standpoint, I think the author makes some good points. And I agree with Bill above, that if someone doesn’t like jazz, they’re not gonna like a lot of the Grateful Dead.
Personally I don’t share the animosity toward their more extended songs, jams and the drums-space portion of their performances. Sometimes these were the most inspiring parts of the shows for me. That’s just a personal preference and I don’t begrudge anyone their own tastes. There are plenty of artists out there who are geniuses, but whose art just doesn’t speak to me, and that’s okay. I can appreciate their genius and the love others have for them, I just never choose to listen to them, myself. Prince comes to mind.
What always puzzled me was the level of disdain some people expressed toward the GD and their fans, particularly by many in the punk rock scene, who to me seemed like they were similar to heads, just with higher value placed on a “fuck everyone” attitude than musicianship. Don’t like ‘em? Don’t go to a show! Although I guess I get it a little bit, in that some dead heads were kind of annoyingly evangelical, sort of like certain vegans today. Probably some of the same people!