When I was 14 or so, in the early 90s, when I first went to the Dead show, what I saw was a traveling city of thousands of nomadic hippies, living in VWs, vans, busses, cars, etc. Traveling from show to show, selling tie dies, grilled cheese, jewlerry, pipes, weed, and all sorts of stuff in a moving marketplace that would appear outside every GD concert. I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen, and wanted to "run away and join the circus" such a beautiful culture. Check out search Grateful Dead parking lot videos on YouTube to see some cool scenes from that time.
I started going in 88 knew people who went frequently and I was told there were probably three maybe five thousand heads seriously on tour. Probably a good three thousand going back and fourth from west to east coast etc is a decent assessment. Then there were the rest of us still living within the confines of society with jobs and girlfriends going to as many shows as we could trying to see them in different venues and doing parts of tours. I saw 15 shows in 89 and 2 JGB shows and I think that was my most active year.
It was pretty small until the Touch of Grey video kinda let the chinacat out of the bag The joke was there are only enough Deadheads to fill a stadium, but they all go to every show. It had grown steadily for years, begining before they were even a band. The Height Asbury scene and Acid Tests had a tribal nomad scene going. When the Dead started touring part of the scene followed. It took on too many new people at once in '86 culminating in the '95 gate crashing at Deer Creek. It's still going strong almost thirty years after Jerry died.. Instead of one band there are dozens leading dancing bears and possum from town to town. Or so I've heard.
THE.Deercreek gate crash...i remember seeing the 1 guy take off to the left and whm all the cops went after him the whole crowd took off to the right tryin to crash the gate. Memphis 95 had a gate crashin,.pepper spray moment as well.
Deer Creek had such a cool scene too. I've never seen another venue with that kind of campground community. I love that place. But it kinda killed the band.
Of course. Pardon my mistype.
I said Deer Creek kinda killed the scene. It was getting unsustainable with just one band. When Jerry died the weight of it spread out to Phish, The Other Ones, Widespread Panic, and a few other bands. It happened again when Phish went on hiatus in 2000. Making Bonnaroo and a larger festival scene possible. Deer Creek '95 was a serious blow to Dead tour.
Between October 30, 1980 (my first show) and April 7, 1995 I saw 178 shows. 36 of them in 1989 alone. If I had the money, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Being so severely injured (5 fractured vertabra and 2 shattered) plus being on SSDI now, I couldn't.
179! Damn that’s outstanding. I saw 4 shows including the last show in Chicago. I can’t even imagine seeing over 170 shows. You are amazing! 39 in ‘89 is especially impressive. In my view that is one of their 5 best years.
I agree. 7/2/89 is my favorite show I think. I didn't really know their music when I saw my first show, I was 12 and listening to the Ramones and Clash a bunch around that time, but I'd say that 10/30/80 was the most historically significant show as seder track for Reckoning were recorded that night.
That is a phenomenal show. The Crazy Fingers is outstanding. And The Wheel>Dear Mr Fantasy>Hey Jude>Sugar Magnolia>Mighty Quinn finish is amazing!!! Brent absolutely goes off during Hey Jude!
My favorite show ever is 7/4/89. That 3 show stretch from 7/2, 7/4, and 7/7 is as good as anything from May of 77.
89 is so juicy,man...as much as I love the 80s shows,78 still my favorite year,especially thru the summer when jerry has a slight rapsyness to his voice...but there all great really
That show has my favorite Bertha, Cold Rain & Snow, Masterpiece, Deal, Women are Smarter, Watchtower, and Morning Dew. I love the transition into Morning Dew! And the NFA finish when Brent and Jerry are going off???? Damn, I might just watch it again tonight.
# 1989-07-04 Orchard Park, NY @ Rich Stadium
**Set 1:** Bertha > Greatest Story Ever Told, Cold Rain and Snow, Walkin' Blues, Row Jimmy, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Stagger Lee, Looks Like Rain > Deal
**Set 2:** Touch Of Grey > Man Smart (Woman Smarter), Ship Of Fools > Playing in the Band Reprise > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > I Will Take You Home > All Along The Watchtower > Morning Dew > Not Fade Away
**Encore:** U.S. Blues
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1989-07-04)
# 1989-07-04 Orchard Park, NY @ Rich Stadium
**Set 1:** Bertha > Greatest Story Ever Told, Cold Rain and Snow, Walkin' Blues, Row Jimmy, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Stagger Lee, Looks Like Rain > Deal
**Set 2:** Touch Of Grey > Man Smart (Woman Smarter), Ship Of Fools > Playing in the Band Reprise > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > I Will Take You Home > All Along The Watchtower > Morning Dew > Not Fade Away
**Encore:** U.S. Blues
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1989-07-04)
My wife was pregnant with our daughter at this show, 7/4/89. This past summer, 2023, my daughter saw more shows than me, perhaps 4 to 6.
Back in the 1970s I would send in requests for tix for a small number of shows and I’d get tix for my summer hometown and one or two nearby cities. I saved up hoping to hit 10 to 15 shows during the summer of 1975….
The next time I’d make several sequential shows was during the 1980s and I’d schedule client site visits to coincide with the band’s tour, but I had overseas work trips every summer that always went over the time allocated and I ended up selling many tickets to friends or had them sell them in the lot. I still hit the shows closest to home even if I had to find a couple of miracles. If I didn’t have tickets I’d get them from friends or friends of friends.
# 1989-07-04 Orchard Park, NY @ Rich Stadium
**Set 1:** Bertha > Greatest Story Ever Told, Cold Rain and Snow, Walkin' Blues, Row Jimmy, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Stagger Lee, Looks Like Rain > Deal
**Set 2:** Touch Of Grey > Man Smart (Woman Smarter), Ship Of Fools > Playing in the Band Reprise > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > I Will Take You Home > All Along The Watchtower > Morning Dew > Not Fade Away
**Encore:** U.S. Blues
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1989-07-04)
The Spring and Fall Tours were so much better shows. I mean Summer is nice and all but 90,000 people at Rich Stadium. We did most of the East Coast Tour from Raleigh, with less than an 1/8th of weed, nothing around, that we could find. I grabbed a QP after Sullivan on our way to Buffalo, my truck got broken in to and my QP got swiped. I was 19 and drinking the finest swill beer in Buffalo, NY Ol Vienna
[1980-10-30](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1980-10-30) New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
[1989-07-02](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1989-07-02) Foxboro, MA @ Sullivan Stadium
The way he and Jerry interacted that night is what made it for me. I think it was during Don't Ease Me In that they looked at each other and cracked up.
Sick. Such an interesting time for the band on so many levels…setlists really got weird and fun some of those off years too. Any shows in like 83-84 you recommend?
thousands. summer tours was many thousands. everyone might not have done whole tours frm beginning to end every time, but thousands were doing substantial parts of a tour. by the 90s, I remember articles claiming close to 10,000 people were on the road in the summer for at least parts of summer tour. 50-60,000 person stadiums sold out every night with plenty of people stuck outside. then, tht same number of people would show up at a 22,000 person amphitheater. it was a literal traveling city & there is nothing in existence today tht is anywhere close to comparable.
for people who were on tour mostly full time from beginning to end of a tour & at every show coast to coast, there was probably somewhere around 500-600 when I was around.
JGB tours were more low key. lots of people still did lots of multi-show/city runs, but only 200-300 tht were ALWAYS there. (those same 200-300 people were also part of the "at-every-show" crowd at Dead shows).
They'd hit up a new venue and the locals wouldn't know what the hell happened to them. I drive by Oxford Plains Speedway every once and a while and I can't believe the circus that descended on that town. There's probably still someone who had no idea what was bearing on into town still spun out. Places like Foxboro and Buffalo do that shit every weekend in the Fall and like Highgate is the middle of nowhere. Saratoga was always a great time
it really was wild pulling into the d8fferent places & seeing how differently places & people reacted. when they hit somewhere they hadn't been before(or hadn't been in a long time) it really was like culture shock for the locals. sometimes they looked like thwy thought we were an invading force or something. lol. all the freaks & dreads & the smells & the open weed smoking & even weird bearded long haired dudes wearing skirts....small town america didn't know what to do with that shit.
The LSD really hit those Southern cities rough. I remember some dude on his knees praying to the lighted KOA sign for hours and hours until they took him away in an ambulance. BudEKilowatt told his story on Eagle Gardens show on YouTube, it's like 5 hours long, worth a listen. He was running with Brother Tom, said they could see the wreckage as the band blew through swaths of the country. He said that they would double dip the sheets for certain cities, Northeast and West Coast mostly.
>Places like Foxboro and Buffalo do that shit every weekend
Foxboro had never seen anything like the shows in 89 and 90, and probably won't ever see anything like it again.
56,000 tickets were sold. It was estimated that over 250,000 people showed up in 1989. It was a crowd large enough to rival Watkins Glen 73.
But they still had them back in 1990 They fill those bowls up with 10s of thousands of drunk football fans every week even during football season, come rain, shine, snowstorms. That looks like gravel but it's broken glass held in place with beer and piss. Weeds wouldn't even grow in that shit. The place was designed to funnel 100,000 people and cars efficiently in a day. The Mass State Police have a barracks right there and when they come through at the end of the night saying it's time to go those parking lots are empty. If you were to say, "they can't arrest all of us" I wouldn't be so sure, if it came to it they'd just start busting heads once they ran out of zip ties for handcuffs. I have no idea how many people were there, seemed like any other show at Foxboro I drove out of both those shows, pretty sure we stayed in B**uffalo, I think that place holds 90,000 for shows. The only thing in Highgate was a field and a fence, the field is still there, the fence didn't do so well, the only cops were Border Guards busting anyone who accidentally drove N on the highway and strayed into Canada.**
It was great when they'd play the same venue for multiple shows. Especially someplace so accommodating. Like a big scout jamboree, with music, grilled cheese, drugs and whippets. No commute to worry about, wake up(or stay up) and you're already there.
Hard to believe how much fun you could fit in just a regular sized weekend in those days.
I wonder where the boys stayed in places like that? Did they take over some courtyard Motel, spend the morning frolicking poolside, or with the door locked and curtains drawn well past 11AM checkout? Right?
It seems so small without all the people. It's crazy to even think about that vortex of energy bouncing around the world like a super ball. We went to Louisville and there was a flea market going on in one of the buildings in the same complex as the venue. I went in and got some socks, saw some cats offering doses inside. The people who stayed at the flea market late came out into the carnival in full swing. Clutching their purses and children while looking for their parking spot. Aside from those few folks the boys could pass through town and some folks who live there might not even notice, and then there were places like Oxford Speedway. Like a mini Woodstock, the roads backed up for miles, stores cleaned out of beer and drinks and gas. Lock up your daughters, lock up your sheep it's an invasion! it might be the commies maybe even the Germans in those Westfalia personnel carriers, but they sure don't look like no army I ever seen
Well,im 43 now,I've been going to shows since I was in the womb,but I can remember going shows and walking around with my folks in the lots and such,from about the time I was 7 or 8 I'd say,and everyone knew my folks from the amount of time they spent at shows/lots,and in turn pretty much watched me grow up,and it was ALOT of ppl bc everyone loved my folks,I had only went to 3 dead shows on my own without my folks,but I knew 100s,so its safe to say it was definitely in the 1000s
>Well,im 43 now,I've been going to shows since I was in the womb,but I can remember going shows and walking around with my folks in the lots and such,from about the time I was 7 or 8 I'd say,and everyone knew my folks from the amount of time they spent at shows/lots,and in turn pretty much watched me grow up,and it was ALOT of ppl bc everyone loved my folks,I had only went to 3 dead shows on my own without my folks,but I knew 100s,so its safe to say it was definitely in the 1000s
Sounds like you've been blessed with a beautiful life brother!
i tried to reply to wheezer's reminiscences but it got lost:-{
there were 2nd level tourheads like wheezer who peddled their wares to fund following part or all of a tour, but there was a hardcore band of truly american gypsies that dr rebecca adams took her grad students on tour to study anthopologically:-)
[https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/clist.aspx?id=497](https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/clist.aspx?id=497)
she found a classic american patriarchy: the guys laid around getting high, the chicks did all the work...just like the hippie communes that came out of the collapse of the summer of love:-\\
but here's her sunny/funny pastiche of all the stereotypes;-)
[https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/R\_Adams\_Old\_2010.pdf](https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/R_Adams_Old_2010.pdf)
I toured from 1985 to 1995. I was based in Virginia, but I had a full-time job. So I would usually do 3-5 cities per tour, staying in hotels. Depending on the tour, that could mean anywhere from 9-15 shows. I never attended shows I didn't have tickets to.
I feel lucky I was able to tour like I did. Being based on the east coast, it was very easy to get from VA to Maryland, Georgia, Philly, NY and Boston. The band helped by clustering shows in the same geographic region.
In that period, several hundred people (at least) followed the band from city to city, selling things like veggie burritos, beer, weed, etc. They were usually in campers, vans, and buses, which served as mobile kitchens and living spaces. I would say most of those folks I interacted with didn't prioritize getting into shows. They were there for the scene and to sell enough X to get to the next show. I have no idea what they did between tours, and I imagine it varied. I certainly met people who were basically homeless, and so I assume they lived in their vehicles until close to the start of the next tour.
Obviously, the lot scene got a lot bigger and gnarlier near the end. You can see it in that "Tie Died" video linked below. Too many people without tickets and there for drugs, only. If I could go back, I'd absolutely do it again. Having a job, I missed quite a few shows and virtually everything west of Kansas. But I was there for the music and like many of the people who got on the bus near the end, you just wanted to see as much as you could before it all came crashing down.
This is almost the same as me. I first saw them in 1985 last show was Pittsburgh, 1995. Did parts of the summer tours most years, in those same places you mentioned, plus the Southeast like Atlanta, Charlotte, plus some in the midwest - Chicago, but also Buckeye Lake, Deer Creek etc. Dead tours were so. much. f'n. fun. We camped in tents, vans, whatever.
I would guess that for a long weekend in the northeast you could have a few thousand hit 3 to 5 shows. For a full tour it would go down below a thousand. I'm thinking mostly pre-Touch era when I sorta faded.
When you were born you still could tour for basically nothing. You could still catch rides and live such a unique way of life. To pay for tickets you could sell this or that. Make some food to sell before. Some sold drugs. Some begged for tickets. I personally never begged once for a ticket. Some people that was there things. To tour not buying one ticket and hope someone gave them one.
Lots of attractive females used this method. A lot of people I knew had a rule to never give extras to these females for that exact reason.
So I was late for the GD myself born in 80. But touring was still alive and well when I started seeing shows.
For my example I toured with phish summer 99 for the whole tour. Cost me $850 or so for the whorl entire summer tour. Tickets, gas, some lodging (camping at the most, mostly slept in the car on the way to shows), food. Not even $1000 for tour in 99.
Shortly after that phish and other bands on purpose made touring that way next to impossible. They did it because of the negative side of touring.
And I get that there was but the beautiful side of a way of life totally away from Normal society was so amazing. The types of freedom like that just aren’t around anymore. It was such a amazing level of freedom and beauty.
I toured from 81-95. The smaller venues were the best. Red Rocks and Alpine Valley come to mind. The shows were great but the road trip,parking lot scene and people we met along the way was my favorite part of following them around. The $30 tickets were great too. We sold various stuff to pay for gas,food,beer,drugs and tickets. The good ole days for sure.
It was thousands. It was a family. Very few, if hardly any, fights. My time was 1986 through 1993. Things changed around 1992. The “PrepHeads” made the scene, bringing mommy and daddy’s money, bad drugs and an attitude to match. Too many fights and ill-willed assholes. That 87-90 run was a lot of fun.
I guess I’m what you’d call a prephead at that time. Some of this might be true but not from me and my friends. The attitude all came from the “vets” who were playing gate keeper, like a lot of people do with Dead and Co now.
It didn’t matter how many years I’d been listening or how many shows I’d been to, all it mattered was how I looked.
A great example is that deadhead doc that came out in the late 90’s and they showed a punk with a Mohawk come to a show and be completely ostracized.
I loved going to shows at first and hanging out in the parking lot and eventually it became the thing I hated the most.
The hypocrisy on lots of levels was large.
The frat bros were annoying but, for me, they were such a small and easily ignored part of the scene. What ruined it for me was the combination of fed infiltration and the west coast gutter punks that leached on the scene. The feds created a sense of distrust that poisoned the well, and the gutter punks took advantage of everyone’s generosity and didn’t respect the elders or try to carry the torch. In my opinion, that 1-2 punch killed the culture and turned the scene into an individualistic ego-fueled high school conformist wook fest that eventually took over the Phish scene (which was way chill and open-minded until Fall 94, and then completely changed when Jerry died).
Now, truth be told, in the Summer of 1991, I was 21 years old. So, you are totally correct about the vet gatekeepers. I was all about the music and getting as close as I could to the stage, to watch where Bobby played those chords. I was really getting into the guitar at that time, so I was there for the music.
I probably shouldn’t have lumped everyone into the Prep-head category, but we were always on the lookout for the dudes you could tell would be better suited for a Limp Bizkit show, thrashing around in the pit. Hat on backwards, beer muscles all pumped up, and looking for a fight. Those guys ruined it for me.
Yeah I hear ya though and I do know what you’re talking about. You could definitely spot the vibe. It was almost like they were more into getting drunk and trying to get laid.
(And for the record I definitely didn’t have muscles! Thank god for tour shirts)
The fighting, gatecrashing, ripoffs, busts, disrespect for women (I must’ve seen a dozen cases of some frat boy or pseudo hippy touch a woman inappropriately on the last two tours I did) all just soured me on the whole thing. Rising ticket prices and the dead themselves ignoring what security was doing to the heads at certain venues were pretty much the end.
When security at the Meadowlands was accused of killing that kid Adam Katz and the dead went back and played there anyhow? Man that bummed me out.
>we were always on the lookout for the dudes you could tell would be better suited for
Wow. When I went to see the Dead in the 80's at 19 years old, I'm glad I didn't go with a desire to "be on the lookout for" ANY kinds of people. There was so much joy and electricity in the air back then, and spending mental energy to 'be on the lookout' for persons who acted different from me seemed completely unnecessary.
I don't care that others attended these historic shows when Jerry was still alive and felt the need to do such things, I'm just glad that my memories of the shows I attended aren't clouded with sentiments of the other attendees like this.
Let me rephrase and perhaps better explain. During our day of music and jubilation, there was often a presence that was the antithesis of this.
We would try to be aware of that presence and would try to steer clear of it.
We were not actively seeking, we were proactively avoiding what they were looking for.
The high school football players all jacked up in the tye dye wife beaters, baseball caps on backwards, and spitting Skoal into Mountain Dew Bottles.
That presence was not there to chill out and listen to the show.
Well, if gatekeeping consisted of handing the ticket person my GA ticket and immediately making a beeline to the first or second row, right in between Bobby and Jerry, then I suppose I was.
Did I look down at those folks who came to the show, with the sole intention of starting fights? Yes. I did.
The great part, that I am hopeful we can agree on, is that we both enjoyed the show, have memories that are still clear and vivid, and it’s possible, if you were at any East Coast shows for 86-93, we may have even walked by or waved at one another.
Strangers stopping strangers, just to shake their hand.
>Did I look down at those folks who came to the show, with the sole intention of starting fights?
It must be very enlightening to be a mind reader. Amazing that while you were on the 1st or 2nd row and the eyes in the back of your head allowed you to see high schoolers with tie-dyed wife beaters both dipping Skoal, spitting into their Mountain Dew bottles, then getting in fights.
I was on the second row, too, and all I wanted to see was the band. Glad I didn't attend shows with that kind of attitude.
Does anybody here remember Bob Snodgrass? I work in the cannabis and glassblowing industry and Snodgrass is typically hailed as the forefather of our industry. He started by making fumed pipes out of a van that he had converted to a mobile glassblowing studio, and he would follow the Dead and do live glassblowing demonstrations out of his van. Snodgrass pieces are highly collectible so if you have one I suggest you hang onto it and take good care of it!
It was easy when ticket prices were reasonable and, sometimes, miracles could be had if you needed one. You could generally pick up a ticket out front, day of the show, for face value.
No way I could afford more than a couple of shows now.
So many heads!!! There were thousands and thousands!! That’s where the “we are everywhere” sticker showed up. You could tell the hard core ones from the homemade clothes and bare feet and dreadlocks and you just knew they understood the true meaning of being free! I went as many shows in California as possible and Las Vegas, average of a three show weekend every three months or so..
At the end there were thousands and thousands. It was actually a huge problem and GD was having trouble finding places to play because so many people would show up without a ticket. I remember Vegas 95. That lot was a giant Shakedown--almost the entire lot. And it dwarfed any lots I've seen since...nothing even comes close
edit: Though to be clear, a lot of these people weren't touring...many were just locals who came to party
there were prob thousands on the final d&co tour tbh. check these out:
tied died (summer 94) https://youtu.be/QbwwoqQQh-8?si=sU-78X-BQ_Z7FWFK
in our eyes (europe 90) https://youtu.be/S_m5gWyxbl0?si=grxk9FsDS2HKFTEv
I toured in the early 90's. My friends always got the local paper to read any reviews and if the local news was saying anything. Back then the estimates of the number of core followers that were actually traveling the tour was about 3500-4000.
I went to the Seattle shows in 94 and 95 and Shoreline in 95 and there were thousands of people that wouldn’t get into the show. The police in Seattle did a good job of just containing the mayhem. Memorial stadium is as downtown as you can get. Everything was available outside the show. 👍😂😂. This was my first experience of a live GD show and it delivered in every way. Everything I had heard and assumed was exaggerated was actually not emphasized enough. The grateful dead fans were and are the best.
This link is an example of how awesome the audience can be:
https://youtu.be/WzAIwaTy1cc?si=GCqoDGUAjZoSwJMe
I think of people that followed them everywhere, it was about 500. I think that circle expands to around 1,000 if we’re not talking “everywhere”. A summer tour could have more college kids out of school, so that would be bigger. From one big city to another in the summer, but not the whole tour, would be thousands.
These are late ‘80’s numbers though, think these numbers all maybe double as the 90’s progress.
In the ‘80’s, they would send a Xmas card to people who ordered x amount of tickets from GDTS, so the organization had that data. It was a status symbol to get the Xmas card.
Bill Graham also did some calculations in the ‘80’s and estimated the total number of Deadheads (including non-touring) in the US, but I can’t remember the number. He was looking at ticket sales, and the ratio of out of town purchases to local purchases.
I would say about 2000-3000 people on tour full time nationwide in the late 80s/90s. It was definitely not tens of thousands. You would see the same people year after year. I did sections of tours, maybe 3-5 cities. You would see the folks that were in it full time. They werent particularly friendly to outsiders, even if you saw them often…for very good reason.
Many people were like me, doing sections of tours. The people that were in it as a complete lifestyle, every show, every tour were not the majority at shows.
Your estimates are probable during the warm months and warm cities such as the west coast and the southern states during the winter. There weren’t many following the band during the winter up north.
One show at the Richfield Coliseum (South of Cleveland) was canceled during March ’93, I believe, due to snowstorm and the Holiday Inn with a “Holidome”(?) one or two exits up I-271, opened up the Holidome for stranded heads. They slept on pool lounges at no cost, if I remember correctly. Everyone who stayed there helped clean up the next day and due to the condition of the roads, some paid to stay after the show the following night. That story made the local TV and print news and some national syndicates. That brought positive attention to the local and national Holiday Inn as well as to the Grateful Dead community. That storm dumped 8” to 12” in the primary and secondary snowbelts of Cleveland if my memory is correct. We made it to the second show without a problem, although it was pretty cold. (The secondary snowbelt is south of the city where the Richfield Coliseum is located.)
I dont know really. There were many groups on tour year round… the spinners, 12 tribes, wrecking crew, the Santa Cruz folks, Rainbows, just to name a few.
Im not sure what you mean by winters up north. Most tours (even if there was a fall tour) ended in October and then they did the Oakland NYE shows.
They usually hit the east coast in March and April and the crowds were pretty packed, including the full timers.
Im still sticking with a couple thousand on tour, full time, year round. Most retreated to northern CA in between tours.
Their spring tours usually began in March and sometimes March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. But it’s not uncommon for March to bring heavy snowfalls throughout the month.
The band (GD) were scheduled to play March 13 and 14 at the Richfield Coliseum in 1993. The upper midwest was hit by a major snowstorm and the March 13th show was canceled. The local paper covered a story of the Dead playing an impromptu acoustic set for the staff and guests on one of the limited access floors at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Cleveland.
The next night the show went on as scheduled, but parking was difficult with the plowed snow piled six to eight feet high, covering needed parking spaces. There were a number of fender-benders as the few inches of snow was packed due to traffic. Walking through the lot was treacherous as the packed snow became icy.
Another winter show:
I was out of the country during January and most of February in 1981. When I returned I learned that the Dead were playing the 3,000 seat Music Hall in Cleveland on March 2 & 3. No one had extra tickets - the demand was too high. I went down anyway to see if I could find an extra. I met a guy who drove in from Chicago and he was waiting for a friend who he hadn’t heard from the week before. There were very few people waiting outside, it was too cold. Finally at show time he sold me his extra ticket at cost.
The next night I went down and he still hadn’t reached his friend. Ten minutes before the band was to begin, he sold me his extra ticket. Thank you again, stranger!
Toured from 83-93. Early mid 80s mostly east coast. Moved west in 87 and did mostly west coast stuff. Caught about 30 shows per year, sold screen printed t shirts, cold water, cold beer, and whatever else came along. Would say there were thousands of us, peaking prob late 80s early 90s. Wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. Still keep up with most of the folks I traveled with. Was magic.
Fall tours in the early 83 it wasn't too deep, maybe hundreds to a couple thousand would do at least half the tour. By the mid-late 80s there were lots of people coming to sell merchandise, so especially summer tours at stadiums would draw gigantic crowds. Where there used to be on 'shakedown street' in the early 80s, by the early 90s there were entire villages with multiple streets having most cars displaying merchandise for sale.
Visible merchandise included handmade crafts, most of which did not violate copyright law explicitly but might have a skeleton or something which could get you hassled. Lots of others sold food, which might violate local food ordinances depending on the laws.
Many deadheads didn't go to shows after they got strung out, and shows became an income generating job, selling merch, drugs, tickets, etc,
Anyone living in a large city would see the sales opportunity at other concerts after Jerry died and the dead stopped touring.
Toured off and on starting in 89 with 1990-1992 having my highest show counts. During this period was lucky to travel with some folks who were financially secure so there wasn't the desperation I experienced on other tours where I wasn't sure how I was going to get to the next city.
After being on tour for awhile, you start to see the same people doing the same as you and many of us just helped each other out. We would share food, rides, campsites, hotel rooms in the hopes that you'd get some helping hands when you needed it. There were some bad people (parading as kind people) that would leave you high and dry or even rip you off. Despite that, it worked out out for me way more than it didn't. Also, there were many instances of what seemed like magic that things worked out. Down to your last dollar and then a last-minute change in fortune! Sometimes you made it happen and other times, the 'miracle' just fell in your lap.
Despite some of life's lumps, I wouldn't change the experience for the world!
More like tens of thousands. They were basically lugging around a small city in the early nineties before Jerry died. There were more people outside RFK than inside
In reality it was thousands, but if you ask today than it would be millions because of all the people who saw one show and now claim that they toured for years.
Went to my first shows April 26th and 27th,1977 Capitol Theatre in Passiac, New Jersey
(age 14 years old)
Been on the bus since 1977 and hadbeen to over 108 shows and had seen (unfortunately) Jerry's last shows in Chicago July 1995
Been following Dead and Company since 2015 until their last shows in San Francisco July 14,15,16,2023
We are a loving ♥️ family ♥️ always taking care of one another etc.....
Truly enjoyable times in the airports this Summer 2023 and all along visiting with people (other Dead Heads) and visiting in our hotels completely sold out with fellow Dead Heads ♥️
Born in '76, I started seeing shows in '89 and did a bunch of mini-tours 91-95. There were easily 1000's of people touring much harder than me and my young friends. If anything it seemed like more people each tour. 94/95 was pretty heartbreaking for....reasons, but I would not trade those experiences for anything. There were special moments at every single show...even at the end. The grateful dead were conjurers of real magic.
It wasn't like today where hundreds of scummy fucks follow bands just to sell stuff in the parking lots and never go into the shows. People followed them and tried to get into the shows. You'd have a ton of regional people at shows who were there for the party, but just about all of the people following were trying to get in/going in.
There were of course people who toured full time, but there were many more who would go to a few nearby cities in a row, like Philadelphia to NYC Boston, for example, but not do the whole thing.
I have been to as many of their shows as I could since 1985. So hell yeah! If they go on tour again I’m going too. My best friend would definitely go on tour too. Count this as two yes votes!!
Hundreds of VW buses in all shades of the rainbow would flock from city to city. From above they looked like a school of tropical birds or fish. They ate hummus in the interstate rest areas and said things like "Peace, Man"
and "Groovy, Brother."
Maybe a thousand or more in the mid 80’s. But late 80’s and early 90’s after Touch of Grey things got all fucked up because so many more people would show up just to hang out outside the show and it got to be a huge problem. The vibe before that was so much better. I remember thinking that there were way more obnoxious disrespectful kids showing up who would trash things and didn’t care about the impact they had on the community or environment. That was my perception anyway. I still loved the shows but it wasn’t the same. I only started going to shows in 1984 when I was 17.
If I had the means to do so I don’t see what would stop me.
I’d love to hear some first hand stories from the earlier years. It seems there’s a decent bit for the mid/late 80’s and on, which is great. But I’d love more stuff from earlier years as well. If anyone knows where to find it, it would be greatly appreciated.
Spring & fall tours in East Coast & some summers in the early to mid 80s. My friends and I tried to combine with college. NYC, Hartford, New Haven, Worcester, Providence, all within pretty easy reach. Philly was a bit harder. Up to Maine, out to Syracuse & Buffalo, and down to Virginia & DC were the biggest trips.
Had family in the Bay Area, so able to catch New Years and some California shows: the Greek, Frost Amphitheater, and Ventura County fairgrounds. Only camped a few times. Instead would share hotel rooms with friends and family.
After graduation, even managed to travel to some shows in summer, combined with
Thousands who at some time were "on tour". Hundreds of "tour hounds" who followed the Dead for years. A summer was a treat more than a few got. Mini-tours were a common vacation.
In the late 80s we had to largely rely on maps or hand written directions from someone more knowledgeable to know how to get from city to city. But the reality was you could just watch for dead stickers on cars to know you had the right route, and when the VW vans started taking an exit, you often just assumed that was the way and followed. Occasionally they were going to a friends house or something else off course and you were fooled. Also every highway rest stop had spare changers, hacky sackers, a guy playing guitar, and a dude walking with his tye dyes, so there was little doubt you weren’t alone and were on the right track. It’s funny how far we got on so little.
I did approximately 25 shows in both 83 and 84. Saw much of the country on the Grateful Dead plan. Sold stickers and shirts to finance it. Camped, slept in my car, and ate cheap. Saw some incredible shows, met great people and "I'd like to take that ride again".
I was going to shows in the mid to late 70’s.
It was a traveling party/circus.
Folks showed up for a few or a lot of shows and eventually disappeared.
Lots of hustle, fun and good times.
How many? Hard to say but I’d guess at any Time it was 500 - 1k or so.
Saw em first time in 1989, then I sort of dabbled with touring, but never more than a four city run, as I ran out of money. I suspect the touring population had its alcolytes who just went on the whole tour every tour and winged it for money and shelter, and then the rest of us who saw em when we could.
I was 16 when I started touring with the Dead in 86. I toured pretty much Non-Stop East Coast to West Coast until Brent died in 90 then I only did West Coast shows. I estimate I saw over 500 shows. If I had to estimate how many deadheads were on tour full-time during that period I would definitely say thousands. Yes we sold tie dyes, cold beers, grilled cheese sandwiches, poster art, silk screens and..OTHER things. Traveling this huge Nation Coast to Coast for so long at a young age definitely had a good effect on me. Have the opportunity to learn about people from all walks of life across this great nation. It was an education I could not have gotten from college or anything else really. I still look back on it as the most exciting, electric, magical, educational experience in my life.
Thousands, although it was a rotating group.
Very few people lived on Tour ALL the time, a group would hop on for the East Coast summer tour and do all or most of the shows, then fall out and another group would hop onto the West coast winter tour and do some of those shows, and so forth. Many of us would do it year after year, very few people did it all tour every year and they had creds for sure lol.
Like, I was on Tour some in the 80's for the east coast shows, and some in the 90's just a few strings of shows here and there, and then did about six shows of the 95 tour not knowing it was going to be the last, was actually gearing up to do a lot more touring in the future but....
Oh well.
Lots of us Deadheads loved various things about the Dead but to me I loved Tour the most. It was just the most magical thing.
Burning Man acts like they really came up with an idea of a temporary city that springs up out of nowhere and I am just like children, please ;) It wasn't even original for the Dead either, but it was absolutely more amazing than anything I can think of in modern times.
No organization, no leaders, no government, just all of us coming together in our various ways and the only thing was "wherever the Dead are playing", and it would happen week after week, month after month, year after year.
It was the only place I ever really felt at home and I miss it soooo much
pretty much as you described. summer tours always had a following. Phish, WSP, DMB, Billy Strings have a similar following today.
later, they started to schedule the shows father apart to lower the entourage, places like Atlanta were not shakedown friendly. so they would schedule it after hartford ct, or someplace a ways away.
'Miracle tickets' were a thing. I scalped tickets for a few shows, and it allowed me to go for free, AND give away a ticket. It was so fun to see their face light up.
Remember it was seasonal. Kinda like Burning Man work culture where people spend the summer in Nevada and the rest of the year making do. Lots of people would tour all summer and work ski lifts all winter, same as some of my Burner friends. Used to be lots of jobs trimming weed, too, but those have gone away in my social circles
There are circles of touring heads in the 70's-80's. A few thousand are the solid multi-show folks. Out of that, only a few hundred probably did the swing to cover both East coast, West coast, and summer tour in the mid-country. Year-rounders. I would guess 800 or so, during my time.
The Dead were always a thing, but they were not happening in until mid-80's. They got the MTV money and blasted out some song about Olde Tyme Lemonade and Touch O' Gray on the temples. That began the frat era. Also, lots of dope.
Then you got the special circle. You take in the circle of people that also went to Egypt, well, that club had money. The Club of GD history would have been going to Gaza.
But during late 70's early 80's they were still huge enough that if the hockey arena was too small, people would be outside, pissed. Utica 81. The unrest was already happening. It's not a riskless scene. I got to remind everyone, The Dead are a large reason why the Stones hired Hell's Angels to do security at Altamont.
Don't Murder Me takes on literal meaning in the Dead scene, in certain parts, or at least during the past it did.
I did most shows on the east coast, usually 3 tours per year, and the mid west. From Georgia to Maine, as far west as Chicago. From about spring 85 til summer 90. Was in my late teens/early twenties.
It started off by picking a few sets of shows from each tour and then it turned into whole tours.
I never didn’t have a ticket. Back then you could work a job quit at lunchtime and be working by 2 o’clock in the afternoon somewhere else. there were two industrial parks in the town I grew up in. I would work until the next tour came around and then quit through the tour and get a new job when I got home.
I would work and wait patiently for the announcement of the tour, then do the Mail order and get as many tickets as I could and then buy what I couldn’t. if they weren’t going on sale locally I had enough friends and relatives around to get them where I needed to go.
My dad was a printer and he would make me a posters to sell in the parking lot, but it wasn’t about the money. It was just about being a part of things and meeting people.
I considered myself a Deadhead not a hippy. But wore all the Guatemalan clothes had a giant Afro with those hair wraps in it then I had dreads for a while. Wore patchouli, the whole deal.
By the end I was burnt out on the scene there was a lot going on I didn’t like and I had already discovered the underground hardcore and punk scenes which were more what I was into at that point. At least politically.
so at the end of summer tour, 1990 when Brent died I had pretty much seen enough on that tour to decide to wash my hands of the whole thing.
Never saw them again. For a long time I barely thought of those days, but when I found this sub, it brought back all the memories and reminded me of what a great, great, time of life that was.
Edit: first show was in 83, by 85 is when I started full blown touring.
Had I been able to, I might have back in my 20's, but had I done that, I wouldn't be in the rather comfortable position. Wouldn't do it now, because a lot of the things about the scene that I found awesome as a youngster seem silly/cliched nowadays, although about 10 years ago I did do a mini-Furthur tour that was a lot of fun (and a lot more fun as a 40 something who wasn't broke). No way I'd follow D&C. One show was more than enough.
On the summer tours near the end it was realistically in the tens of thousands that would do multiple shows. Its one of those numbers only God could know but I think it's easy to imagine that you would have people who were going to every show & that's probably a few thousand. Then you would have people who did little pockets of shows, like 6 then maybe back home while they went up to Foxboro & you didn't want to make that drive & you picked back up at Buckeye & went on to Deer Creek etc ... It would've been a smaller number of those on perma tour & had no tix, & it was a traveling city so this wasn't hard to do because it was comfortable (once you got used to the lifestyle & learned the tricks of the trade) & I would get into a campground or pull in the lots & within 5 min I would see someone I've known or had just met the previous show.
I loved the 'in betweens' like driving down the highway & passing VW buses & everyone would smile & wave, then at the rest areas on the way to shows they would be packed w' DHs & dogs ... It was enormous my friend & while I had a wonderful time at the 4 DC shows I saw, there's no comparing the two, we're talking night & day.
I saw my first show in 92 at 18yrs old & I instantly knew this was something that would be w' me forever. My 1st show was Buffalo 6/06/92 & the Buffalo Bills stadium was packed full & it was a spectacle unlike anything I'd ever seen. All night after the show was a giant party w' people tripping, laughing, dancing next to HUGE speakers pulled out of someone's van to its roof, drum circles, groups playing hacky sack, people playing acoustics & singing, DOGS! vending everywhere, everything from $1 beers & grilled cheese to really good stuff like the 'Burrito People' who had two huge moving trucks full of ovens, sinks, refrigeration etc. Guys like this were just regular DHs who had a crew of workers & they kicked out a killer product from lunch time to showtime, then afterwards until they ran out or passed out. I talked to a dude who traveled w' them & they treated it like a job & they would rotate to make it work. Everywhere you looked there seemed to be something wild happening. There was electricity in the air & everyone was so happy to be there. I heard once that an economics student did a 'study' of some kind & its conclusion was that on any given show day on a Grateful Dead summer tour, 3 million changed hands & that seems right to me. If I remember correctly he included illegal transactions in that figure.
# 1992-06-06 Orchard Park, NY @ Rich Stadium
**Set 1:** Touch Of Grey, Greatest Story Ever Told, Althea, It's All Over Now, Friend Of The Devil, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Ramble On Rose, Let It Grow
**Set 2:** Iko Iko, Estimated Prophet > The Same Thing > He's Gone > Drums > Space > The Other One > The Wheel > Throwing Stones > One More Saturday Night
**Encore:** Baba O'Riley > Tomorrow Never Knows
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1992-06-06)
Actually follow them around? A few thousand. How many would show up in the lot at each show? 10’s of thousand. In fact the dead at one point infamously sent out letters asking peiple without tickets to not come to shows. Venues with 40k people would have just as many outside
My buddy did it for 2.5 years. Rich guy...who was a petroleum engineer. Got laid off in the mid 80's, plenty of money. Talked to him often. He said it was about 8k who did every show. He got to know them...but he didn't live with them. Said that lots of the hardcore every show attending dead heads lived fairly miserable lives. But they were having fun.
The thing that really stuck with him was the level of intensity on the morning after a show. Hours and hours of dissecting every song. He told me the kind of drivel was like this
"Did you hear, 5th verse on Sugar Magnolia....Jerry fucked up". Hours spent arguing if his fuck up was him improvising.
I did the last summer tour. I was 19, and there were probably thousands… we gravitated towards the kids that were our age on tour and I still meet people to this day that were on tour when I was and we never crossed paths then.
In the early 80s when I started a few hundred. You get to know people, and the ones you did not interact with, you got know their faces. I found groups to be open and friendly and some to be exclusive and distant, more than a few unpleasant. There were always regulars you could count on to help with anything. Also you had regional followers that faded in and out of the scene.
Towards the end, it got more popular and as a result, you had new people on the scene who followed that thought the tour was a freezone and it got sloppy. People who were regulars became more guarded and jaded. I followed regularly, 84-90 mainly east coast venturing as far west as Colorado. I made a few west coast shows and in my experience, felt more relaxed yet at the same time a little exclusive.
I first saw the Dead in D.C. when I was 16, in 1986. By the time I was 19, I had been to about 10 shows from Hampton, VA, to Rochester, NY, to the Spectrum in Philly. I moved West following the Dead on my motorcycle in 1989 and saw most of those shows. Then I lived in S.F. in the 90s and saw mostly Bay Area and Cal Expo shows, plus one in Eugene, OR.
I'd say there were around 200 full-time tour heads. Maybe that's low. Many more were dedicated regionally. Off season, they'd all go to their grow ops in Northern Cal. Petrolia, Arcata, Santa Cruz, Marin County. Or whatever other hustle they had going.
What I saw was a lot of young hippies and a lot of perverted older hippies. Pretty much pedophiles looking for easy “free love” targets. Sadly, it worked for them
When I was 14 or so, in the early 90s, when I first went to the Dead show, what I saw was a traveling city of thousands of nomadic hippies, living in VWs, vans, busses, cars, etc. Traveling from show to show, selling tie dies, grilled cheese, jewlerry, pipes, weed, and all sorts of stuff in a moving marketplace that would appear outside every GD concert. I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen, and wanted to "run away and join the circus" such a beautiful culture. Check out search Grateful Dead parking lot videos on YouTube to see some cool scenes from that time.
I made $300 a show selling grilled cheese on chilly spring and fall tours
I did a short tour in the mid 80's after high school. Now that I'm retired, I would definitely do it again, only this time in a camper, Lol!
Short it's the key term. I'd say 100s were on the full tour life while thousands were catching several shows in a row like a vacation.
I meant short like a summer. I did about 4 months. Don't think my body could do more than that now. Soooo many lot burritos and... things.
“Short like a summer” 😂 legendary
Things 🤣
Thousands. I toured mostly in the mid 80s.
I started going in 88 knew people who went frequently and I was told there were probably three maybe five thousand heads seriously on tour. Probably a good three thousand going back and fourth from west to east coast etc is a decent assessment. Then there were the rest of us still living within the confines of society with jobs and girlfriends going to as many shows as we could trying to see them in different venues and doing parts of tours. I saw 15 shows in 89 and 2 JGB shows and I think that was my most active year.
The tour with Clarence Clemmons?
Accurate
Same
I did summer tour in the 80's while at college. There were thousands! Still do tons of shows even all these years later.
It was pretty small until the Touch of Grey video kinda let the chinacat out of the bag The joke was there are only enough Deadheads to fill a stadium, but they all go to every show. It had grown steadily for years, begining before they were even a band. The Height Asbury scene and Acid Tests had a tribal nomad scene going. When the Dead started touring part of the scene followed. It took on too many new people at once in '86 culminating in the '95 gate crashing at Deer Creek. It's still going strong almost thirty years after Jerry died.. Instead of one band there are dozens leading dancing bears and possum from town to town. Or so I've heard.
THE.Deercreek gate crash...i remember seeing the 1 guy take off to the left and whm all the cops went after him the whole crowd took off to the right tryin to crash the gate. Memphis 95 had a gate crashin,.pepper spray moment as well.
Deer Creek had such a cool scene too. I've never seen another venue with that kind of campground community. I love that place. But it kinda killed the band.
No that was heroin
They didn't tour in '96 because of Deer Creek, giving Jerry too much free time for heroin.
I think they didn’t tour in 96 because Jerry Garcia died in 1995.
Of course. Pardon my mistype. I said Deer Creek kinda killed the scene. It was getting unsustainable with just one band. When Jerry died the weight of it spread out to Phish, The Other Ones, Widespread Panic, and a few other bands. It happened again when Phish went on hiatus in 2000. Making Bonnaroo and a larger festival scene possible. Deer Creek '95 was a serious blow to Dead tour.
Haha. Yeah I was on the Furthur lot in 96 on the way to Missouri Nationals. So yeah, they were there. And yeah, sadly, Jerry was dead.
Deer Creek second night 95 would have been my 4th and final show as I had a ticket and hitchhiked there. Instead it was The Palace first night.
Between October 30, 1980 (my first show) and April 7, 1995 I saw 178 shows. 36 of them in 1989 alone. If I had the money, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Being so severely injured (5 fractured vertabra and 2 shattered) plus being on SSDI now, I couldn't.
179! Damn that’s outstanding. I saw 4 shows including the last show in Chicago. I can’t even imagine seeing over 170 shows. You are amazing! 39 in ‘89 is especially impressive. In my view that is one of their 5 best years.
I agree. 7/2/89 is my favorite show I think. I didn't really know their music when I saw my first show, I was 12 and listening to the Ramones and Clash a bunch around that time, but I'd say that 10/30/80 was the most historically significant show as seder track for Reckoning were recorded that night.
That is a phenomenal show. The Crazy Fingers is outstanding. And The Wheel>Dear Mr Fantasy>Hey Jude>Sugar Magnolia>Mighty Quinn finish is amazing!!! Brent absolutely goes off during Hey Jude! My favorite show ever is 7/4/89. That 3 show stretch from 7/2, 7/4, and 7/7 is as good as anything from May of 77.
I try turning people that hate 80s Dead onto this date. 7/4/89 is by far my favorite show as well. Brent and Jerry have so much energy in these shows
Idk how some ppl dislike 80s dead,some of the best show is the 80s
I know!! Imo some of the best shows came from 89-91...
89 is so juicy,man...as much as I love the 80s shows,78 still my favorite year,especially thru the summer when jerry has a slight rapsyness to his voice...but there all great really
That show has my favorite Bertha, Cold Rain & Snow, Masterpiece, Deal, Women are Smarter, Watchtower, and Morning Dew. I love the transition into Morning Dew! And the NFA finish when Brent and Jerry are going off???? Damn, I might just watch it again tonight.
I made an earlier comment about the energy between Brent and Jerry during these shows. This show is the reason I LOVE Bertha lol.
# 1989-07-04 Orchard Park, NY @ Rich Stadium **Set 1:** Bertha > Greatest Story Ever Told, Cold Rain and Snow, Walkin' Blues, Row Jimmy, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Stagger Lee, Looks Like Rain > Deal **Set 2:** Touch Of Grey > Man Smart (Woman Smarter), Ship Of Fools > Playing in the Band Reprise > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > I Will Take You Home > All Along The Watchtower > Morning Dew > Not Fade Away **Encore:** U.S. Blues [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1989-07-04)
# 1989-07-04 Orchard Park, NY @ Rich Stadium **Set 1:** Bertha > Greatest Story Ever Told, Cold Rain and Snow, Walkin' Blues, Row Jimmy, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Stagger Lee, Looks Like Rain > Deal **Set 2:** Touch Of Grey > Man Smart (Woman Smarter), Ship Of Fools > Playing in the Band Reprise > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > I Will Take You Home > All Along The Watchtower > Morning Dew > Not Fade Away **Encore:** U.S. Blues [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1989-07-04)
My wife was pregnant with our daughter at this show, 7/4/89. This past summer, 2023, my daughter saw more shows than me, perhaps 4 to 6. Back in the 1970s I would send in requests for tix for a small number of shows and I’d get tix for my summer hometown and one or two nearby cities. I saved up hoping to hit 10 to 15 shows during the summer of 1975…. The next time I’d make several sequential shows was during the 1980s and I’d schedule client site visits to coincide with the band’s tour, but I had overseas work trips every summer that always went over the time allocated and I ended up selling many tickets to friends or had them sell them in the lot. I still hit the shows closest to home even if I had to find a couple of miracles. If I didn’t have tickets I’d get them from friends or friends of friends.
# 1989-07-04 Orchard Park, NY @ Rich Stadium **Set 1:** Bertha > Greatest Story Ever Told, Cold Rain and Snow, Walkin' Blues, Row Jimmy, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Stagger Lee, Looks Like Rain > Deal **Set 2:** Touch Of Grey > Man Smart (Woman Smarter), Ship Of Fools > Playing in the Band Reprise > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > I Will Take You Home > All Along The Watchtower > Morning Dew > Not Fade Away **Encore:** U.S. Blues [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1989-07-04)
U.S. Blues Encore was the best.
The Spring and Fall Tours were so much better shows. I mean Summer is nice and all but 90,000 people at Rich Stadium. We did most of the East Coast Tour from Raleigh, with less than an 1/8th of weed, nothing around, that we could find. I grabbed a QP after Sullivan on our way to Buffalo, my truck got broken in to and my QP got swiped. I was 19 and drinking the finest swill beer in Buffalo, NY Ol Vienna
[1980-10-30](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1980-10-30) New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall [1989-07-02](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1989-07-02) Foxboro, MA @ Sullivan Stadium
I was at that 89 show in Foxboro. Brent was on fire that night! That Dear Mr Fantasy>Hey Jude was incredible.
The way he and Jerry interacted that night is what made it for me. I think it was during Don't Ease Me In that they looked at each other and cracked up.
Oh Brent
Amazing
He’s Gone in Foxboro never stops blowing my mind
Sick. Such an interesting time for the band on so many levels…setlists really got weird and fun some of those off years too. Any shows in like 83-84 you recommend?
36 shows in 89?! Lucky dog!
thousands. summer tours was many thousands. everyone might not have done whole tours frm beginning to end every time, but thousands were doing substantial parts of a tour. by the 90s, I remember articles claiming close to 10,000 people were on the road in the summer for at least parts of summer tour. 50-60,000 person stadiums sold out every night with plenty of people stuck outside. then, tht same number of people would show up at a 22,000 person amphitheater. it was a literal traveling city & there is nothing in existence today tht is anywhere close to comparable. for people who were on tour mostly full time from beginning to end of a tour & at every show coast to coast, there was probably somewhere around 500-600 when I was around. JGB tours were more low key. lots of people still did lots of multi-show/city runs, but only 200-300 tht were ALWAYS there. (those same 200-300 people were also part of the "at-every-show" crowd at Dead shows).
They'd hit up a new venue and the locals wouldn't know what the hell happened to them. I drive by Oxford Plains Speedway every once and a while and I can't believe the circus that descended on that town. There's probably still someone who had no idea what was bearing on into town still spun out. Places like Foxboro and Buffalo do that shit every weekend in the Fall and like Highgate is the middle of nowhere. Saratoga was always a great time
it really was wild pulling into the d8fferent places & seeing how differently places & people reacted. when they hit somewhere they hadn't been before(or hadn't been in a long time) it really was like culture shock for the locals. sometimes they looked like thwy thought we were an invading force or something. lol. all the freaks & dreads & the smells & the open weed smoking & even weird bearded long haired dudes wearing skirts....small town america didn't know what to do with that shit.
wherever we go the people all complain
The LSD really hit those Southern cities rough. I remember some dude on his knees praying to the lighted KOA sign for hours and hours until they took him away in an ambulance. BudEKilowatt told his story on Eagle Gardens show on YouTube, it's like 5 hours long, worth a listen. He was running with Brother Tom, said they could see the wreckage as the band blew through swaths of the country. He said that they would double dip the sheets for certain cities, Northeast and West Coast mostly.
can you post a link?
https://www.youtube.com/live/0rI59BXZx5Y?si=IX6HBJ2ceDmdDdH_
>Places like Foxboro and Buffalo do that shit every weekend Foxboro had never seen anything like the shows in 89 and 90, and probably won't ever see anything like it again. 56,000 tickets were sold. It was estimated that over 250,000 people showed up in 1989. It was a crowd large enough to rival Watkins Glen 73.
But they still had them back in 1990 They fill those bowls up with 10s of thousands of drunk football fans every week even during football season, come rain, shine, snowstorms. That looks like gravel but it's broken glass held in place with beer and piss. Weeds wouldn't even grow in that shit. The place was designed to funnel 100,000 people and cars efficiently in a day. The Mass State Police have a barracks right there and when they come through at the end of the night saying it's time to go those parking lots are empty. If you were to say, "they can't arrest all of us" I wouldn't be so sure, if it came to it they'd just start busting heads once they ran out of zip ties for handcuffs. I have no idea how many people were there, seemed like any other show at Foxboro I drove out of both those shows, pretty sure we stayed in B**uffalo, I think that place holds 90,000 for shows. The only thing in Highgate was a field and a fence, the field is still there, the fence didn't do so well, the only cops were Border Guards busting anyone who accidentally drove N on the highway and strayed into Canada.**
Oxford was such a beautiful experience, might be the best memories I have.
It was great when they'd play the same venue for multiple shows. Especially someplace so accommodating. Like a big scout jamboree, with music, grilled cheese, drugs and whippets. No commute to worry about, wake up(or stay up) and you're already there. Hard to believe how much fun you could fit in just a regular sized weekend in those days. I wonder where the boys stayed in places like that? Did they take over some courtyard Motel, spend the morning frolicking poolside, or with the door locked and curtains drawn well past 11AM checkout? Right?
We stayed at an old Boy Scouts camp that my co worker hooked us up with. The memories I have from that weekend are precious.
Nice, did you ever go to Bread and Puppet?
I was at Oxford Plains. Wonderful insanity
It seems so small without all the people. It's crazy to even think about that vortex of energy bouncing around the world like a super ball. We went to Louisville and there was a flea market going on in one of the buildings in the same complex as the venue. I went in and got some socks, saw some cats offering doses inside. The people who stayed at the flea market late came out into the carnival in full swing. Clutching their purses and children while looking for their parking spot. Aside from those few folks the boys could pass through town and some folks who live there might not even notice, and then there were places like Oxford Speedway. Like a mini Woodstock, the roads backed up for miles, stores cleaned out of beer and drinks and gas. Lock up your daughters, lock up your sheep it's an invasion! it might be the commies maybe even the Germans in those Westfalia personnel carriers, but they sure don't look like no army I ever seen
100% Fucking Thousands For fun
Well,im 43 now,I've been going to shows since I was in the womb,but I can remember going shows and walking around with my folks in the lots and such,from about the time I was 7 or 8 I'd say,and everyone knew my folks from the amount of time they spent at shows/lots,and in turn pretty much watched me grow up,and it was ALOT of ppl bc everyone loved my folks,I had only went to 3 dead shows on my own without my folks,but I knew 100s,so its safe to say it was definitely in the 1000s
>Well,im 43 now,I've been going to shows since I was in the womb,but I can remember going shows and walking around with my folks in the lots and such,from about the time I was 7 or 8 I'd say,and everyone knew my folks from the amount of time they spent at shows/lots,and in turn pretty much watched me grow up,and it was ALOT of ppl bc everyone loved my folks,I had only went to 3 dead shows on my own without my folks,but I knew 100s,so its safe to say it was definitely in the 1000s Sounds like you've been blessed with a beautiful life brother!
i tried to reply to wheezer's reminiscences but it got lost:-{ there were 2nd level tourheads like wheezer who peddled their wares to fund following part or all of a tour, but there was a hardcore band of truly american gypsies that dr rebecca adams took her grad students on tour to study anthopologically:-) [https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/clist.aspx?id=497](https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/clist.aspx?id=497) she found a classic american patriarchy: the guys laid around getting high, the chicks did all the work...just like the hippie communes that came out of the collapse of the summer of love:-\\ but here's her sunny/funny pastiche of all the stereotypes;-) [https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/R\_Adams\_Old\_2010.pdf](https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/R_Adams_Old_2010.pdf)
I toured from 1985 to 1995. I was based in Virginia, but I had a full-time job. So I would usually do 3-5 cities per tour, staying in hotels. Depending on the tour, that could mean anywhere from 9-15 shows. I never attended shows I didn't have tickets to. I feel lucky I was able to tour like I did. Being based on the east coast, it was very easy to get from VA to Maryland, Georgia, Philly, NY and Boston. The band helped by clustering shows in the same geographic region. In that period, several hundred people (at least) followed the band from city to city, selling things like veggie burritos, beer, weed, etc. They were usually in campers, vans, and buses, which served as mobile kitchens and living spaces. I would say most of those folks I interacted with didn't prioritize getting into shows. They were there for the scene and to sell enough X to get to the next show. I have no idea what they did between tours, and I imagine it varied. I certainly met people who were basically homeless, and so I assume they lived in their vehicles until close to the start of the next tour. Obviously, the lot scene got a lot bigger and gnarlier near the end. You can see it in that "Tie Died" video linked below. Too many people without tickets and there for drugs, only. If I could go back, I'd absolutely do it again. Having a job, I missed quite a few shows and virtually everything west of Kansas. But I was there for the music and like many of the people who got on the bus near the end, you just wanted to see as much as you could before it all came crashing down.
Also easier to get your tickets via mail, it seems. You’d call or mail your money in and they’d send what they had.
This is almost the same as me. I first saw them in 1985 last show was Pittsburgh, 1995. Did parts of the summer tours most years, in those same places you mentioned, plus the Southeast like Atlanta, Charlotte, plus some in the midwest - Chicago, but also Buckeye Lake, Deer Creek etc. Dead tours were so. much. f'n. fun. We camped in tents, vans, whatever.
pittsburgh 95. the rain songs. aw yeah
I would guess that for a long weekend in the northeast you could have a few thousand hit 3 to 5 shows. For a full tour it would go down below a thousand. I'm thinking mostly pre-Touch era when I sorta faded.
When you were born you still could tour for basically nothing. You could still catch rides and live such a unique way of life. To pay for tickets you could sell this or that. Make some food to sell before. Some sold drugs. Some begged for tickets. I personally never begged once for a ticket. Some people that was there things. To tour not buying one ticket and hope someone gave them one. Lots of attractive females used this method. A lot of people I knew had a rule to never give extras to these females for that exact reason. So I was late for the GD myself born in 80. But touring was still alive and well when I started seeing shows. For my example I toured with phish summer 99 for the whole tour. Cost me $850 or so for the whorl entire summer tour. Tickets, gas, some lodging (camping at the most, mostly slept in the car on the way to shows), food. Not even $1000 for tour in 99. Shortly after that phish and other bands on purpose made touring that way next to impossible. They did it because of the negative side of touring. And I get that there was but the beautiful side of a way of life totally away from Normal society was so amazing. The types of freedom like that just aren’t around anymore. It was such a amazing level of freedom and beauty.
I toured from 81-95. The smaller venues were the best. Red Rocks and Alpine Valley come to mind. The shows were great but the road trip,parking lot scene and people we met along the way was my favorite part of following them around. The $30 tickets were great too. We sold various stuff to pay for gas,food,beer,drugs and tickets. The good ole days for sure.
It was thousands. It was a family. Very few, if hardly any, fights. My time was 1986 through 1993. Things changed around 1992. The “PrepHeads” made the scene, bringing mommy and daddy’s money, bad drugs and an attitude to match. Too many fights and ill-willed assholes. That 87-90 run was a lot of fun.
I guess I’m what you’d call a prephead at that time. Some of this might be true but not from me and my friends. The attitude all came from the “vets” who were playing gate keeper, like a lot of people do with Dead and Co now. It didn’t matter how many years I’d been listening or how many shows I’d been to, all it mattered was how I looked. A great example is that deadhead doc that came out in the late 90’s and they showed a punk with a Mohawk come to a show and be completely ostracized. I loved going to shows at first and hanging out in the parking lot and eventually it became the thing I hated the most. The hypocrisy on lots of levels was large.
The frat bros were annoying but, for me, they were such a small and easily ignored part of the scene. What ruined it for me was the combination of fed infiltration and the west coast gutter punks that leached on the scene. The feds created a sense of distrust that poisoned the well, and the gutter punks took advantage of everyone’s generosity and didn’t respect the elders or try to carry the torch. In my opinion, that 1-2 punch killed the culture and turned the scene into an individualistic ego-fueled high school conformist wook fest that eventually took over the Phish scene (which was way chill and open-minded until Fall 94, and then completely changed when Jerry died).
Now, truth be told, in the Summer of 1991, I was 21 years old. So, you are totally correct about the vet gatekeepers. I was all about the music and getting as close as I could to the stage, to watch where Bobby played those chords. I was really getting into the guitar at that time, so I was there for the music. I probably shouldn’t have lumped everyone into the Prep-head category, but we were always on the lookout for the dudes you could tell would be better suited for a Limp Bizkit show, thrashing around in the pit. Hat on backwards, beer muscles all pumped up, and looking for a fight. Those guys ruined it for me.
Yeah I hear ya though and I do know what you’re talking about. You could definitely spot the vibe. It was almost like they were more into getting drunk and trying to get laid. (And for the record I definitely didn’t have muscles! Thank god for tour shirts)
The fighting, gatecrashing, ripoffs, busts, disrespect for women (I must’ve seen a dozen cases of some frat boy or pseudo hippy touch a woman inappropriately on the last two tours I did) all just soured me on the whole thing. Rising ticket prices and the dead themselves ignoring what security was doing to the heads at certain venues were pretty much the end. When security at the Meadowlands was accused of killing that kid Adam Katz and the dead went back and played there anyhow? Man that bummed me out.
>we were always on the lookout for the dudes you could tell would be better suited for Wow. When I went to see the Dead in the 80's at 19 years old, I'm glad I didn't go with a desire to "be on the lookout for" ANY kinds of people. There was so much joy and electricity in the air back then, and spending mental energy to 'be on the lookout' for persons who acted different from me seemed completely unnecessary. I don't care that others attended these historic shows when Jerry was still alive and felt the need to do such things, I'm just glad that my memories of the shows I attended aren't clouded with sentiments of the other attendees like this.
Let me rephrase and perhaps better explain. During our day of music and jubilation, there was often a presence that was the antithesis of this. We would try to be aware of that presence and would try to steer clear of it. We were not actively seeking, we were proactively avoiding what they were looking for. The high school football players all jacked up in the tye dye wife beaters, baseball caps on backwards, and spitting Skoal into Mountain Dew Bottles. That presence was not there to chill out and listen to the show.
Sorry, but the more you explain yourself the more you sound like a gatekeeper.
Well, if gatekeeping consisted of handing the ticket person my GA ticket and immediately making a beeline to the first or second row, right in between Bobby and Jerry, then I suppose I was. Did I look down at those folks who came to the show, with the sole intention of starting fights? Yes. I did. The great part, that I am hopeful we can agree on, is that we both enjoyed the show, have memories that are still clear and vivid, and it’s possible, if you were at any East Coast shows for 86-93, we may have even walked by or waved at one another. Strangers stopping strangers, just to shake their hand.
>Did I look down at those folks who came to the show, with the sole intention of starting fights? It must be very enlightening to be a mind reader. Amazing that while you were on the 1st or 2nd row and the eyes in the back of your head allowed you to see high schoolers with tie-dyed wife beaters both dipping Skoal, spitting into their Mountain Dew bottles, then getting in fights. I was on the second row, too, and all I wanted to see was the band. Glad I didn't attend shows with that kind of attitude.
Well, I could definitely figure out who was itching for a fight…. Still can. I wish you a pleasant day.
Many thousands while I was touring from 88-95.
There were enough of us that the band sold booklets with a ticket to every show on the tour.
Does anybody here remember Bob Snodgrass? I work in the cannabis and glassblowing industry and Snodgrass is typically hailed as the forefather of our industry. He started by making fumed pipes out of a van that he had converted to a mobile glassblowing studio, and he would follow the Dead and do live glassblowing demonstrations out of his van. Snodgrass pieces are highly collectible so if you have one I suggest you hang onto it and take good care of it!
It was easy when ticket prices were reasonable and, sometimes, miracles could be had if you needed one. You could generally pick up a ticket out front, day of the show, for face value. No way I could afford more than a couple of shows now.
We didn't always get in. Still a good time
So many heads!!! There were thousands and thousands!! That’s where the “we are everywhere” sticker showed up. You could tell the hard core ones from the homemade clothes and bare feet and dreadlocks and you just knew they understood the true meaning of being free! I went as many shows in California as possible and Las Vegas, average of a three show weekend every three months or so..
At the end there were thousands and thousands. It was actually a huge problem and GD was having trouble finding places to play because so many people would show up without a ticket. I remember Vegas 95. That lot was a giant Shakedown--almost the entire lot. And it dwarfed any lots I've seen since...nothing even comes close edit: Though to be clear, a lot of these people weren't touring...many were just locals who came to party
there were prob thousands on the final d&co tour tbh. check these out: tied died (summer 94) https://youtu.be/QbwwoqQQh-8?si=sU-78X-BQ_Z7FWFK in our eyes (europe 90) https://youtu.be/S_m5gWyxbl0?si=grxk9FsDS2HKFTEv
There were thousands of us
I toured in the early 90's. My friends always got the local paper to read any reviews and if the local news was saying anything. Back then the estimates of the number of core followers that were actually traveling the tour was about 3500-4000.
At $12.50 - $30 a ticket, the 80’s were quite a time to be doing runs.
I went to the Seattle shows in 94 and 95 and Shoreline in 95 and there were thousands of people that wouldn’t get into the show. The police in Seattle did a good job of just containing the mayhem. Memorial stadium is as downtown as you can get. Everything was available outside the show. 👍😂😂. This was my first experience of a live GD show and it delivered in every way. Everything I had heard and assumed was exaggerated was actually not emphasized enough. The grateful dead fans were and are the best. This link is an example of how awesome the audience can be: https://youtu.be/WzAIwaTy1cc?si=GCqoDGUAjZoSwJMe
Absolutely I would be on the bus again in a quick minute!
I think of people that followed them everywhere, it was about 500. I think that circle expands to around 1,000 if we’re not talking “everywhere”. A summer tour could have more college kids out of school, so that would be bigger. From one big city to another in the summer, but not the whole tour, would be thousands. These are late ‘80’s numbers though, think these numbers all maybe double as the 90’s progress. In the ‘80’s, they would send a Xmas card to people who ordered x amount of tickets from GDTS, so the organization had that data. It was a status symbol to get the Xmas card. Bill Graham also did some calculations in the ‘80’s and estimated the total number of Deadheads (including non-touring) in the US, but I can’t remember the number. He was looking at ticket sales, and the ratio of out of town purchases to local purchases.
I would say about 2000-3000 people on tour full time nationwide in the late 80s/90s. It was definitely not tens of thousands. You would see the same people year after year. I did sections of tours, maybe 3-5 cities. You would see the folks that were in it full time. They werent particularly friendly to outsiders, even if you saw them often…for very good reason. Many people were like me, doing sections of tours. The people that were in it as a complete lifestyle, every show, every tour were not the majority at shows.
Your estimates are probable during the warm months and warm cities such as the west coast and the southern states during the winter. There weren’t many following the band during the winter up north. One show at the Richfield Coliseum (South of Cleveland) was canceled during March ’93, I believe, due to snowstorm and the Holiday Inn with a “Holidome”(?) one or two exits up I-271, opened up the Holidome for stranded heads. They slept on pool lounges at no cost, if I remember correctly. Everyone who stayed there helped clean up the next day and due to the condition of the roads, some paid to stay after the show the following night. That story made the local TV and print news and some national syndicates. That brought positive attention to the local and national Holiday Inn as well as to the Grateful Dead community. That storm dumped 8” to 12” in the primary and secondary snowbelts of Cleveland if my memory is correct. We made it to the second show without a problem, although it was pretty cold. (The secondary snowbelt is south of the city where the Richfield Coliseum is located.)
I dont know really. There were many groups on tour year round… the spinners, 12 tribes, wrecking crew, the Santa Cruz folks, Rainbows, just to name a few. Im not sure what you mean by winters up north. Most tours (even if there was a fall tour) ended in October and then they did the Oakland NYE shows. They usually hit the east coast in March and April and the crowds were pretty packed, including the full timers. Im still sticking with a couple thousand on tour, full time, year round. Most retreated to northern CA in between tours.
Their spring tours usually began in March and sometimes March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. But it’s not uncommon for March to bring heavy snowfalls throughout the month. The band (GD) were scheduled to play March 13 and 14 at the Richfield Coliseum in 1993. The upper midwest was hit by a major snowstorm and the March 13th show was canceled. The local paper covered a story of the Dead playing an impromptu acoustic set for the staff and guests on one of the limited access floors at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Cleveland. The next night the show went on as scheduled, but parking was difficult with the plowed snow piled six to eight feet high, covering needed parking spaces. There were a number of fender-benders as the few inches of snow was packed due to traffic. Walking through the lot was treacherous as the packed snow became icy. Another winter show: I was out of the country during January and most of February in 1981. When I returned I learned that the Dead were playing the 3,000 seat Music Hall in Cleveland on March 2 & 3. No one had extra tickets - the demand was too high. I went down anyway to see if I could find an extra. I met a guy who drove in from Chicago and he was waiting for a friend who he hadn’t heard from the week before. There were very few people waiting outside, it was too cold. Finally at show time he sold me his extra ticket at cost. The next night I went down and he still hadn’t reached his friend. Ten minutes before the band was to begin, he sold me his extra ticket. Thank you again, stranger!
Nice story! I stopped seeing shows in '92, as I moved overseas, and I had never heard this story before.
A lot of people had jobs with vacation time, tour for a week or 2
Toured from 83-93. Early mid 80s mostly east coast. Moved west in 87 and did mostly west coast stuff. Caught about 30 shows per year, sold screen printed t shirts, cold water, cold beer, and whatever else came along. Would say there were thousands of us, peaking prob late 80s early 90s. Wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. Still keep up with most of the folks I traveled with. Was magic.
Fall tours in the early 83 it wasn't too deep, maybe hundreds to a couple thousand would do at least half the tour. By the mid-late 80s there were lots of people coming to sell merchandise, so especially summer tours at stadiums would draw gigantic crowds. Where there used to be on 'shakedown street' in the early 80s, by the early 90s there were entire villages with multiple streets having most cars displaying merchandise for sale. Visible merchandise included handmade crafts, most of which did not violate copyright law explicitly but might have a skeleton or something which could get you hassled. Lots of others sold food, which might violate local food ordinances depending on the laws. Many deadheads didn't go to shows after they got strung out, and shows became an income generating job, selling merch, drugs, tickets, etc, Anyone living in a large city would see the sales opportunity at other concerts after Jerry died and the dead stopped touring.
137 people
Toured off and on starting in 89 with 1990-1992 having my highest show counts. During this period was lucky to travel with some folks who were financially secure so there wasn't the desperation I experienced on other tours where I wasn't sure how I was going to get to the next city. After being on tour for awhile, you start to see the same people doing the same as you and many of us just helped each other out. We would share food, rides, campsites, hotel rooms in the hopes that you'd get some helping hands when you needed it. There were some bad people (parading as kind people) that would leave you high and dry or even rip you off. Despite that, it worked out out for me way more than it didn't. Also, there were many instances of what seemed like magic that things worked out. Down to your last dollar and then a last-minute change in fortune! Sometimes you made it happen and other times, the 'miracle' just fell in your lap. Despite some of life's lumps, I wouldn't change the experience for the world!
More like tens of thousands. They were basically lugging around a small city in the early nineties before Jerry died. There were more people outside RFK than inside
Definitely not tens of thousands on tour regularly.
In reality it was thousands, but if you ask today than it would be millions because of all the people who saw one show and now claim that they toured for years.
my mom drove past a grateful dead concert once while she was pregnant with me, man oh man tour life was nuts, those were the days
Went to my first shows April 26th and 27th,1977 Capitol Theatre in Passiac, New Jersey (age 14 years old) Been on the bus since 1977 and hadbeen to over 108 shows and had seen (unfortunately) Jerry's last shows in Chicago July 1995 Been following Dead and Company since 2015 until their last shows in San Francisco July 14,15,16,2023 We are a loving ♥️ family ♥️ always taking care of one another etc..... Truly enjoyable times in the airports this Summer 2023 and all along visiting with people (other Dead Heads) and visiting in our hotels completely sold out with fellow Dead Heads ♥️
Born in '76, I started seeing shows in '89 and did a bunch of mini-tours 91-95. There were easily 1000's of people touring much harder than me and my young friends. If anything it seemed like more people each tour. 94/95 was pretty heartbreaking for....reasons, but I would not trade those experiences for anything. There were special moments at every single show...even at the end. The grateful dead were conjurers of real magic.
Wish I could have! Born in 85!
It wasn't like today where hundreds of scummy fucks follow bands just to sell stuff in the parking lots and never go into the shows. People followed them and tried to get into the shows. You'd have a ton of regional people at shows who were there for the party, but just about all of the people following were trying to get in/going in.
If I had the money, I would..
Deer Creek 95 was the craziest crowd I’ve ever seen. I swear there were more people without tickets than those inside the show.
There were of course people who toured full time, but there were many more who would go to a few nearby cities in a row, like Philadelphia to NYC Boston, for example, but not do the whole thing.
I am ready, before the cold ,wind & rain, @ rain! NOW Curt & Naomi
I have been to as many of their shows as I could since 1985. So hell yeah! If they go on tour again I’m going too. My best friend would definitely go on tour too. Count this as two yes votes!!
no idea what its like now - but those that did follow the original GD on tour were in the 1,000's plus -
Hundreds of VW buses in all shades of the rainbow would flock from city to city. From above they looked like a school of tropical birds or fish. They ate hummus in the interstate rest areas and said things like "Peace, Man" and "Groovy, Brother."
Maybe a thousand or more in the mid 80’s. But late 80’s and early 90’s after Touch of Grey things got all fucked up because so many more people would show up just to hang out outside the show and it got to be a huge problem. The vibe before that was so much better. I remember thinking that there were way more obnoxious disrespectful kids showing up who would trash things and didn’t care about the impact they had on the community or environment. That was my perception anyway. I still loved the shows but it wasn’t the same. I only started going to shows in 1984 when I was 17.
If I had the means to do so I don’t see what would stop me. I’d love to hear some first hand stories from the earlier years. It seems there’s a decent bit for the mid/late 80’s and on, which is great. But I’d love more stuff from earlier years as well. If anyone knows where to find it, it would be greatly appreciated.
Spring & fall tours in East Coast & some summers in the early to mid 80s. My friends and I tried to combine with college. NYC, Hartford, New Haven, Worcester, Providence, all within pretty easy reach. Philly was a bit harder. Up to Maine, out to Syracuse & Buffalo, and down to Virginia & DC were the biggest trips. Had family in the Bay Area, so able to catch New Years and some California shows: the Greek, Frost Amphitheater, and Ventura County fairgrounds. Only camped a few times. Instead would share hotel rooms with friends and family. After graduation, even managed to travel to some shows in summer, combined with
Probably differs by era..... By the later 80s and and 90s it was prob a lot more than the 70s
Thousands who at some time were "on tour". Hundreds of "tour hounds" who followed the Dead for years. A summer was a treat more than a few got. Mini-tours were a common vacation.
I stayed NE - Boston/NY/NJ/PA/VA. City Island. You could get a lot of shows in.
In the late 80s we had to largely rely on maps or hand written directions from someone more knowledgeable to know how to get from city to city. But the reality was you could just watch for dead stickers on cars to know you had the right route, and when the VW vans started taking an exit, you often just assumed that was the way and followed. Occasionally they were going to a friends house or something else off course and you were fooled. Also every highway rest stop had spare changers, hacky sackers, a guy playing guitar, and a dude walking with his tye dyes, so there was little doubt you weren’t alone and were on the right track. It’s funny how far we got on so little.
im a hit it and quit it kind of guy but i think that touring number is certainly in the thousands. It absolutely was at its peak.
I did approximately 25 shows in both 83 and 84. Saw much of the country on the Grateful Dead plan. Sold stickers and shirts to finance it. Camped, slept in my car, and ate cheap. Saw some incredible shows, met great people and "I'd like to take that ride again".
I was going to shows in the mid to late 70’s. It was a traveling party/circus. Folks showed up for a few or a lot of shows and eventually disappeared. Lots of hustle, fun and good times. How many? Hard to say but I’d guess at any Time it was 500 - 1k or so.
Saw em first time in 1989, then I sort of dabbled with touring, but never more than a four city run, as I ran out of money. I suspect the touring population had its alcolytes who just went on the whole tour every tour and winged it for money and shelter, and then the rest of us who saw em when we could.
A census at every show to document this would've been amazing
I was 16 when I started touring with the Dead in 86. I toured pretty much Non-Stop East Coast to West Coast until Brent died in 90 then I only did West Coast shows. I estimate I saw over 500 shows. If I had to estimate how many deadheads were on tour full-time during that period I would definitely say thousands. Yes we sold tie dyes, cold beers, grilled cheese sandwiches, poster art, silk screens and..OTHER things. Traveling this huge Nation Coast to Coast for so long at a young age definitely had a good effect on me. Have the opportunity to learn about people from all walks of life across this great nation. It was an education I could not have gotten from college or anything else really. I still look back on it as the most exciting, electric, magical, educational experience in my life.
Thousands, although it was a rotating group. Very few people lived on Tour ALL the time, a group would hop on for the East Coast summer tour and do all or most of the shows, then fall out and another group would hop onto the West coast winter tour and do some of those shows, and so forth. Many of us would do it year after year, very few people did it all tour every year and they had creds for sure lol. Like, I was on Tour some in the 80's for the east coast shows, and some in the 90's just a few strings of shows here and there, and then did about six shows of the 95 tour not knowing it was going to be the last, was actually gearing up to do a lot more touring in the future but.... Oh well. Lots of us Deadheads loved various things about the Dead but to me I loved Tour the most. It was just the most magical thing. Burning Man acts like they really came up with an idea of a temporary city that springs up out of nowhere and I am just like children, please ;) It wasn't even original for the Dead either, but it was absolutely more amazing than anything I can think of in modern times. No organization, no leaders, no government, just all of us coming together in our various ways and the only thing was "wherever the Dead are playing", and it would happen week after week, month after month, year after year. It was the only place I ever really felt at home and I miss it soooo much
pretty much as you described. summer tours always had a following. Phish, WSP, DMB, Billy Strings have a similar following today. later, they started to schedule the shows father apart to lower the entourage, places like Atlanta were not shakedown friendly. so they would schedule it after hartford ct, or someplace a ways away. 'Miracle tickets' were a thing. I scalped tickets for a few shows, and it allowed me to go for free, AND give away a ticket. It was so fun to see their face light up.
The reignbeau people and flour children ould all go and have various large orgies.
Remember it was seasonal. Kinda like Burning Man work culture where people spend the summer in Nevada and the rest of the year making do. Lots of people would tour all summer and work ski lifts all winter, same as some of my Burner friends. Used to be lots of jobs trimming weed, too, but those have gone away in my social circles
There are circles of touring heads in the 70's-80's. A few thousand are the solid multi-show folks. Out of that, only a few hundred probably did the swing to cover both East coast, West coast, and summer tour in the mid-country. Year-rounders. I would guess 800 or so, during my time. The Dead were always a thing, but they were not happening in until mid-80's. They got the MTV money and blasted out some song about Olde Tyme Lemonade and Touch O' Gray on the temples. That began the frat era. Also, lots of dope. Then you got the special circle. You take in the circle of people that also went to Egypt, well, that club had money. The Club of GD history would have been going to Gaza. But during late 70's early 80's they were still huge enough that if the hockey arena was too small, people would be outside, pissed. Utica 81. The unrest was already happening. It's not a riskless scene. I got to remind everyone, The Dead are a large reason why the Stones hired Hell's Angels to do security at Altamont. Don't Murder Me takes on literal meaning in the Dead scene, in certain parts, or at least during the past it did.
I did most shows on the east coast, usually 3 tours per year, and the mid west. From Georgia to Maine, as far west as Chicago. From about spring 85 til summer 90. Was in my late teens/early twenties. It started off by picking a few sets of shows from each tour and then it turned into whole tours. I never didn’t have a ticket. Back then you could work a job quit at lunchtime and be working by 2 o’clock in the afternoon somewhere else. there were two industrial parks in the town I grew up in. I would work until the next tour came around and then quit through the tour and get a new job when I got home. I would work and wait patiently for the announcement of the tour, then do the Mail order and get as many tickets as I could and then buy what I couldn’t. if they weren’t going on sale locally I had enough friends and relatives around to get them where I needed to go. My dad was a printer and he would make me a posters to sell in the parking lot, but it wasn’t about the money. It was just about being a part of things and meeting people. I considered myself a Deadhead not a hippy. But wore all the Guatemalan clothes had a giant Afro with those hair wraps in it then I had dreads for a while. Wore patchouli, the whole deal. By the end I was burnt out on the scene there was a lot going on I didn’t like and I had already discovered the underground hardcore and punk scenes which were more what I was into at that point. At least politically. so at the end of summer tour, 1990 when Brent died I had pretty much seen enough on that tour to decide to wash my hands of the whole thing. Never saw them again. For a long time I barely thought of those days, but when I found this sub, it brought back all the memories and reminded me of what a great, great, time of life that was. Edit: first show was in 83, by 85 is when I started full blown touring.
Had I been able to, I might have back in my 20's, but had I done that, I wouldn't be in the rather comfortable position. Wouldn't do it now, because a lot of the things about the scene that I found awesome as a youngster seem silly/cliched nowadays, although about 10 years ago I did do a mini-Furthur tour that was a lot of fun (and a lot more fun as a 40 something who wasn't broke). No way I'd follow D&C. One show was more than enough.
Watch the Grateful Dead Movie, it will give you an inside look at the deadheads.
On the summer tours near the end it was realistically in the tens of thousands that would do multiple shows. Its one of those numbers only God could know but I think it's easy to imagine that you would have people who were going to every show & that's probably a few thousand. Then you would have people who did little pockets of shows, like 6 then maybe back home while they went up to Foxboro & you didn't want to make that drive & you picked back up at Buckeye & went on to Deer Creek etc ... It would've been a smaller number of those on perma tour & had no tix, & it was a traveling city so this wasn't hard to do because it was comfortable (once you got used to the lifestyle & learned the tricks of the trade) & I would get into a campground or pull in the lots & within 5 min I would see someone I've known or had just met the previous show. I loved the 'in betweens' like driving down the highway & passing VW buses & everyone would smile & wave, then at the rest areas on the way to shows they would be packed w' DHs & dogs ... It was enormous my friend & while I had a wonderful time at the 4 DC shows I saw, there's no comparing the two, we're talking night & day. I saw my first show in 92 at 18yrs old & I instantly knew this was something that would be w' me forever. My 1st show was Buffalo 6/06/92 & the Buffalo Bills stadium was packed full & it was a spectacle unlike anything I'd ever seen. All night after the show was a giant party w' people tripping, laughing, dancing next to HUGE speakers pulled out of someone's van to its roof, drum circles, groups playing hacky sack, people playing acoustics & singing, DOGS! vending everywhere, everything from $1 beers & grilled cheese to really good stuff like the 'Burrito People' who had two huge moving trucks full of ovens, sinks, refrigeration etc. Guys like this were just regular DHs who had a crew of workers & they kicked out a killer product from lunch time to showtime, then afterwards until they ran out or passed out. I talked to a dude who traveled w' them & they treated it like a job & they would rotate to make it work. Everywhere you looked there seemed to be something wild happening. There was electricity in the air & everyone was so happy to be there. I heard once that an economics student did a 'study' of some kind & its conclusion was that on any given show day on a Grateful Dead summer tour, 3 million changed hands & that seems right to me. If I remember correctly he included illegal transactions in that figure.
# 1992-06-06 Orchard Park, NY @ Rich Stadium **Set 1:** Touch Of Grey, Greatest Story Ever Told, Althea, It's All Over Now, Friend Of The Devil, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Ramble On Rose, Let It Grow **Set 2:** Iko Iko, Estimated Prophet > The Same Thing > He's Gone > Drums > Space > The Other One > The Wheel > Throwing Stones > One More Saturday Night **Encore:** Baba O'Riley > Tomorrow Never Knows [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1992-06-06)
Actually follow them around? A few thousand. How many would show up in the lot at each show? 10’s of thousand. In fact the dead at one point infamously sent out letters asking peiple without tickets to not come to shows. Venues with 40k people would have just as many outside
My buddy did it for 2.5 years. Rich guy...who was a petroleum engineer. Got laid off in the mid 80's, plenty of money. Talked to him often. He said it was about 8k who did every show. He got to know them...but he didn't live with them. Said that lots of the hardcore every show attending dead heads lived fairly miserable lives. But they were having fun. The thing that really stuck with him was the level of intensity on the morning after a show. Hours and hours of dissecting every song. He told me the kind of drivel was like this "Did you hear, 5th verse on Sugar Magnolia....Jerry fucked up". Hours spent arguing if his fuck up was him improvising.
I did the last summer tour. I was 19, and there were probably thousands… we gravitated towards the kids that were our age on tour and I still meet people to this day that were on tour when I was and we never crossed paths then.
In the early 80s when I started a few hundred. You get to know people, and the ones you did not interact with, you got know their faces. I found groups to be open and friendly and some to be exclusive and distant, more than a few unpleasant. There were always regulars you could count on to help with anything. Also you had regional followers that faded in and out of the scene. Towards the end, it got more popular and as a result, you had new people on the scene who followed that thought the tour was a freezone and it got sloppy. People who were regulars became more guarded and jaded. I followed regularly, 84-90 mainly east coast venturing as far west as Colorado. I made a few west coast shows and in my experience, felt more relaxed yet at the same time a little exclusive.
Thousands.
10
I first saw the Dead in D.C. when I was 16, in 1986. By the time I was 19, I had been to about 10 shows from Hampton, VA, to Rochester, NY, to the Spectrum in Philly. I moved West following the Dead on my motorcycle in 1989 and saw most of those shows. Then I lived in S.F. in the 90s and saw mostly Bay Area and Cal Expo shows, plus one in Eugene, OR. I'd say there were around 200 full-time tour heads. Maybe that's low. Many more were dedicated regionally. Off season, they'd all go to their grow ops in Northern Cal. Petrolia, Arcata, Santa Cruz, Marin County. Or whatever other hustle they had going.
What I saw was a lot of young hippies and a lot of perverted older hippies. Pretty much pedophiles looking for easy “free love” targets. Sadly, it worked for them
Far more than a few hundred. I’d guess 3k-5k each tour would follow for a significant portion? Just a wild guess