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Never a Dead fan, but I have to say, I caught the "Greatful Dead Movie" on FUSE or Pallidia one night, and you know what impressed me most? The interviews with the young teenage and twentysomething fans entering the concert. The year was 1974, and these young Deadheads, all of them looking every bit the part, were more polite and well spoken that most people you would find working in any corporation today. They all had great vocabularies and didn't stammer or "um" or "like" at all. I mean none of them! And they were all probably stoned too!! But they all spoke in complete sentences with coherent things to say.

What a difference a generation makes.

Never a Dead fan, but I have to say, I caught the "Greatful Dead Movie" on FUSE or Pallidia one night, and you know what impressed me most? The interviews with the young teenage and twentysomething fans entering the concert. The year was 1974, and these young Deadheads, all of them looking every bit the part, were more polite and well spoken that most people you would find working in any corporation today. They all had great vocabularies and didn't stammer or "um" or "like" at all. I mean none of them! And they were all probably stoned too!! But they all spoke in complete sentences with coherent things to say. What a difference a generation makes.

Fast forward to the late 80s, early 90s. I worked part-time at RFK stadium in DC for 3 yrs for all events, mostly football and concerts. All types of concerts from heavy metal, soul, christian rock. Crowds were always up for a good time for the most part but the worst crowds (by far) were the deadheads for a Grateful Dead concert. Rip-off artists, thieves, unbelievably rude. Probably had 2 or 3 problems in 40/50 events other than the Dead, but I can think easily of a dozen problems for the 2 Dead concerts I worked.

When at Hill AFB in Utah went to the Winterland Ballroom twice for 6 concerts during that era (73-74). Great Shows back in the day. the New Riders of the Purple Sage opened the shows during that era.

They did a show Memorial Day in 73 at the old Kezar Stadium they brought Waylon Jennings out to open the show, first time I saw Waylon or heard his music.

I never made it to a GD concert but did take in Jefferson Airplane at the old Iowa (basketball) Fieldhouse in 1969. My seat was second row center.

My ears were ringing for days...

Good point. I am still awed by the fantastic animation at the start of the movie - puts today's CGI wizards to shame. Another sad commentary, along the lines you mention: When I first saw the film when it came out, the animation scene with the fat US cop just seemed typical anti-American boilerplate and I ignored it. Seeing it today, after years of asset forfeitures, attacks on Christian bakeries, forced colonoscopies in New Mexico (and the list goes on..), that scene resonates now.