funky420 wrote:


The '90 McNichols show were great. The '92, + "94 versions, not so much.

dopeywonder wrote:


I'm glad to hear at least one person still listens to shows from 94...

I agree that the first Philly show was good. The McNichols shows were the most inconsistent things I ever saw any band do. One second Jerry would start a pretty good jam and the crowd would respond and you could see his head pick up a bit and he would try and do some more but it would not come out right and there was a collective awhhh from the crowd and his head would drop back down. It was pretty hard to watch. I recall a nice SOTM from that show though where he really let his heart hang out.

rippleish20 wrote:


i don't think anybody said they don't listen to any 94 at all whatsoever, but rather, unlike the original poster, most are able to get enough of 94 in about 30 minutes or less.

agreed on 10/5/94, one of the best of the last...check out jerry post drums when he comes out by himself and just SHREDS

Plus, the scene itself had disintegrated beyond recognition. Law officials became much more aggressive. The fans that would infiltrate a venue were tweaked beyond control and did not leave a good impression. There were times I actually did not feel safe at a show post 92. Never had this feeling before that. The community itself as a whole did not function as before. Even the late 80s when 100k would walk into a city seemed more controllable. The band reminded me of an athlete that should have retired when on top, yet continues and ends his career with embarrassment.

newyawker wrote:


This I have heard before but completely disagree with. I did not get the feeling that the scene was deteriorating any more than it had been since the mid 80s. There were plenty of cases of gate crashing and bad behavior by fans even in the 80s (remember their not being asked to come back to venues did not start in 94!!). I always felt safe, especially compared to a Phish show!

B-Rad wrote:


I am not saying some scenes were not bad prior to this. But the aggressiveness of fans and law enforcement cannot be argued post 92. The point that cannot be refuted is a bigger percentage of fans post 92 were assholes and should not have come to the show. Perhaps it was a necessary consequence coupled with my negativity about the poor performances.

Again from my experience it started to go down hill in the late 80s and didn't really get worse in the 90s (the scene that is). Could just be different perspectives though.

In 1987 they were banned from Red Rocks when the poor little town of Morrison got destroyed by the hoardes. After that they only played McNichols and Mile High Stadium (once).

wlewis wrote:


I was really just trying to make a semi humorous point countering the original statement.

One other thing about 10/5. Midnight Hour was very very rare.....I'd been wanting to hear it again for years after catching it 4-8-85 in the same building. My all time fave dead song is Cumberland Blues. Set 2 opens Midnight Hour>Cumberland..........my head damn near exploded....also my fave set 2 closer a rousing Philly Sugar Mag with Bob in all his rock star glory. What a night!

Besides the previously mentioned 10/1 and 10/5.....check out 10/15/94 MSG another very strong show. You really can't go wrong in any year when its Saturday Night at the Garden. I think I damn near levitated during the encore of "I Want to Tell You"