Ossumpei wrote:


i'm hardly seeing a difference between the two crowds anymore

Ossumpei wrote:


Cat's are very good at sensing human emotion. They know or sense when we are sick. I know this 'cause one time when I was babysitting a friends cat's, I came over after having a tooth extracted. My friends cats knew something was up. They came closer, and offered extra support, helping to soothe the pain. If they can figure all of that out, processing a name sounds easy.

As for being 'more polite and nicer to people during shows', the hope is that we can (if we so choose) extend this knowlede beyond shows. That we can (in theory) take what we learn (from behavior at shows) and extend this knowledge to our own day to day approach to others, beyond shows even.
In terms of 'have(ing) a higher expectation of people at 'Dead related shows', be careful (about expectations). They are kind of like assumptions. Remember (if you will) what Felix (of Felix and Oscar fame - see Odd Couple) said about assumptions. The point being, if we have 'expectation's' we open up the possibility of dissapointment. On the other hand, if people see 'kinder' behavior', we / they might just apply this knowledge to our / their own lives. One can (at least) hope this will happen. To 'expect' this to happen may just be asking for a bit much. Or so i've been told.

I hope my cat senses that he's about to be given away. All he does is gently bite and scratch. Its play to him, but not what I wanted in a feline friend. He won't sit on my lap and purr or really anything else but play fight and attack me.

Being from the city I can see why you don't have any expectations from the lot. The crowds are filled with heads, and anyone else that might be in the area at the time. Including tourists, vagrants, criminals, passers by, etc...the folks that make New York the great place that it is, and the scene it is what it is.

I got used to it on the road where it was a very high percentage of Dead Heads and those learning to be. The kindness, love, friendship, were somehow amplified and special because it was a Dead lot. That's why I kept going back, for the love, I'm all about the love.

This scene is a 1000x better than Phish.. There is way less nitrous at Furthur than at Phish... Also, even though it is sometimes hard for me to hold a conversation with a lot of people at the furthur lots, most of the people who go at least recognize how special of a thing the Grateful Dead and the community is... I dont know any other scene that has something so important and special

We truly are blessed

I agree with direwolflove222.

The Music It's so special. I also take advantage of local flavor every time I attend a show. It's cool to hang in a hotel room, but it seems a waste (just to me) to stay there and not venture out. This is a vacation!! After being around local culture all day and walking into a venue and the lights go out, that's pure magic!! The music is why I am there, but the area is why the music came there. Both are special and it's amazing to see the music play its' way around that.

wlewis wrote:


Whoa!! That's harsh.

Yeah Burt, that's harsh man. There's a big difference.

Just look at the ages of the fans. Phish kids are more that, kids.

With that comes a lot of areas to be different.

What's the average of the Furthur fan? Any guesses.

Older,
Cleaner,
More polite,
stay off your lawn more,
Etc etc...

Why? Simple truths for myself that I love to travel (do so for my job and combine biz and shows most of the time), I love to meet new people (left my two bros in our GA seats 3 out 6 six sets to hit the floor and meet new people) and MOST important love the music.

My belief is that music "hits" people differently. Many comments in this thread talk about the affects on them physically, emotionally, mentally and physiologically which IMHO means the music is hitting them. Others, like my wife, like and enjoy music but that is all it is, entertainment.

Music REALLY hits me. Hard. So my bext example from this past weekend came during a song I have been wanting to hear for a long time.........Dear Prudence. I lost my mom just about 2 years ago and the line "So let me see you smile again" made me think of her and literally brought tears to my eyes. And it was a great release. I wondered if the people around me who didnt know me thought I was crazy (well I am, but REALLY crazy.......LOL).

I am so thankful that music does this to me. I feel it is a total blessing. I really want to play music again in a band but just have no time (plus I suck.......LOL).

As for the scene........it is unique and fun..........but does suffer from the always obligatory end result of bringing together a large crowd............adverse selection. Yes, there are people there just to rip you off, just like in any other crowd of 5k or 10k people. Sad story but one that was written a long time ago called human fucking nature.

Some people just go to say I've been to this many shows....

You definitely have a point broken arrow. There are 'collectors' that just add up shows. Of course that's their right to do so and god bless them. But that was an underlying part of my original question. People collect a kinds of things, and if you can do it Furthur shows are a really cool thing to collect. More power to them.

For all the good reasons already posted.

Also excellent reasons Griff. I sometimes forget about the emotional response music brings. I think that answer is the key to why go to a lot of shows, emotional connection to the music. I read somewhere that Robert Hunter said that, and it makes perfect sense to me.

The GD songs are known to be able to be interpreted many ways, and the listeners can each have their own ways to love a song. Look at box of rain, what's that about exactly?

Great response. Thanks