I found that I enjoyed the Grateful Dead, Phish and other bands because of their improvisational abilities.  Phish had the added element of whimisical humor...almost adolescent lyrics. True geeks were they.  I toured with the dead on a few occasions and it was the crowd that turned me off.  Most folks I met were there to hang with other "heads" and to be seen.  Few really seemed interested in the music, but that was my experience.  But there is always a sense of community and shared experience with these bands and after you've seen em a few times, you can see why folks flocked to them.

The big difference between Phish and GD in MY humble opinion was that GD could craft "songs" better.  They seemed a bit more rooted in classic american songwriting where Phish was more avant garde.  Both have their place, but where phish makes great party music and is fun material to cover, I can sit down and listen to the dead much easier.  Phish has more to "analyze" if you're into tearing music up and really digesting it.  So if both bands were a Jell-O mould...Phish would be a Jell-O Mould with spiced grapes and shredded carrots and cottage cheese mixed in and probably lime flavored.  The Grateful Dead would be more of a straight strawberry flavor with some sliced berries mixed in. 

I dunno..I just like em.  All I know is that I sure don't see folks followin' brittany fuckin' spears around the country to hear her shows over and over again.

Dude,

PRH