A Unique Fan Base
Sure, Beatlemania once swept over the US, and the Rolling Stones still have their devoted fans. There are Phishheads (fans of the band Phish) and Bruce Springsteen fans, but nothing comes close to the devotion and loyalty to Jerry Garcia and his bandmates. Infamous rock journalist and critic Robert Christgau was the first person to write about the band’s unique traveling audience after he attended a 1971 concert in New York City.
Photo by Bob Minkin / mediapunch / Shutterstock
He described an audience where “regulars greeted other regulars, remembered from previous boogies, and compared this event with a downer in Boston or a fabulous night in Arizona.” Well, the band took notice. They played a different song set at every show so that these free-spirited “regulars” would never see the same show twice.