I reluctantly went to my first Grateful Dead show — and discovered one of Earth’s great religions

"Remember the Sabbath Day, to support it holy."

The Fourth Commandment abruptly came to caput precocious arsenic I happened upon Larissa Phillips’ Free Press nonfiction astir the Grateful Dead. It is each astir pursuing the Dead and however the full happening was similar a giant, mobile, joyous church.

I concur.

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Standing among thousands of chap Deadheads, particularly astatine the goosebump-inducing highest of a transcendent Jerry Garcia guitar solo, I would look astir the mesmerized assemblage and think, "If this isn’t a religion, what is?" A religion without a phony, overrated, massively disappointing "God," and with real, talented, flesh-and-blood musicians to worship: Who could inquire for thing more?

Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead execute astatine the Greek Theater successful Berkeley, Calif., connected July 15, 1984. (Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Eric Clapton, Jerry Garcia, Elton John and Carlos Santana are my 4 philharmonic gods. Broadly speaking, those of america who hop connected planes and alert crossed the state oregon implicit oceans to spot euphony beryllium to what I telephone the First Church of Song.

Seeing and pursuing the Grateful Dead was portion of this faith. I was fortunate capable to drawback the Dead for in-town shows successful the New York City country and Los Angeles. I rode successful cars to spot idiosyncratic venues successful Foxboro, Massachusetts; Oakland and Ventura, California; Oxford Speedway, Maine; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I flew to spot them successful Buffalo and Chicago (twice).

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And past determination were the "follows" — journeys to aggregate cities and locations: The Meadowlands, New Jersey, to Washington, D.C. (with an intermittent halt astatine the Garden State Arts Center, wherever the Neville Brothers opened for Jimmy Buffett) and the champion travel of all: Berlin to Frankfurt to Paris. Following the Dead crossed Europe successful 1990 was among the highlights of my life.

Jerry Garcia, Donna Godchaux and Bob Weir execute with The Grateful Dead astatine Santa Barbara Stadium connected June 4, 1978, astatine the University of California, Santa Barbara. (Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images)

I americium eternally grateful to my aged junior-high-school friends John Adams, Gill Ilanit and Chris Wessling, who dragged maine to my archetypal Dead amusement — fittingly capable — connected Good Friday 1987. The bones, skulls and skeletons abundant successful Grateful Dead iconography led maine to conclude, with staggering inaccuracy, that this progressive immoderate benignant of Satanic decease metal. I envisioned thing similar Black Sabbath, but adjacent much diabolical.

I powerfully resisted my friends’ invitations, but they persisted. Finally, to halt their nagging, I made them a deal: "OK. I volition spot your Grateful Dead. Just this once. And aft that, I bash not privation to perceive different connection astir them!"

"OK. OK. OK," they agreed, apt giggling down my backmost astatine the worm-adorned hook that was astir to snag my precocious lip.

Jerry Garcia, the charismatic person of the Grateful Dead, died successful 1995 astatine property 53.  (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

So disconnected we went to the now-defunct Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre connected a sunny Southern California afternoon. We spent hours successful a immense parking lot, thoroughly entertained, arsenic our chap young Americans successful tie-dyed outfits played hacky sack, flung Frisbees and danced with their dogs to bootleg performance tapes. The faithful revered these similar the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In her Free Press nonfiction headlined "Who Needs God When There’s the Grateful Dead?" Phillips perfectly captured the humanities infinitesimal erstwhile this colorful day among the Deadheads unfolded:

"I ideate if you were profoundly invested, it would’ve been hard to ticker the Dead spell mainstream, aft truthful galore years of being a benignant of concealed society. In 1987, they produced their archetypal Top 10 song, and things went brainsick from there. MTV began playing the ‘Touch of Grey’ video. I saw frat-boy types wearing tie-dyes, and preppy kids from my suburban precocious schoolhouse started going to shows."

Jerry Garcia performs with the Grateful Dead astatine the Greek Theater successful Berkeley connected May 22, 1982. (Clayton Call/Redferns)

Yup — preppy kids, similar galore of my friends astatine Palisades High School successful suburban Los Angeles. (We were assemblage students and caller graduates by then.) I was the preppiest among my unit that April 17, but I was not — by acold — the lone feline retired determination successful Top-Siders.

About this time, Jerry Garcia responded to his band’s yet entering Billboard’s Top 10 club: "I americium appalled."

The Grateful Dead (clockwise: Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Mickey Hart and Jerry Garcia) airs for a photograph successful 1970. (Chris Walter/WireImage)

Back successful Irvine, the all-encompassing parking-lot festivities felt similar the full attraction. In fact, it was conscionable the overture. Already sated, my friends reminded maine that we were determination to spot a concert.

As dusk approached, we yet headed successful for the Dead show. Rather than harmonies from Hell, I heard the delightful sounds of what I telephone "psychedelic state rock." The euphony was fun, upbeat, blessed and beautiful.

It besides was familiar. I retrieve proceeding "Estimated Prophet" and asking, "Oh, that’s a Grateful Dead song?" Also connected the acceptable list: "Truckin’." I said, "I cognize this one. I’ve heard it connected the radio. The Dead bash this?"

Other tunes were brand-new to me. "Deal" was a raucous first-set person that I instantly embraced and inactive cherish. "Friend of the Devil" and "Samson and Delilah" became instant favorites.

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The precocious departed Bob Weir was a standout connected bushed guitar and vocals. I instantly fell successful emotion with the keyboard wizardry and raspy dependable of the precocious Brent Mydland. The precocious Phil Lesh softly kept things unneurotic connected bass. Not 1 drummer but 2 — Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, some inactive live — kept the percussion popping.

Honorees Bob Weir and Mickey Hart of Dead and Company and of The Grateful Dead execute onstage astatine 2025 MusiCares Person of the Year honoring The Grateful Dead astatine Los Angeles Convention Center connected January 31, 2025, successful Los Angeles, California.  (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

And then, of course, determination was the archetypal among equals, the precocious pb guitarist Jerry Garcia. Although helium was conscionable 44 astatine that time, decades of less-than-pristine surviving made him look astir 80. He was our stone ’n’ rotation grandpa, and we were his grandchildren. His croaky voice, soaring leads and peaking crescendos fueled pure, unfiltered ecstasy. With Persian rugs connected signifier among the woody guitars and gear, the country felt similar Jerry’s surviving room. He was playing conscionable for us. And adjacent among immoderate 16,000 chap fans, the spot could not person felt cozier oregon much intimate.

At the extremity of the show, Gill asked me, "What did you think?"

I laughed and replied, "Why didn’t you bring maine sooner?"

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"I retrieve dragging you to that show, past catching you twirling astir successful the parking lot!" John Adams aboriginal recalled. "Hilarious. Hooked for life."

That was my maiden voyage with the Grateful Dead.

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I returned for 70 much shows.

If this isn’t a religion, what is?

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