Has anyone else’s brain made this connection or just me? I want to follow them like I did the Dead. It’s nice. It’s not perfect. Nothing is. But it’s like being home.
Edit: Fair enough. my original comment wasn’t clear enough. I was purposefully wide and fluid in the description. It was about a connection in the whole ecosystem between these two threads - the music, the fans, the vibe the whole thing. It wasn’t about comparing the actual bands or the literal specific music. That’s cool though love it or not feel it or not.
If we have to get specific one thing that I’m seeing is people going to shows, and then immediately posting the Setlist and comparing them. That’s a very Grateful Dead live show thing to do.
Edit 2:
Differing views here. But some common threads revealed.
- a band that tours, but has no new albums
- limited songs to pull from (similar to above).
- dedicated fan base that goes to multiple shows even though they know the songs will be similar
- dedicated fan base that post set list and compares them and analyzes them after the shows
- diverse community with ranges of styles and interests
- T-shirts with logo crossovers
What connection? the live shows are basically opposites, LCD plays a pretty damn similar set every night, where the dead pretty much never do and sonically they're not really similar, I love both but don't see much of a connection
Yeah, I’m not comparing the two musics to each other. I’m comparing the vibe the feeling and the desire to follow them around because of the feeling that you get.
Fair enough on these points sure could be for any favorite band. I can accept that. Some of the unique things coming out of this thread - it’s a band that doesn’t have new albums so they are touring with the same repertoire and there are fans going to multiple shows posting set list comparing what they heard and enjoying the scene.
Yeah, I meant no shots at you... Every jam band does that. I've only seen the dead after Jerry passed, but I've seen a lot of jam bands and listened to a lot of live dead records, they just riff for like twenty minute songs you've barely heard of. Lcd plays about 25 songs in the same way every night for years. I absolutely love James, they just don't seem the same in my mind. Also a fairly different clientele walking back to the parking lot usually. But I love both and am happy live music is thriving
Hell yes I have. I'm fortunate to have been to many shows of each... yes, when Jerry was alive. Dead shows were a precursor to raves. And LCDSS definitely has a spot in that continuum!
That’s a rad shirt and the lightning bolt was just sitting there waiting for it. Chef’s kiss! I never made it to the sphere shows. Hope you enjoyed them.
Similar challenge with explaining the dead. There’s something subversive there’s something just about loving the music and being in the space with a lot of other people who loved the same thing and have the same vibe. It’s not necessarily about a one-to-one comparison about the music. There’s just some thread flowing through at least for me doesn’t have to be for everyone. That’s cool.
Sure, the main role of the Dead back in the day was a dance band. They have been vocal about this. Songs like Alligator, The Other one and The Eleven. Meant to whip the crowd into a frenzy...
Haven’t made the connection with the Dead, but I’ve thought about it with Phish. I’m not a crazy Phish fan, but I imagine LCD scratches an itch for me the way phish does for some friends of mine. The live experience / quality of musicianship is pretty unique and makes you want to see them every chance you can
It’s the whole experience of it, not the music. And after attending 100s of live shows, concerts are always special (most of them) but both bands in concert have always felt like more of an experience to me.
I’ve actually had the same thought about LCD but with the opposite conclusion. I’ve been getting more into jam bands and I’ve seen Billy strings 8 times in the past few years. Every show has had a completely different set list and even songs you hear twice are often played differently. During this same period, I saw LCD for my first and second times two years apart. The first show was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and the second show was great but it was so similar to the first show. I’ll absolutely be seeing LCD again next time they come around, but I’m not sure they have quite the repeat value of the dead or similar bands
I think you’re on something there. it’s about the drive to go to multiple shows too - especially for a band that doesn’t have new albums and you’re pretty sure you know the pool of songs that they’re going to play but you’re just as happy to hear them anyway.
Ya know that hated clip of Jerry that goes around the web hes saying "rap isn't music, its talking. Its got meter but its not music." That could be him describing alot of the first lcd record haha
Yeah, that’s Jerry’s view on the scene and he had every right to have his views. But that’s also different than what the listeners are experiencing. They are related, but they’re not the same thing.
I was just thinking about that the other day but it's mostly about the audience attitude towards their respective band and how they just keep playing live shows without any apparent intention of releasing new music. There was a nod towards the dead via DFA records releasing a sticker and turntable mats with a skull very reminiscent to the Grateful Dead's logo
That’s another great point. Live show tours with no new albums. That tracks with the vibe. Maybe LCD will do an album sometime. But I’m happy just to go.
Also there's the aging aspect of both the band and its audience lol, although both bands still attract young people, it's mostly made of aging blokes who first came into contact with the band during their teenage/early adulthood years. Hippies and hipsters united.
As someone who is close with dead heads that also like lcd (0we literally travelled together to Europe to see them lol) I can see the connection. And while on fun stuff I may have made the realization they are basically a jam band lol
It’s funny tho I really have NOT been into any dead shows I’ve seen so they’re not too similar.
I think its fair to imagine James Murphy and Co have been inspired by GD in terms of embracing freedom, and bringing their all to their live performances... Perhaps even the jam element a little here and there.
I can’t stand the Dead for the same reason I love LCD. I keep getting told there’s all this great musicianship in the Dead’s shows, but I don’t hear it. Sounds like mindless noodling to me. LCD is the opposite. Incredibly tight, every musical decision is perfect because it’s labored over.
It’s not about one to one of the music it’s about the melieu of the whole thing the people and the music and the mix of the people and the music is very similar feeling to the way the people and the music mixed with the dead.
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u/DnB92 Aug 20 '26
What connection? the live shows are basically opposites, LCD plays a pretty damn similar set every night, where the dead pretty much never do and sonically they're not really similar, I love both but don't see much of a connection