Never was a big Dead fan.
I had some surf buddy transplants from the east coast that were big time dead heads in the 70's. I respected the talent, but never got the whole ramble on jam aspect they were famous for. You needed to be really high I guess, to dig it, and I smoked plenty of good pot trying to. So hippy, it kind of made me puke when it lasted into the late 70's, when rock took a big 180 swing punk/new wave. Everyone cut their hair in the late 70's/early 80's. Glam/Stadium rock still prevailed, but that was inlander/Camaro/Firebird music. Most of us were into the southern rock bands of the 70's, along with the Clapton types and such. Instrumental talent had to be dedicated and polished, while vocals were just enough to get by. Then the very late 70's/80's came and everything changed in rock music.
Phish is just a 90's/2000's version of those "folksy" rock bands that fill a void for that need that was lost in the 80's and then early 90's grundge.
Sorry I offended fans here.