"They were not a stoner band but that was the era. "
That's right. PF didn't really want 20,000 fans that were drunk and high and yelling "crank-it -up"!!. Save that for Lynard Skynard.(awesome band too, not trying to "dis" them in anyway, but you know the fans they have) PF, was hoping for a more cerebral audience that would appreciate the music for what it is , which is great, and pay attention during the performance and then give a short polite clap (in a researved British way) at the end.
PF, imho , IS the greatest band ever and transcends the basic rock band format. The music stands 100% on its own without vocals. Given the first few albums WERE crap and are dated, everything post "wish you were here" is a timeless masterpiece and is in no way dated - it like the closest we have to modern Bach.
A DEAD concert was more of an three ring circus event, more about what went on in the parking lot than the stage. Fake dead heads would show up to act like real Dead Heads and general on-lookers would come over to see both types acting weird. The DEAD had a very limited amount of really great songs and IIRC, about have the albums were "greatest hits" or live recording, mostly tending to release the same ol' songs again.
It amazes me how the Beetles, which were more marketing than music and rarly toured after 1966 can remain so highly popular and sell so many box sets and reissues. That, I think people would find boring and really not care anymore.