While I was looking around for different videos and articles to watch and read for my “One Man Gathers What Another Man Spills” post, I stumbled upon this 17-minute-long video from a 1988 Grateful Dead show Shakedown Street.
The term “Shakedown Street” refers to a Grateful Dead song but the Shakedown Street we’re talking about refers to a vending area at shows and festivals.
Shakedown Streets were popularized in the 1980s and are basically “tailgating” for Dead Heads. So this video of the 1988 Grateful Dead Shakedown Street is probably near the start of this tailgating.
These little vending areas are a place for fans to socialize with one another before a show and sell food, clothes, or basically anything. This selling of material things was promoted by the band.
The Grateful Dead, in the early years, did not have their own merchandise. Nonetheless, fans wanted to boast their appreciation and likeness to the band and turned to create their own merchandise.
This idea of selling handmade merch at the lot was popularized and encouraged by the band. These pre-show parties would allow people who did not yet have a ticket to the show to sell things to afford tickets or hope that someone would give them a ticket.
I know when my father was following Phish he and his friend would sell grilled cheese and watermelon at Shakedown Streets to buy their tickets for the next show.