ess, uncontrolled mass of people entering their city don't quite understand the inner workings of the dead head subculture.Dead heads have a very different set of norms and values than people in the main stream do. For one thing, it is a very cooperative environment. If one person has something that someone else needs more than they do, it is his or her obligation to share whatever they have. It is a subculture that values individual freedom, but not at the expense of individual responsibility. Dead heads will tell you that it is your own responsibility to take care of yourself. However, within these constraints, dead heads believe that you should be able to do, look, and feel however you like.Dead heads often show up to concerts without tickets, however they do so with good reason. It is very unusual for a dead head to get, "shut out" of a show. There are a lot of people within the subculture that get a great deal of pleasure by giving people tickets and by watching their enthusiastic response. It all goes back to the idea that if you have something that someone else needs, and that you don't need, you are supposed to share it. Therefore, some of the better heeled members of the subculture make a practice of buying numbers of tickets and redistributing them among dead heads who don't have the money to purchase them. People often arrive looking for a "miracle ticket", which is a ticket that you don't have to pay for. At the same time, many dead heads arrive willing to pay for a ticket having traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles with no real assurance that they will even get in to see the band play. As for the show itself, the music means something different to everybody who experiences it. However, for everyone, a concert is a conformation of their membership in the subculture. The concert is a chance to feel a part of something larger than yourself. It is the opportunity to feel like you belong, the opportunity to s...
