Not so sure about the inspiration being from drugs. I think many of the artists just were onto a higher wavelength than most, probably needed the drugs to shut it off not turn it on, at least in some cases.
the looooooong jams, double drums, dancing and yes, drugs all served to generate the state of consciousness that was really at the heart of the matter, I think even more than the music itself. Culmination of the acid experience was to deliver a sense of oneness with the people and the cosmos, and often as not it worked. Set and setting were everything when it came to leading one to the experience. Once you "got it" you were on the bus. That type of experience hits direct to the center as a highly potent quasi-religious experience not based on faith but beamed straight to the soul. Turned on, you realized the many different religions were like colors in a rainbow, but they were not the rainbow. The people who had positive ecstatic experiences like this tended to cut through the layers of typical isolation that man feels, faces or avoids. During the sometimes agnozing dissonances in the "space/drums" part of the concert, many negativities surfaced from the depths and were reconciled by the consciousness. Once you can name the demon, you remove its power over you and exorcise it. Deadheads on the whole tended to be open, upfront, sharing, kind and contribuatory towards fostering this experience. I transcended my own individuality many times without acid just from such output, and it was amazing to experience so often unsolicited the very best in human nature.
Every silver lining has a touch of grey, and the latter years brought much uglieness from those determined to use the scene for their own profit, but for a while at least it was heaven on earth for those so inclined. I have never felt so much a part of anything. Usually I feel out of place but there I felt at home. Something that good I could get behind.
I really appreciate the help, especially from those who weren't there. JLAP, thanks for comin' round. You're all fine as frog hair!
Not that I expect it will work, lol.