Setlists,,,Origins,,,History of em,, deviations from,,

I don't think they started pre-selecting their setlists until the post-Garcia years.   There were surely conversations with maybe the opener discussed, but they seemed to play what they wanted at any given moment.  I recall when they were recording "Live/Dead" they were trying to get a particular song sequence, so something like that was pre-planned.  As far as computer print-out setlists, they didn't exist in the Garcia years.

I remember reading they did have predetermined set lists when Vince joined the band. I assume they scrapped that once he became familiar, as well as drifting off set list whenever the hell they wanted to.

I'm more interested in why setlists are such a big deal these days.

Setlist started around the same time dead air ended.

It was out of laziness that for the most part they didn't plan setlists, though obviously they payed attention to trying to avoid repeats, specifically 1976 onward. Prior to that, they the paid less attention to repeats, though the setlist did vary each night, but they had a basic pattern locked into place. They had familiar openers, set closers, songs that they extended the jams on, etc. 

In the Live Dead era, they literally played the same list every night, with some changes and exceptions, but the meat and potatoes were largely the same. 

Post Garcia they had new bands with folks not 30 years familiar with the songs, so it made sense to craft setlists. Phil in particular was interested in telling a narrative with the setlist, as he made clear back in 2001, 

Garcia would write setlists for the Garcia Band on little scraps of paper.

The Dead would generally decide on the first couple of songs in the set.

I remember one time being in front in Oakland and Bobby going over to Jerry and yelling "Crazy Fingers!"  to him.

Garcia nodded and went right into it.