Grateful Dead
Golden Hall
San Diego, CA, USA
1978-01-07

Source: audience recording on a Marantz pro cassette deck, don't recall the model) & Sennheiser MKH404 mics
Lineage: master cassette > reel @ 3.75 ips > reel @ 3.75 ips > HD > wav
Encoding: CDWave > flac frontend > flac
Recorded by: a friend of a friend
Transfer by: Pantagruel

File Size:  967 MB (FLAC)


Total Time [02:38:27]


Setlist:

Disc One [65:56]

01. [01:55] Phil chatter: "absolutely perfect"/tuning
02. [06:58] New Minglewood Blues
03. [00:51] tuning/dead air
04. [04:57] Cassidy
05. [04:42] Sunrise
06. [07:20] Passenger
07. [03:45] Mexicali Blues->
08. [03:12] Me And My Uncle
09. [00:16] Bobby chatter: "Jerry's problem"
10. [08:18] Looks Like Rain
11. [01:21] tuning/dead air
12. [04:41] El Paso->
13. [13:29] Let It Grow->
14. [04:53] Promised Land

Disc Two [42:00]

01. [00:27] tuning/dead air
02. [07:16] Jack Straw
03. [01:59] crowd/dead air
04. [23:50] Dancing In The Street->
05. [08:28] Samson And Delilah

Disc Three [50:31]


01. [00:42] tuning/dead air
02. [10:40] Playing In The Band->
03. [06:17] Drums->
04. [15:52] Not Fade Away->
05. [09:27] Around And Around
06. [02:13] crowd/dead air
07. [05:20] One More Saturday Night




Notes:

Before there's any grousing about yet another Dead show on Dime, a couple of things;  this is a new seed which I don't believe has ever circulated before.  Secondly, I love seeing Dead shows seeded on Dime, regardless of their availability on other trackers.  In any case, this may not be up to the very high standard set by the typical Dead seed.  It's a rare Dead show in the digital environment that isn't derived from a master or at worst a first gen analog copy.  I've been waiting for this recording to show up, but it hasn't happened yet and I'm tired of waiting.  If someone has a lower-gen version of this recording, bring it on.  I'm putting this 2nd gen aud up here (as opposed to one of the other Dead-related trackers) because Dime is the best.  It's my home and it's where I love to hang out.

So, on this 30th anniversary of this show, here's a clean-sounding audience recording that I've always loved (there's a nice soundboard of this show, but I still prefer this aud.)

The two shows in San Diego on the 7th and 8th of January, 1978 were notable in Dead history because Garcia didn't sing a note.  The setlist consisted entirely of Weir originals or Bobby-sung covers, with an assist from Donna Jean.  Garcia's voice crapped out after the first set the night before in San Bernardino (also a notable show due to the presence of numerous, pool-cue wielding Angels.  Turns out there were no problems, but on the way into the Swing Auditorium that night, my ticket was taken by a CHP officer . . . in riot gear.  But I digress).

So, no Garcia vocals.  Silver lining:  Jerry plays his ass off.  And the rest of the band is right behind him.

The dynamics of this recording are extreme -- the quiet parts are really quiet, and the loud parts really rage.  The good thing about this is that, when the band shifts suddenly from impulse to warp drive, it really comes across on this recording.  I particularly love the bell-like quality of Bobby's guitar.  On the downside, the bottom end is a bit light, which may deter some Phil phreaks, but that said, the bottom end (such as it is) does have a nice transparent, resonant quality.  Overall, the sound is a bit bright, which might put some people off.  Doesn't bother me.


This is one of my all-time favorite Dead shows.  I've listened to this so many times, it must be encoded into my DNA.  I don't think my son has ever heard this show, but if and when he does, he'll probably recognize every note.  Some of my favorite moments, for what it's worth;  the "Minglewood" opener just rages.  Garcia's slide playing in "Passenger" is wickedly aggressive.  The medley of "El Paso-> Let It Grow-> Promised Land" is second set-worthy -- both dreamily psychedelic and intensely rockin'.  The version of "Promised Land" is long and intense.  The tempo is actually slower than normal, but the groove is so phat that by the end of the tune the band is blazing.  And Jerry compensates nicely for his missing vocal harmonies with some frenetic shredding.  God bless Garcia.

It's cool to hear Bobby handling solo vocals that Jerry usually backs him up on.  On those parts of "El Paso," with Jerry absent, Bobby's voice soars.  Guy can sing.  Likewise, it's neat to hear Weir have to cover both sides of the "narrator/Shannon" dialog in "Jack Straw."  Also, that tune starts out quite mellow, but the jam builds to excruciating intensity through Garcia's solo.  Jerry was throwin' down.

"Dancing In The Streets" is nice and loooong, with a highly danceable groove.  Bobby slyly quotes the "Close Encounters" theme (which had been appearing in Dead shows since December '77 and would culminate in the epic last show of this tour) about 9 minutes into "Playing In The Band."  "Not Fade Away" is a version for the ages.


Flaws:  Deck was turned off between many songs, which makes for some abrupt transitions between track and some possibly inelegant tracking.  Sorry.  Deal with it.  There's a cut in "Dancing In The Streets" just before the beginning of "Samson and Delilah."  Also, you can tell by listening to the quiet parts that there are a couple of analog generations in here.  There might be the odd other thing.  Like I said, not up to the typical standard of excellence, so please check out the samples before downloading.

Hope you like it.  To quote the enthusiastic Deadhead during "Drums," "pretty crazy, man!"

P.S.  I have another similar item that I'll be seeding in a couple of days, also in honor of a 30th anniversary.  Watch this space!