This is classic of my favs...I mean its hard to pick out favorites, since love them all (Well, except One More Saturday Night..not a fan).
Franklins, Terrapin, Jack Straw, Deal, Loser, Looks like Rain, etc.

I remember that whistle dude...hated when I was on the floor, and you were near him...dude did that whistle all through the show, each and every one he went to...but back in 70's, was easy enough to move around to another spot on the floor so did not have it in my ear...lol

Great times back then at Winterland...

This was a great run; Egypt was phenomenonish but this had a running-jump feel in many ways that wasn't apparent for a long while. I was a tag-a-long for 1973 . Day on the Green was a bit of a push, but I bought my own ticket for Thursday, October 1974. This was my Birthday show and it was psychedelic beyond my wishes. Stillllllllll remember the crackle. In my mind it was as good as any BDay celebration - I'm 60

This show is epic for sure, the Winterland shows have that hometown feel to the sound.. Not sure if that even makes sense to some but am willing to bet it does to those of us who were lucky enough to see the band we so love in the city where it all began for them. This is 100 star performance to me. The recording captures the feeling of being there. When the crowd cheers it adds to the recording and feel. Check out Jerry's scat in Franklins Tower " come on , come on " &" I want you to roll away the dew " Classic energy from audience to band member.
To LOVELOVE , we all have our own favorite shows and years . There is no way to say this song is better then the next or so on and so forth. Yes it might be a signature song in the Dead's long list of great or even favorite tunes to play or listened to by us. But I think to throw a blanket over a certain year or years and call them the only GREAT years is to vague and shallow .
I saw the band many many many times and wish of course I could of been there from the birth of the Dead but we can't change what we have no control of. Point is we all HAVE our own thoughts and are free to share them here on this site.
I find YOU a bit overPOWERING with the use of C A P S> Gald you comment though is fun to read such a one sided thought process ....
........... You make some good points yet the 1 sided thinking is what makes the review seem like your cutting down others whether here or the day of your EXPERIANCE .
I remember one time in my seeing shows where I was told over and over and over to sit down while dancing Jerry Garcia Band at Veteran's memorial auditorium in Providence Rhodes Island November 29th 1983. We were in the front row of balcony and older couple kept politely asking us to please sit down, we were dancing and they wanted to watch. I'll add that I was wrong in that case because we could of moved but did not. That is flat out rude. Point is we've all been there done that but some of recognize our mistakes and some NEVER will.

(I realize I am being rude now also)

I was fortunate enough to attend night 1 of this run...and have it in my heart as one of the best ever. This equals on many levels the intensity and passion found in night one of this run at Winterland. Love the posts, thanks to the tapers, and many kudo's to the archive staff. Donate if you have the extra $5, 10 or more...having this music, and other bands to listen to is well......so wonderful in my life! one gazillion less stars than night one, so 54 gazillion stars.

GREAT sounding audience tapes are more realistic than "SOUNDBOARD" recordings.........sure the sound is clearer and has no noise/hiss on soundboards.......but if you saw the show and want to be transported back to that night ....."AUDIENCE TAPES" will take you back

...........I mean when we saw the show... "the audience"....the cheers..the screams from the audience was forever present in the air...and the audience's enthusiasm filled the Auditorium with a nonstop pulsating noise level of participation in the experience....."THE GRATEFUL DEAD EXPERIENCE"...........

Listening to "soundboards"....is like listening to THE DEAD WITH NO audience present......as if the show was played in an empty auditorium......but the show was not played in an empty auditorium.........

......I LOVE THE SCREAMS FROM THE AUDIENCE.....IT ADDS TO THE SHOW.....ACTUALLY THE MORE SCREAMS THE BETTER...........unless it is the screams of teenage girls as in the case with THE BEATLES,,,,,,,,,AND THE screams make it unable to hear the music,,,,,,,,,but this is not the case with any DEAD SHOW........SO TO BE TAKEN FULLY BACK IN TIME.............THE AUDIENCE MUST BE PRESENT....ON THE TAPE...........EXACTLY LIKE IT WAS WHEN YOU SAW THE SHOW....

.....ALSO NEVER UNDERSTOOD.....why I COULD NOT SHOW ENTHUSIASM WHEN DANCING NEAR A TAPER......TAPERS WOULD TELL ME "BE QUIET"....YOU will be heard on the mix...........was my cheering a problem if heard on the mix!!???,,,I say the more cheers the better,,,,,as long as it is not over the top...and thus would then make it hard to hear the musicians ....cheering is great and clapping too!!!

Fantastic setlist, energized playing, terrific sound quality. This is a treasure.

By the time 1977 rolled around I was used to seeing the same men -- tapers -- out in the audience where I always stood during a Winterland show -- about 40 feet from stage dead center.

In the early part of the decade, by perilous necessity, the tapers were quite discreet, and it would be hard to give them space while I was out there in audienceland whooping and hollering. Nun the Less I "larned" myself how to reel in my enthusiasm when I was in proximity to a taper.

And so, to help said taper get the best possible recording I would tone it down and try to get others around me to do the same. I suppose there were some selfish motivations behind my desire to calm the surrounding hoards, for, secretly, I was always hopeful that some day, when I was crouched on my couch nursing a gin and red wine, that I may be able to hear one of these audience tapes taken from off the floor of the venue I was camped with them upon on that cherished night.

This recording is just such a thing, and a big treat, may I add. It is a marvelous re-creation of a wildly delicious footstomping show, whereby from the first salty note it is meat in the grinder of pure, organic rollick.

And, of course, what helped me curb my erascible disposition was the recognition that show-by-show the recording equipment was burgeoning evermore sophisticated and expensive. I knew from my own recording experience that the mikes and decks were getting smaller and yet more increasingly powerful and I noticed the evolution of these things over the years. However good the taping equipment was,(that one would have the balls to smuggle into a 1977 show -- I mean, one wouldn't have wanted to chance getting their Nagra confiscated, after all!) now after all these years, listening to this I am completely astounded by what is presented here. Wow.

Yet, what is so totally wonderful is the recording quality of this AUD. It's really vibrant and out front. It bristles with energy and exactly captures what it sounded like down there in what I lovingly dubbed "the orchestra pit." If the bass sounds a little tame initially it's because the Kwipment Krew had not pushed the levels up in the mix. It does improve as the show progresses. Hey, there's a lot of knobs on a soundboard and the bass was generally the last the be tweaked.

You know that when after the last notes of Music Never Stopped ended and Weir's attempt at telling us that "they would be right back" was completely engulfed in the screams of all of us, an appreciative audience, that you were in a very special zone, indeed.

Like the March run, all three of these were spectacular. I cannot say which was the best -- they were all-in-all equally great. My kudos to Rob Bertrando. I am now finally putting the face to the recording.

I cannot easily recall and I am too lazy to look back through my calendars, but I came to this show directly from the Northpointe theater in North Beach where I saw the Grateful Dead Movie. I liked the movie a lot, yes, but nothing compared to actually being in Winterland when the Grateful Dead were so goshdanged HOT in 1977 -- especially once Jerry got his beloved "Wolf" out of the shop. Frankly, the music in 1974 was what it was -- great, but in 1977 the band was all afire with a new found verve that was hard to describe other than the fact that they never again regained the momentum.

So, if the Jerry Garcia guitar of that supreme year especially appeals to you, then, no, you're not mistaken, or addled. He was especially afire all year, and other than in spurts here and there throughout the next two decades, in my opinion he never really duplicated the unbridled blast-out he was going through in 1977.

For those of us who had the privilege of witnessing the majesty of this collection of ne'er-do-wells perform these absolutely incredible 10 Winterland shows in 1977 you knew you were hearing something in its last hoorah for the last time. Something about Jerry's reckless abandon showed through on every performance. He just kicked and kicked and kicked our lily white asses up and down the boulevard every night. You could see it in his stage presence with the big smile on his face and the windmilling arm and jumping up and down and the just letting it all fly on every song.

Truly I feel privileged to have been there mere feet from Bertrando and his gear while Jerry screamed "Help Me" at us and we ignored him because we wanted what we wanted and didn't care if he used himself up. That was our own choice, maybe, maybe it was his choice too, but though he played his hand he still slumped-over a bit when he had to drag himself through another Saint Stephens. It was a song he did not want to play.

Well, that's how I saw it.

Now you are the judge.


Never be another time like this, never.

I love AUD - much more like the shows. This one was my 6th, 5th at Winterland. No surprise I was by now a confirmed DeadHead!

I was 22 and had moved back to SF almost exactly 1.5 years ago. I brought a non-fan to the show and within a year of so found he had moved to the Haight and had a steal your face dongle hanging from his top light.

I recall the show being good but was a little distracted; I am uncertain if this was my first actual show or not, but probably was.

Well from a Friday night in Philly, back in April through to this Thursday evening performance in June, at home in San Fran, the Grateful Dead's Spring Tour 1977 is truly magical ...and I cannot wait to relive it day by day every year!!!

Right from the first notes of Half-Step, you can feel the pure explosion of brilliance! Momentous night after momentous night, the band has slayed these songs, but this show, especially on Bertrando's FOB recording, just oozes with confidence and swagger! The H/S/F really does need to be mentioned again, especially the Slipknot! Jerry and the boys take it to the stratosphere and beyond, when the drummers are pushing for the return to Slipknot! Jer has other ideas and brings the band back to outer space for another 4-5 minutes. It really doesn't get better than the Grateful Dead just firing on all cylinders.

I know that people have their favorite eras, hell, I definitely enjoy the period from '68-'74 more than any other...but when they are on like this, it cuts through any notions of what The Grateful Dead is and the music is truly just Playing the Band!

WOW! Another stellar recording from Bertrando, one of the godfathers of tapers. This recording has great brightness, strong range, and wonderful "room" sound (good for Winterland). I remember streaming the soundboard (when it was still available) and was NOT impressed...the board was kinda dull sounding, even though it was a Betty Board, it was a sonic step below 5/5-7/1977 Boards. This AUD is more than a good listen.... SPRING '77 RULES. Somewhere on the Archive is a David Gans Interview with Bertando, Jerry Moore, and one other old school taper...very interesting to get some stories from the tapers themselves. Enjoy this dynamite AUD!

A hidden gem. Happy to happen upon.

Thanks Bruce for saying what everyone is always afraid to say. In fairness, though, I did hear the rare in-tune vocal, and it was nice to see that long hair swinging around on stage.

Don't forget, Jerry was really sweet on her, and I don't care what anyone says, her hubby was, without a doubt, the best of all the keyboard players that ever played with the band (Tom being a close second).

I never listened to the band for the vocals. It was the jam I was after. I truly believe that Keith's contribution was the major factor that resulted in this "second peak" of the band's (1st one being '69). I was at Barton Hall and speak from personal experience.

This show has the best "Loser" and "The Music Never Stopped" in Dead history. It is the only "Loser" (I have heard) where Jerry doesn't miss a single note. Amazing. Wish I could have seen him:(

This show, or run of shows (+ Forum on 6/4), is an important part in the lore of 1977 for good reason, as it is completely off the chain!! Total "A Game" performance for Jerry & Co, especially the spectacular second set.

fin,jr pretty much covered it. this is a moment that could have been lost. Huge power, with intent. These days will be back soon, for now, study up.

Are u fucking kidding me, I will admit she hag her issues, worked tthem out & by 76-77 was a the top of her game. dude lsiten to more 77.

Donna Jean's lack of pitch actually harmonizes well at times -- don't pin me down for the specific several instances I've heard -- but does she absolutely ruin every mid-seventies show? It would pain me to not watch or listen just because one element was not to my liking. These taped shows and memories are all we have and are to be appreciated as far as I'm concerned.
The guy standing next to me yelling his ass off knows all the words to Drums and Space tonight and he also refuses to sing on key but he didn't spoil the show. Or you got that dork Jar-Jar in the Star Wars series. He didn't ruin the whole show, just kinda made you appreciate the Dark Side more. They don't put up with that sort of crap.
Oh, there's more to Donna Jean than just her gorgeous looks and feminine counter to the men's voices in the songs. She adds a rustic quality and a humanity to the vocal where too good a voice would at times overshadow the leads.
I'm not saying Brucejuice should like it more. I think we can tolerate imperfections in voice while the guitar sings to us on key.

Yea, the Home Games were always the best. Being a boy from The Avenues, I have to admit a certain bias. Nice job, Bertrando.

-CT

amazing slipknot

sounds great! Thank you Dr. Bertrando!

She absolutely refuses to sing on key. Ruins every single show from 73 til they canned her in, what, 78? It's a shame.

If you are into quality Aud's and GD in '77, this one is supah. What a great second set and the quality of this aud: Mwah!!

...what I really mean is that this will quench your musical thirst if you love this band. This is a nice sounding audience recording. There is something pure about recordings like this- as if you were standing right there with the screams and yells of joy heard through the crowd.

A real nice "Jack Straw" follows a great "Mississippi Half-Step" opener. Some other highlights are the "Estimated...">Saint Stephen. St. Stephen goes into the Drums and then beautifully back into St. Stephen which rolls nicely into Terrapin. All and all a great show. I only named a few great moments check them all out for yourself!

This is my favorite show. Jerry means business.The estimated is the best one i've ever heard because it is just plain terrorizing!... as well as transcendant which takes you to another place.Audience participation adds to this effect...Just trust me.

it's here folks and an audience - this is so full of sickly kalaedescopic drippy fun it's not to be missed - this one gets tucked in my breast pocket when they lower me 8' under.

forget abt the hiss - for this show an audience is de rigeur and the 5 is indisputable.