Yeah, Gila's review is well spoken. And I can't disagree with the others. This is one of the best shows of '78. Good first set with a wonderful second. Samson is bone crushing. And majestic is a good word for Terrapin, although it's funny listening to Donna straining her little heart out on "...TERRAPIN!!!" Ooophf. Bless her heart.

No, but really folks, this Terrapin is a monster! I'll be quite honest in saying it took me a long time to warm up to Terrapin. And just when I was, this one came along on The Archive. And when I heard it, it became and is now probably my favorite. The Samson lead-in puts me in the mood, being a down right blistering version. Bobby just nails it! The Terrapin > PITB trans is quite good with PITB also being good. Wharf Rat is beautiful. This is a stellar FOB and definitely one for the collection.

I was also surprised that Jerry was sounding so good in May? When I first started going through a few of this month's shows a couple of years ago, I was sure he was going to be sounding awful due to the recurring post laryngitis problems that plagued him in '78 and '79. Well, happily, I was wrong. Great to have found this!

...in Me & My Uncle. No sheeit.

On 4/24 they teased Stayin Alive before Uncle. On this night they do the same thing but it's very clearly also the genesis of Shakedown Street. Listen for yourself.

Try singing the two song back to back: "Ah ah ah ah stayin alive, staying alive" "Well well well, you can never tell." Pretty similar, eh?

Then listen to the song itself. Phil repeatedly plays the descending 3-note "well well well" phrase. I sampled a bunch of other Uncles from 78 and this one is unique. He plays that figure a few times on 5/10 (the next performance of Uncle) but otherwise it's very different from his usual lines.

The rhythmic phrasing of this rendition of Uncle is even similar to Shakedown. Try singing "well well well, you can never tell" to yourself throughout. It fits right in there.

This kind of thing is one of the reasons it's so much fun to listen to the shows chronologically. I started with 1967 about 5 years ago in "real time" and tonight I got this treat. Awesome.

I like this recording best. It's good enough that I'm not going to bother with the sdb fragment of set 2. It's been processed vs the other copy by the same taper, which works for me; the bass is much more audible here.

Nice show. Jerry is back on form and May 78 is starting a lot stronger than April did. The whole second set kicks butt.

Update: Listen to 5/14. Bob distinctly plays the Shakedown rhythm riff right before they go into Uncle! And then he does it again on 5/17. Deadhead forensics at their best folks. Enjoy.

JUST DOWNLOAD AND FIND OUT

remember this is 1978...

What I remember from this show was being in a balcony area behind the stage. Obstructed view. We actually had a great view. We were right over the stage just feet away from the band. During the encore we slipped out a back door and there was a house on the block with a porch and rocking chairs. We sat down rocking and watched every one else dance out of the show. I still wonder who owned that house and why no one chased us.

This is easily one of, if not THE best shows of Spring '78 (and I'm not just saying that because it was my first show) but I have yet to hear a great recording of the entire show. Only the first set circulates in SBD and most of the other AUD sources are marred by shouts of "Sit Down!" during the first couple of songs. This source doesn't have that, which is a plus, but it lacks brightness, although everybody can be heard clearly.

As for the performance - following a lacklustre, by-the-numbers show the night before, this show crackles with energy and features inspired playing and singing. Everybody brought their A game, except for Keith who is practically invisible with one or two notable exceptions.

Sugaree kicks things off on a high note, as Jerry keeps ratcheting up the energy. Minglewood rocks and is one of the few tunes where Keith steps up to the plate and hits one out. This version of Peggy-O is easily one of the best of '78. Jerry's solo lopes along in the backwash of Fennario and is long and graceful. A snappy BIODTL is followed by a Loser that is a textbook lesson on the use of dynamics to convey emotion. The inner life of the gambler is illuminated by Jerry's masterful singing and playing. LLR is simply stunning. The chemistry between Bob and Donna is palpable, even in a thirty-year-old recording. Jerry is in fine voice on Roses and Donna adds beautiful harmony here. MAMU > Big River contains just a hint of the notorious Stayin' Alive tease, the Dead's tongue-in-cheek answer to the "Disco Dead" critics. The first set is capped by a rousing Deal that just seems to go on and on and ever higher.

Set Two is as good as anything from the previous year and may even rival some of the monster second sets of '73-'74. Starting with Samson and Delilah was a no-brainer, given the venue on an unseasonably warm spring night. "Tear this old building down", please! Phil bass tries mightily to oblige. Although you don't hear many debates about the best "Sunrise", this version may possibly be it. And is that a "Because the Night" tease at the beginning? I think it is! Now we move gently into an uninterrupted hour plus of some truly innovative, jazz-infused inspired Dead. Terrapin is majestic and transitions beautifully into PITB. The band wastes no time getting into the jam, as Phil takes the lead at first and gradually relinquishes it to Jerry's wah-wah. Bobby plays fast and loose jazz underneath some blazing Jerry leads, gradually morphing into some Steve Howe-inspired feedback. Phil reasserts himself at the end and Keith is finally heard from with a very pretty outro into Drums.

I'm a big fan of pre-"Beast and Beam" Drums/Space and this is a showcase for Billy and Mickey, as they get into some thunderous rhythms while various others noodle on the steel drums. Jerry eventually picks up his axe again and plays some blues from outer space, landing us safely back on earth for a gorgeous Wharf Rat. Jerry's solo after "I'll get up and fly away" is breathtaking. The transition from darkness to light is complete when the band ends the set with Sugar Magnolia. I'm glad Glassberg let the tape run throughout the wait for the encore to document just how enthusiastic this audience was. OMSN ends the show as Bobby goes into full Rock Star mode and Keith unleashes his inner Jerry Lee Lewis.

So, does anybody else remember the abundance of peyote on campus that spring? I was afraid for the longest time that my good memories of this show were all mescaline-induced but this recording proves that this show is just as good as I remember.