Say no more.
With Lennon's Death a few days before......
Was there, we were all holding hands and crying....
Jerry Lifted the roof off so John could fly away!

Great Audience Recording of a Beautiful Show....Start to Finish.

hi, David,

for your consideration, i submit the monumental San Bernardino Swing Auditorium show on December 12, 1980. (unless it's already been published; i've long been unable to keep up with ALL the releases ...).

this show has some startlingly unique bits, as well as a unique venue with with a startlingly final history, and a uniquely tragic history connected with this week. having just revisited this for the anniversary, i've got these points for you:

this was the first show they played after John Lennon's death.
this was one of only two ever Estimated > He's Gone > Eyes.
there are reports of "tears pouring down Jerry's face during He's Gone."
the entire show is action-packed; the band on fire from the opening note; and lemme tell you, it was breathtaking to be in the room
the unbroken series of Peggy-O through Promised Land
the entire seamless second set
the charging triumphant Estimated and Truckin
the uniquely delicate, graceful jam at the end of Space, just before Truckin' (hint of MLB?)
Jerry's playing throughout, especially:
raging Alabama coda
GSET 2nd solo
FOTD solo
extended, flowing Mexicali solo
extended Althea solo
Rooster ragged, on the razor's edge of destruction and glory
crystalline LLR solo
fiery Rider closer
heartbreakingly still first notes of He's Gone solo and lilting coda
shining, joyous extended Eyes coda
hot Wharf Rat solo
Bobby's slide playing throughout, especially:
Althea
Rooster solo
Tenn Jed
extended Truckin coda jam
Phil's bombs:
Althea
Tenn Jed
Truckin
Wharf Rat
Brent:
FOTD lilting solo
Rooster
voice and B3 in a majestic Wharf Rat
there's scarcely any mistakes throughout the show; none of those wince-inducing moments (tho Jerry misses Bobby's cue going into Lovelight!)
this was an INTENSE, heavy energy room with an honored history in rock'n'roll, and a unique end to its story (an airplane crashed into it)
the audience tapes have some great room presence; you could release a matrix blend ...

The Deadhead's Taping Compendium (vol 2, 1999) notes this as "particularly worthy of Dick's Pick's consideration."

i can't stop listening to it for the past week. i'm sure i could add more notes!

Treat yourself to a listen.

Thanks for all you do, and keep up the great work!

Ned White
Bothell, WA

This show has a great big fat sound! Instruments and vocals are well-balanced, the recording captures the venue nicely, the crowd is very present, but not at all distracting. And that's nice for this show because clearly they were having fun and knew they were seeing the boys on a very good night. And you can tell as you listen that the band knew they were cookin' with gas.

The set-list is what you'd expect from this year. The Alabama > GSET opener is an indication of the energy they play with throughout the night. My favorite moment in the first set is the opening lick to Tennessee Jed, which Jerry jumps on the minute they ring the final chord on LLR. And it's a nice surprise that late in the set.

The second set is on fire. They are a diesel train gaining momentum from the first note. I much enjoyed the He's Gone out of a boisterous Estimated. And then Jerry adds the Eyes anyway. Nice. The space has unsettled ghosts floating round the attic making a ruckus. You'll hear 'em. Monster Wharf Rat. Monster. Phil has gone crazy. Amazing transition into Around & Around. Perfect really. And it's a scorcher, too. Jerry runs into a barn door on the transition to Good Lovin', but recovers nicely, and it comes off leaving me with a huge smile simply because the energy is so completely enormous.

All the audiences here, unless I'm mistaken (which I often am) have a cut in the Good Lovin' around the 4:30ish mark, which is a bit of a bummer. You know . . . driving down the road, screaming at the top of your lungs, smiling like a lunatic, then . . . "HEY! What happened?!?" That leads me to believe all these uploads were coming off the same mics. In any event, you'll have to patch the last couple of minutes from the SBD (which doesn't hold a candle to the open-mic source) if you want every last drop.

I love this show. Not my favorite sound quality, but nowhere near a disaster. A strong 3 on the little stars. The show itself is all the way a four. If you enjoy the audience tapes over the SBDs, get this show. You'll be happy you did.

I was at this show it was only 4 days earlier that John Lennon had been killed and this was the first show the dead had played following that terrible day... "He's Gone>Eyes" !!! We all felt it!

I am lovin' me some Barry G!! This is a classic early 80's setlist with a great mix of old and new tunes (i.e., Go to Heaven material--new for that era anyway). FOTD, Rooster and the whole second set are highlights. If you like good 80s Dead like I do you will love this show!