Good show. 78 was a strange year with the band sounding lost and unrehearsed a lot. Definitely not 76-77.
I can't believe nobody else mentioned this, but one reason why 78 was very mixed in terms of performance quality is because the band was getting fed up with the duo of Keith and Donna. Donna was an outta control drunk at this point and Keith was a mess too. His playing was lousy too.
During Wharf Rat, if you listen close, at about the 5:03/4 mark. You can hear a very annoyed Garcia turn away from his microphone and yell at the piano banging Keith, "Quiet!".
Keith immediately cuts it off! It's funny because I know how bad Keith's playing started to get in 78 and throughout this show, he seems too loud and out of key. Especially during Wharf Rat. Just listen to Keith literally banging on the piano during the "But I'll get back. . . section. He keeps banging and banging and I was thinking, "man that's so out of key and annoying"

Nice Sugaree opener, although in the middle, Donna gets a little too wobble waily. Jer's voice sounds stretched as well, however his tone is beautiful. A nice little finiculi finicula for fixing Bob's equipment and a good BIODTL. As a huge fan of the next tune I can say, this one fn rules. Keith is playing vibrantly and Jer rips it. Now he doesn't push his voice but it also remains nicely smooth for the length of dire wolf. This is not one of the more inspired L.L. Rains out there. Pretty boring version. Now I wouldn't say that his voice had completely recovered but Garcia gives Stagger Lee everything he's got and it's great. Great Version, full of passion, great slide from Bobby, not bad on Donna's part either. Me & My Uncle> Big River reflects the upping of the anti that starts in Dire wolf and breaks through during Stagger Lee. Now they are clicking. Big River features some great drum work during the verses and symbols kabooming in the solo/breakdown. Keith's solo is the only thing holding back this big river from being huge, although Garcia seems to notice the apathy in Keith's playing and really digs in with the mutron on pushes those deep notes hard, obviously Bobby picks up on Jer's determination not to let Keith stop the force of this version and comes back in the verse powerfully, after which Jerry absolutely rips his solo. At about the 3:50 mark of Candyman there is a smudged section where the sound goes out. Otherwise this is a super Candyman. At the 7:10 mark and a few second later, Jer lets everyone know he is there in his special way. Nice lively Minglewood. I know there are a decent amount of Tenn. Jed haters (I dislike using that term but you know what I mean) In any case, don't overlook this one; this is one of the ones you need to hear. Same applies to non-fans of Lazy Lightnin> Supplication (which I have never understood-what a kick ass series). This one really shines. Get to Jer at 4:38 or so of Supplication and then buhZlifwhobida!.

AAAAAAAAAnd then..BWAEEEEEEEARRR. Shakedown!!! This one gets of to a particularly funky start. It definitely does not suffer a let down following the blazing first set. They come out in full form funk and let loose. Great Shakedown. Phil is thumping around in an especially Phil way come the 8:20 Mark on. Heart of Me-don't feel bad, you can skip this track. Ugh, thank god. They bust into a much needed E. Prophet, and get back into it. And when I say get back into it, I mean it. Jerry's playing in the last 3 minutes or so it confusingly fast and simultaneously subtle. Add to that the segue into eyes, which is one of the better quick changes between these two they ever pulled off, and this Estimated gets a solid B++. But that transition to eyes. Jer really rips one of the chords and sets the tone then and there. Listen for it; you''ll know when I mean. It makes you want to grind your teeth. This eyes easily ranks among the top few super double time fast versions of all time. If that's your thing you should grab 11/4/77 and 6/4/78 as well. Listen to the 8:50 mark closely and you''ll hear Phil start to signal Love Light, but seconds later drums, oh my. I really like this drums, there is a solid 2 minutes that is mind numbingly good. And it's short overall so give it a shot. A quick space and then WHAM! Truckin' gets going right off the bat, and Garcia's tone is *muah* It's great to hear the early stages of the full fledged bobby cheese. You can hear it in the E. Prophet for just a second, and in this truckin as well.

This is probably one of my favorite truckins, for how it demonstrates brilliantly, one aspect of the Grateful Dead that makes them so very unique in the history of rock and music in general. Plenty of bands, whether they be rock, country, bluegrass, jazz, blues, barbershop or anything else have long understood the lesson of the great composers who often followed their most intensely paced pieces with something slow, or whatever you'd like to characterize it as. But never has a band or composer been able to do what the dead do hear in the transition from Truckin> Wharf Rat. That being the fantastic frenzy building to points that make you want to strangle the air that reaches it peak when it suddenly vanishes into the air to leave tenderness and a sound for provocative thought or gratified stillness of the mind. Now I do not mean to imply that Mozart never achieved this effect in his music, that being making the peak the low point instead of the high point, but not on the fly, not with a frenzied audience screaming and dancing for more, faster, higher. The dead's ability to do this is unmatched. And their ability to then reverse it as they do by moving into a riotess Sugar Mags They can take the wind out of your sails while keeping you moving fast as the wind, now that's special. An addendum to that line of thought is that very few people ever have understood this concept like Garcia and Lesh for that matter, and you can hear it displayed prominently at the 6:02 mark of Wharf Rat. Listen close at 6:02 of wharf rat, you can hear Keith start a fill and Jerry immediately jumps on him, listen and you'll hear it. Quiet! Less is more and all that.

Don't take me wrong, I don't make the assumption that the dead and only dead achieved this with their audiences and music whether together or separate. But in this forum my review reads as it should. An appropriate Johnny B. Goode encore and we're done.

Sound 9/10
Show 8/10
Overall 8.5/10

One of my top 5 shows in '78. Great jams and sound. The band was really on, maybe even more so that on New Years Eve? I love the Space Jam and the Shakedown.

i like the setlist... they never got too bent with the song selection in 1978. what's not to like? sugaree opener, hot supplication, dire wolf, t jed -- truckin & wharf rat in the 2nd set -- well played throughout -- they would BLOW YOUR MIND three days later -- this is like a VERY HOT warmup....

Why this killin', killin' show is sooo far under the radar in Deadbase surveys is totaly beyond me!!!!! Get it NOW!!!

Thank You Bob Weir for letting us listen to
these gems from a time gone by. I don't have to own them if i can listen I'm happy. The Lazy
Lightning is worth it alone. I almost forgot to
mention Wharf Rat is OUTSTANDING.

An average first set, a more interesting second set. The Eyes of the World is quick-paced but clean. In the jam comming out of it, there's a short section where Phil and Keith are definately playing Turn on Your Lovelight (sans Pigpen, alas). For a short spell, Drums goes into the Ollin Arrageed riff, the Egyption song that the Dead played for a while in the fall. The band joins in for an interesting jam, though they don't play Ollin. For a while, the jam is a duet between Jerry and Keith.

The jam out of Truckin' is the best of the night, with high energy and unexpected turns--I wish it were longer. This slides into a sweet Wharf Rat. Keith does some nice work here -- a month and a half before he was booted out of the band. Ah, well.

Good show. Nice jammin'
Listen and enjoy.

Read Direwolf 600 if you want. It'll get you to at least the second set before your done.

smokin 78 show. shakedown rocks

This review is based upon the following songs that fit into a CD: Uncle, TJed, Lazy, Supp, Estimated, Eyes, Truckin, Wharf, Sugar, Johnny; Time 75:25. The Tennesse Jed solo has always fascinated me and this one is in my top 20%. Lazy
L/Supp is rocking the house. I love it when Mr. Phil does his high note Po-Po-, Po-Do. I used to think that I thought that I didn't like
Estimated Prophet. I know realize I like it a whole bunch. I have come to appreciate it. This one is excellent. I feel I am heading to 5 stars. Eyes is played very fast and well. Weir of course screws up the lyrics to Truckin but after the lyrics the song smokes more 5 star material. 5:01 into Wharf Rat Jerry yells Quiet! I think he was directing it to Keith. Jerry really cared about
Wharf Rat. That is why it is one of my favorite songs of all time and this one is great. Sugar is awesome. Johnny is played with fire. Weir can hardy control himself. Love it. This show rocks! You don't find that much in the great 1977.

I am not sure why I only made one CD out of this concert. I am going back later to check
out the rest of the concert again. Keith is heard well in this recording. I always liked Keith. Sound is very good. Phil does his Po-Po, Po-Do. Very good separation. Randy says it is not
pitchy. Paula says I just love it, come see me later. Simon says well done. I say bite me. This is a great collection of songs from 12/28/78 and is 5 stars! Definitely worth recording. In fact I am going to make a second copy for vacations/in case one dies. Elvis is alive and is rocking to 12/28/78.

Really can't say enough about this show. The Shakedown is tight and super-funky; Bob's rhythmic fills are just fantastic. I also enjoy this version of Big River. Even From The Heart Of Me is well done. Estimated > Eyes is blisteringly fast, yet everybody holds on. Phil even gives a great "Lovelight" tease going into Drums.

Check out the transition between Truckin' and Wharf Rat... picture perfect.

Top performances from all band members, plus a good setlist. A very, very worthy download.

Sean K.

'When Garcia returned from Egypt he started playing very fast.'

Billydlions, i wonder if this can be attributed to jerry being exposed to the 'waterwheel' style of playing by the Nubian aud player Hamza El Din at those Sphinx shows? imagine it is...

yes this is an upbeat show and sounds very good. I have and am really enjoying it.

I was on the fence with a 4 but the wharf rat did it - thats usually a good barometer if jerry starts reaching for the high notes... tenn jed lazy lightning>supp are smoking great shakedown est>eyes alot of great energy here...

It's easy to see why everyone raves about this show - the soundboard is superb, and the band is tight. I think Jerry isn't quite the leader in the first set that he is in the second.

This is a great '78 show. High energy throughout the entire show, great sound as well. When Garcia returned from Egypt he started playing very fast. Listen to his speedy licks in Eyes! One of the best Jed's as well. Get this tape and listen for yourself.

Back when I only had tapes, this was one of the few shows I would have paid foron disc. If you like Estimated > Eyes, this is the version to get. The First Estimated jam is easily the best I've ever heard, just when you think it's done Jerry (and Bobby) take it up another notch, and another. Simply breathtaking. The second jam is also superb with many peaks and valleys. The Eyes is solid throughout, with a peak in the jam after the last verse that is simply blissful. No other word does it justice.

The first set is rock solid, and the Truckin' is very strong. The Shakedown is long and funky, with a great jam.

If you don't have this show, get it. If you have it - crank it up loud, and smile, smile, smile.

One more note - To make a "Super Disc", I burned Donna's tune onto disc two, and have the third disc go Shakedown, Estimated > Eyes, etc.

Great show at the Golden Hall...Shakedown opens a second set that includes a sizzling Estimated>Eyes. The only mixup comes after Candyman. Minglewood is Tennessee Jed. That's the reason for the untitled song at the end of the show. Bounce every song title down the list after that and they all match up. Dope show.

We decided to close out the year in fashion and go to San Diego. The first night was really good but this show....just listen to the Sugaree opener and the Tennessee with Bobby on slide....maybe it's me, but certainly a highlight of my GD travels.....the Big River is as huge as I've heard.....