Having tuned into the Dead in 1973 with Workingman’s Dead, American Beauty, and Old and In the Way, I was excited when I first got to see them live in ‘76. A very nice show at the Cap Centre. Then in ‘78 I returned home from college to see them over Thanksgiving break, a 14-hour one-way bus trip. Well worth it.

This ‘79 show was different. Some people I met at college gave me one of their 14th row tickets. Just the odds of randomly running into them at the show were crazy high. I would never see them again. The first set was a bit slow but memorable. The second set was sweet. When they broke into Morning Dew, I was ecstatic, but I couldn’t help but feel it would be the end of the era of live Dead shows for me, at least for the foreseeable future. It had that vibe of finality as Jerry ran through those riffs at the end.

It did turn out to be my last Dead show. It was a short three show run but most memorable. I learned a lot over the six year period. It has served me well over all my years combined. But the ‘78 show will always stand out for me. That was one wild night.

Just listen to it. Loud. Controlled chaos is the only way I can find to describe it. Or maybe a ceiling collapsing. They just CRASH into Morning Dew.

This was my 11th show. I saw the first 3 spring tour shows earlier in the year. Going to school at Duke they didn't come by often. We chartered a bus and were able to get about 25-30 seats together. Earlier in the week I saw the Eagles at Reynold's Coliseum at NC State and don't remember a thing about that show while this is embedded in my memory.

My first China>Rider, My first Scarlet>Fire though I saw Scarlet by itself in 77. Those first notes of the Dew had me jump out of my seat. This was my favorite show since Englishtown even though I hadn't had a lot under my belt. I was lucky enough to catch the next Dew at Nassau the following May and thought luck would be with me for a long time. I didn't catch another Morning Dew until the Philadelphia Civic Center.

You never forget your first Dew!

Any show that has both a China/Rider and a Scarlet/Fire can't be too bad, but the real highlight of this one is the Morning Dew. It was the only version they played in 1979, and I've never heard one quite like it. The ending is sick. If you haven't heard it, you should.

After plowing thru a bunch of setlists, I realized this was Brent's first Dew, and the first one in a long while, as some have said here. I gave it a listen and it seemed to me, this was never before rehearsed with Brent. In the intro, he is almost non existent and would come in gradually with some subtle B3. As it got to the middle break, he's picking it up and getting a little more aggressive and then he kind of holds the note at the end of the break, which made the transition a bit off. But then comes back strong again at the end. I've always loved Brent on Dew, some of his best supporting B3 work.

Really powerful show....Phil is strong throughout and hearing Brent's contribution blows me away. Barely six months into his tenure with the band his playing is masterful. The boys hit it out of the park when they tapped him for the job. No one else could have filled those shoes so effectively IMO. Not the best sounding board here but the only "complete" one. I don't fault the band for protecting their livelihood. Just happy that we can still enjoy this site all these years later..enjoy

I think the weather was bad this night and a lot of people were late getting in. the house lights were on during the first set until China Cat etc - which was my first - I'd never seen it with Keith and Donna - and it was played in a strange place. The whole night had a strange vibe to it. the second set was short but very intense - the st stephen tussle was pretty intense and the morning dew blew me away. garcia mixed up the verses and played the last version with a reggae lilt. no quiet bit at the end - straight to power chords - this version is quite unique - today is the first time I've heard it since the show and I remember it well AND garcia was wearing white pants this night, which I thought was weird at the time - they could have been the pants from the GO TO HEAVEN shoot. I'm glad I finally heard this.

I'm so sick of like 3 or more shows getting removed just because some new "Road Trips" came out and they took 2 songs from one of the concerts.
If they took half the profits and gave it to Phil's organ donor cause or something instead of charging people again for something the band already got paid for 30 years ago, it would be more in the spirit of the band rather than a spirit of greed.

Kinda spotty playin, sloooow from minglewood til the end of rider

but everyone loves a good dew although this one is not perfect

sound 5
show 3

well that sucks they took this one off.

I just wanna state that this Morning Dew is up there for sure. Its unique (in the aspect that it has few other dews surrounding it). Phil is dropping mad bombs, and everyone else is kicking ass. When i am in need of the intense dead to just get me off or make me forget about the world, this one gets cranked. I've tried breaking my car speakers playing this one full volume but came up short. Doesnt mean the car doesnt shake tho hehe. Overall killer special dew, a must listen for dewheads. Only downfall is the ending jam is liek 1-2 minutes long, no worries tho, its very potent.

Sloppy playing all night, although not 90s sloppy. Nothing really stood out to me other than China>Rider and Sailor>Saint, but neither were spectacular. Three and a half stars for this one, rounded down because there's so many better 79 shows out there.

Charlie. Come save us with the clean second set. This show deserves it. It was to be my last live Dead show. It was very well and very professionally played. The boys came to the show with a polished stage presence. I think it showed in the quality of the work. Each song was good to very good. I thought Morning Dew was excellent. No duds in these sets. Just bad recordings.

well i was 18 and my frend al who i work whith he was head cook and i was the dish dog or dish washer he was older then me and had been to a lot of shows so it easy to say i look up to him i love it so that i saw them 170 times so i what to say thancks Al

There is another (better) source available for the first set, to I'm just going to review the second set here. I advise those who enjoy this show to find that other one made available to us by Charlie Miller, the Archive's Sound God.

The sound here is good, not perfect: 4 skulls
There are some other factors that keep this show/recording source from getting anything higher than 4 even though this is a great show. In the notes:
- The first few seconds of Minglewood Blues is missing
- Some digi-noise at the beginning of the audience cheering at the end of Stagger Lee
- The first few verses of It's All Over Now are probably missing
- Scarlet Begonias cuts in at: she had rings on her fingers ...."
In spite of these somewhat minor blemishes, I absolutely love this concert but be advised that I am a big fan of 1979 in general. The Scarlet~Fire may not be the very best ever but it is a sweet one. Jerry and Phil are rock stars in FOTM. Then, it's Bobby and Brent's turn to get into the act with a solid if rudimentary Sailor~Saint. The obligatory yet interesting Drums~Space follows and then a wicked synth into for NFA sets the stage for a rockin' version of that classic. Phil bombastic notes birth Morning Dew into existence and the rest is history.
I hope to see Charlie Miller get the upgrade for this second set to us in the near future!

There were no reels made on this tour. This is SBD>Cm>Cass>Dat>CD....cm

Yes it was a rare Dew and there is the trivial fact that there was a dew out in the parking lot after the show. It was a fun show of a fun tour and for me ranks up there with the Cape Cod shows. Thanks for listening.

This reading of Morning Dew is a bit sloppy and disjointed, however it is played with gusto and Garcia does have a few nice fanning runs...does it stand up to the "best ever" Dews? no, but it's worth a listen...the recording is a nice blend soundboard...

This show is one of my faves and has been in my rotation for a while since I downloaded it last year. I agree with the mixed sentiments about the scarlet fire, which does not come in until the second verse of scarlet- so the intro is cut- even then, which is unlike me, I odwnloaded it and it rocks.

What is special about this DEW is two things:

1. Its rare
2. Jerry is on fire!

DEW had not been played for 19 months since 4.15.78 and was the only DEW of '79, not to be played again until mid 1980 and only 4 times in 1980, then 5 times in '81 and forever after a rarity on tour except in '87 where it was played almost 20 times. Prior to 4.15.78 DEW was played 5 times in '77-much to my suprise- thanks deadbase. It was played 3 times in 1976 and then 5 times in 1974. So from jan 1 1974 to jan 1 1982 DEW was played 22 times.

This Dew was only the 9th DEW in 5 years so it was indeed quite rare and Jerry really belts it out with major emotion- any deadhead will feel the outrageous power in his voice as he screams these lyrics at the top of his lungs- the crowd is waaay into it. The ending of DEW is unique since Jerry sort of adlibs "I guess it doesn't matter, anyway" 4 times then shreds into a jam that at the very least sends chills up my spine.

On top of all this, the NFA rocks and the DEW is a major suprise!

This is a MUST have. 5 stars even though some tapes do soundbetter, this is crisp and kind.

Nice looks like rain, all over now, deal.

Sound quality is superb, the scarlet>fire does lack a little oomph on the tape have to agree there with some other folks however judging from the crowd they are pretty stoked, ergo I was not there so going to go with the crowd who liked it.

Phil does indeed bust loose with some huge bombs while Jer sizzles his way through a strong dew.

Another good show and also good sound. Make yourself a copy right away.Maybe only a 4 for sound though.

This is one of those shows that proves the old addage that when Phil was hot, the band was hot. Phil is all over this recording dropping bombs like he was piloting a B-52. A lot has already been written about the Dew from this show, so I will refrain from doing so other than to say that there were not many Dews in this era and this is a good one.

I will, however, respectfully disagree with the reviewer who called the Scarlet "weak." I've always loved this Scarlet>Fire precisely because of Phil's booming presence everywhere. This is a very hot show and well worth checking out. It's only 2 discs too.

Thanks to the other reviewers here, I've listened to MDew, and upgraded this show from a 3 to a 4 (I view 10-27 and -28 as 5s). Not a memorable Scarlet, and not much of a jam coming out into Fire. But the sound quality is high.

Morning Dew. Lesh is very loud, and all over this thing. We get a nice trill from Jerry after 6:30, and at 7:00, yes, we get the reggae'd chorus (probably occasioned by Garcia's failure to end the prior jam on cue...but they take his leftover stubbled notes and just go with the flow).

When they get to the "I guess it doesn't matter" refrain, they do it differently (maybe because it's been a year). Instead of singing it quietly, and then taking the music/jam down to where a pin will drop, they rock it out and keep on going. Unfortunately, it resulted in a shorter than normal jam; about 9:10 we get some nice trilling from Garcia, but at 9:36 he sings the final "doesn't matter" and they are done.

Ah yes the only Morning Dew of 79' the sound quality is great, one of my favorite Phil dew's, just that crisp powerful bass and Jerry sounds so very passionate, vocals and six string (I love the ending) and correct me if i'm wrong but it's the only Dew i've heard that has a little reggae chop coming out of the first jam...SO SWEET!!!! peace.

Another great show. I really enjoy listening to this one. The sound quality is also superb.

Here's some cover-art for this show:
http://www.toddalbert.com/music/cover_art/

Great Dew (for the only one since April 78. Jerry repeats the "guess it doesn't matter" line over and over with increased passion each time (much like the 3-26-95 version)and then brings it all home. Not the greatest all time version but one packed with a punch. Give it a listen.

Yes great show my first dew and first china rider. notice the strange place china rider is in, yea it was played well. Micky was hitting an anvil as an affect. Jerry almost forgot the music arangment of the dew but wow for the only dew of the year what a nice one, oh yea and the st. stephen tease before the dew wow