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The fourth show is the not only the best of the '78 Winterland run, it's the best show in months (since Omaha and 7/8). These were the Egypt slideshow shows and the first Bay Area shows of the year. It must have been joyous for band and Heads alike to know they could still play a hot show after months of one hot song or maybe a good set. They were now primed for the great 11/78 tour.



First Set. In Ollin Arrageed you can can hear the Dead members take stage @5:40 and gradually begin playing along wth El Din (who leaves @16:25). The first two are warm-ups, though Phil leads an excellent tranny from Promised Land>Sugaree. The latter, on the official release, properly uses the Hohlwein AUD (owned by Menke) for patching. The Miller SBD cites a different happenstance but sounds like it's the same. Passenger catches up to itself by the end and the ship takes off! A slight tension in Ramble on Rose makes it taut, and there simply IS NO better version of Looks Like Rain (just different ones). Donna is great, Jer adds great fills, the drummers are in the pocket. This is just the sixth Stagger Lee, and just now understood by each player (they had finished the studio version right before these shows). I Need a Miracle is the seventh one and the best yet - they were excited to play it. It really curves the set finish upward.



Second Set. The fun Bertha swings around like nunchaku on rubber bands. The next couple are good but this Estimated is a gift from the gods. After a fantastic verse section, the jam is one of the finest [and longest!]. He's Gone, with it's perfect patch, is rendered super solidly but unicursally, with no jamming. Lee Oskar comes out @10:35 to jam against Drums (lengthy, @nearly 18min). There's no real Space, just Jer coming out to play with them before the whole band works up a Got My Mojo. Not sure whose idea this was, but Muddy's tune had cropped up in 4/77 as well (and was quoted in Space on the 18th). It may have been chosen with Oskar. It doesn't really go anywhere; just a basement jam. After a solid, if trad, Other One, the rest is kush on a tray. The unstudied Stella is also patched with the Hohlwein AUD, as is the smoker Sugar Mag. An exigent U.S Blues leaves 'em happy. A fine final sequence in context.



1st Set : B+

2nd Set : B

Overall = 4¼ stars



Highlights:

Ramble on Rose - tense, taut, tight

Looks Like Rain - check players behind Bobby

Stagger Lee - now understood

I Need a Miracle - flaired finish

Estimated Prophet - both verses and jam astonishing [check final set sequence too]



SOURCES: Most of the SBDs are hissy and run too fast (like the popi_6100). The miller_89721 has cleaned the sound, is repitched, and patched the gaps. It does have a glitch in LLR @6:58 (use the nugs_21248 here). The Seamons MTX uses the fine Bob Menke AUD (rhinotrocity5_motb). Road Trips v1 n4 has Sugaree, Passenger, Stagger & Miracle from the first set, and all of the second set except Drums>Space.

- May 25, 2020Top of the slide shows