favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite



Seems like since this is a '78 Top 5 show (and up there with 2/3 Madison, 4/21 & 7/1), it should be more renowned. Maybe it's become a bit of a hidden gem. It's known for the Minglewood and somewhat for the Sugaree but there are highlights in bunches. The Cap Maryland was followed by this Cap Jersey (one Capital, the other Capitol). Must have been impossible to get tix for a theater one-off in the NYC area! It probably wasn't fully advertised, since MSG was scheduled for a week later. These are brisk, tight sets in what was an in-the-pocket venue for the boys (and girl). Get this: Jer, was sick! You can tell in places - yet in others he has never sounded better (and he collapsed after the show). The rest of the tour was cancelled (which was: New Haven 11/25; Philly 11/27&28; MSG 11/30 & 12/1; Utica 12/2, all moved to '79). He left it all on the stage. This was right after Shakedown Street came out (though it may not have been in all stores yet) and this was a promotion show, and FM simulcast with local Vid. (For you kids, simultaneous broadcast of radio and television was how we made things sound good back when TVs had poor sound, and an early Dead innovation). In fact it's the best vid from the late Keith/Donna era. A DVD of this would be much better than the fuzzy, poorly-performed Egypt DVD, and the mediocre visuals of NYE '78. The sound is muddy on the audio (but can be SBD synched).



First Set. A banger out t'gate (Now we play for Clive), maximizing on into Sugaree in an Energizer Bunny version (ask your parents, kids). Not entirely stellar, but overall magical. The ace Me & My Uncle has minor FM dropouts on the right channel (of the "SBD"). Big River is uptempo and shooting for stars. Stagger Lee ain't bad but check the delicious ending (that Jer didn't always do). The tightness is lost for Passenger causing Jer to focus on a tempest, taking extra measures. The rest is strong as steel, with the well-known Minglewood and a Heart of Me that, fwiw, is probably at least as good as the NYE version (and it's the 6th one). Jer is losing his voice on Loser, so it's time for Bobby to step up for a Promised Land, that has a 2nd solo explosion flurry.



Second Set. I Need a Miracle is way uptempo and tighter than prom night in Utah. The machine lifts off. By Estimated they're just on, and the jam becomes intricate jazz. Shakedown Street is a song that needs to stay in the drummer's pockets - as happens here, on the 7th one. Jer then - wait for it - dissolves it back into the serious jazz territory they were sampling in the last seg, before the drummers start edging. Hamza El DIn guests (fresh from the shows at The Sphinx). The vox are on their way out on Fire on the Mountain, but musically it's a good version - especially Keith. The rest is average '78.



1st Set : A-

2nd Set : B

Overall = 4½



Highlights:

Sugaree - magical/bunny

Me & My Uncle - taut

Big River - uptempo and shooting for stars

Stagger Lee - delicious ending

New Minglewood Blues - well known

From the Heart of Me - maybe the best one

I Need a Miracle - uptempo and maybe the best Keith version

Friend of the Devil>Estimated Prophet>Shakedown Street - This sequence is fantastic, going in and out of this jazz thang with the drummers in the pocket. Maybe it was flu delirium.



SOURCES: The miller_87642 sounds great. The green_mtn_bros source sounds good - it's just not as patched and loved. (Most of the ostensible SBD sources are at least partial, if not mostly, from the FM broadcast). The pre-FM miller is probably (mostly) the real SBD. The ashley-field_32876 is rather boomy. Minglewood is a bonus track on Shakedown Street. Estimated is on the Scrapbook Deluxe DVD. The show is usually up on YouTube.

- August 15, 2019Semi-Hidden Gem