Dead of the Day: 12-16-1978

Nashville Municipal Auditorium

Nashville, Tennessee

This is one of those shows – and there are many of them – that just make you shake your head at both the sound the Dead were able to create and the nearly flawless jamming they were capable of. In the first set, it seems that both Bobby and Jerry are playing slide on a few songs, creating an unusually fine sound and leading to some really interesting jams. And boy do the boys ever jam, laying it out on nearly every tune during that first go-round. The highlights – though nothing should be missed – are the bookends: an epic, funky Sugaree opener and the essential, smooth rendition of Lazy Lightnin’> Supplication at the end. And, of course, there is what is almost certainly the best Stagger Lee ever.

Recording info
Use alternative player
Identifier:
gd1978-12-16.sonyecm250-dolbyb.walker-scotton.miller.82211.sbeok.flac16
Source:
(FOB) Sony ECM250 -> Cassette Master (Maxell UD-XLII/Dolby B) D
Notes:
Patch Info: Nakamichi 300 -> Cassette Master -> Dat -> CD (By Robert Wagner) Drums (9:08 – 9:26) Notes: — 2nd Set is seamless — Thanks to Paul Scotton and Joani Walker for the tapes — There were fades and gaps between almost every song which I fixed — First few seconds of Sugaree are missing
Description:
Set 1 Sugaree Beat It On Down The Line Candyman Me And My Uncle -> Big River Stagger Lee Looks Like Rain Tennessee Jed Lazy Lightnin’ -> Supplication Set 2 Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain Samson And Delilah From The Heart Of Me He’s Gone -> Drums -> Space -> The Other One -> Wharf Rat -> Around And Around Encore One More Saturday Night
Lineage:
Cassette Master (Tascam 122mkII/Dolby B) -> Apogee MiniMe (24bit/48k) ->
Transferrer:
Charlie Miller
Play
Pause
Back
Forw.
Volume
00:00
1
Sugaree
14:25
2
Beat It On Down The Line
03:57
3
Candyman
07:59
4
Me And My Uncle ->
03:00
5
Big River
07:11
6
Stagger Lee
06:44
7
Looks Like Rain
08:54
8
Tennessee Jed
11:04
9
Lazy Lightnin’ ->
03:22
10
Supplication
06:02
11
Tuning
02:07
12
Scarlet Begonias ->
09:58
13
Fire On The Mountain
11:43
14
Samson And Delilah
08:35
15
From The Heart Of Me
04:50
16
He’s Gone ->
17:04
17
Drums ->
10:50
18
Space ->
03:50
19
The Other One ->
14:55
20
Wharf Rat ->
11:27
21
Around And Around
11:07
22
One More Saturday Night
05:05
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To open the second half, the band starts off with a tight, smoking Scarlet Begonias. From the very start, the boys are locked into a heady mind-meld, allowing them to deal a scintillating jam in the second half that is so tight while also involving deep exploration. The transition into Fire is fairly quick, and the song itself is all the equal of the Scarlet that preceded it. A few tunes later, one of the best versions of He’s Gone comes out. It has all the beautiful harmonies and vocal vamping you could want, but also features far more tasty licks and lengthy runs than the typical, more straightforward, renditions. Eventually, after nearly twenty minutes, the rest of the band cedes the stage to the drummers, who deliver an immaculate Drums. A short Space follows, taking it into a mesmerizing, mellow Other One that, at times, is downright spacey, though never lacks even a modicum of coherence. At the very end, the boys drop into a spacious Wharf Rat that is outstanding, just like the rest of the show. From there, Around And Around rocks them out of the set before One More Saturday Night puts a final cap on the evening.

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Comments

One response to “12-16-1978”

  1. Peter collins Avatar
    Peter collins

    Great show! One of the best ones with Kieth I’ve heard yet!

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