Mostly pitch-corrected versions of official releases, I imagine; back when I was more in the game I'd occasionally get hold of those.
That's it right there (although I am skeptical it was "identical," I don't have the energy to look though). Setlists in 78 could feel repetitious although I don't have any evidence of that. At this moment at least I am more into 78 than 77, though.
The jam in both was Estmated>Eyes of the World>Drums>NFA>GDTRFB>Around and Around, with US Blues as the encore. (SB had an additional encore.) The same reviewer says in another 78 review 'you HAD to judge a show by performance alone,' (i.e. rather than set list,) which is sage advice for any era.
'78 and '71 (especially pre-Keith) to me are the two points at which the GD most embraced being a rock 'n' roll band.
There was general agreement among tapers and frequent show-goers that 1978 (after Feb) was disappointing, at the time. The combination of the early Rhythm Devils segments (many of which were just plain annoying) with Keith's increasingly monotonous playing and general disinterest were obvious factors. In fact I think most of us eventually developed a better appreciation for '78's positive aspects as time went on, rather than the opposite (as was implied above).
Keith was more inspired in '77, and I'm not a big fan of the Yahama electric piano sound. The vocals were more agressive in 1978, giving for moments the impression of an "angry" Grateful Dead, something I'm not very fond of, particularly when a slow number is being played (lots of strain singing takes place in the July 1978 box set). The performances were in general more intense too. It was a good year for the band, but I still prefer the more subtle '77.
The sound of the grand piano before Keith switched to the "toy" keyboard thingy is beautiful. Maybe the most striking aspect of the sound of the GSTL box with the special light sound of the dual drums coming in a close second.
My anecdotal evidence of sameness: during the '78 college tournament last year, I was successfully predicting the next song before the tuning/noodling started (especially the later half of Set 1). I like hearing a 78 show now and then, but they don't hold my interest for extended listening. I strongly prefer 77. Which reminds me, I need to go through the GSTL 77 box again soon. So many shows, so little time...
I can't speak for older Heads' opinions, but I remember the Tapers' Compendium is pretty lukewarm on post-Feb '78, which probably coloured a few opinions and set a few preconceptions going at the time.
I, too, mourn the loss of the "whoa-yeah" on Playin' but I suspect I might always cringe at the banshee screech on the Deal outro.
Or perhaps, in addition to official releases, shows that are under serious consideration for release or have already been announced (like the RFK '89 shows).
Whenever I'm not sure I just remember, "77 is heaven; 78 it's great", and, after that, if I still get confused, I just listen to the music play.
"You know better but I know him" is the line after "caught on a limb." There's really nothing to get.
= You should always listen to Space, particularly in the 1980s, but I was talking about 4/18 and 4/19 in particular, not 4/17.
I've seen this image here enough times recently that I figured it was due for a play. And based on the current topic of discussion some late '77, with '78 just around the corner, seemed a suitable choice.
Yeah I know the lyrics, but it's a Jerry song and there's not enough of a joke there---someone (ianuditis again?) posted Bobby doing "I say--you say" with something else a couple weeks ago and it was actually funny, whatever it was, so I think it raised the bar too high. EDIT: I meant the "meme," not your response to it.