Grateful Dead 1978 College Campus Show Tournament

So here we are in the final, it has been a fun ride. I surely appreciate more so now how any given tape and performance can show you such different facets of itself at different times depending on how your mind is positioned. I have learned to listen even deeper because of this experience and now recognize any first listen is simply an introductory conversation.

For the pre-game show let’s review a bit. 4/15/78 has for a long time been a go to download for me; I never had it on tape, but it is has always been a rock solid show for me in the digital age and usually the first pulled when going to ’78 traded media; a fantastic experience each time but one a bit more so for the fantastic sounding board than anything. Having said that, I surprised myself when I voted against it twice in its first two rounds; it always lost in close games mind you, but still the sound quality of the tape gets put in the backseat more when comparing show to show at least according to my referee handbook.

1/22/78 was a tape in my converted wine bottle box replete with stickers inside and out. It always had a shimmer to its label every time I passed over it. It never got serious cassette deck time however because at least the tape I had was not always the best sounding, and likewise was never in my digital quiver, but that is on me; this tournament was like starting up a new relationship with it. Its first round bye forestalled the return some, but it has been 2-0 in my book since.

When this started I never expected things to flash yin yang, much less to do so in the Championship Game; but these two shows shout out to me how they are two sides of one facet that makes up the many sided experience that is Grateful Dead music which each of us would describe in countless different ways all of them spiraling outwards from some deep center like a fractal design.

One show was like a roots and soul revival revue out in the backwoods down a dirt road under a tent preaching in simple language to express a greater truth to a flock needing to hear reassurances of the fruits to come from a life led simply. The flock leaves restored and lingers to share the good word with each other over the activities of the surrounding carnival.

The other show was like a high mass held in a cavernous stone building with pomp and vestments, incense spiraling through deep organ notes and bright choral voices as colored lights pour angularly downward from the tall windows to the sides. The word of it all shakes everyone in attendance driving reverence and challenging beliefs if not certainly skepticisms. The congregation files out more quietly too busily preoccupied with returning dropped jaws to their normal positions; maybe by morning they can begin to discuss.

You need both at different times. It was joyous to find these two together in this contest; each won my heart in their different ways. A winner must be announced so say the advertisers; what it takes to pull off an effective high mass is quite a thing, and so magic wins over roots today, 1/22/78 McArthur Court if I was opaque enough. The good thing is, we all know it doesn’t have to be the winner in this contest in every subsequent replay; and regardless of the outcome, 4/15/78 William & Mary will always be champions to its Moms Dads Brothers and Sisters.

So there you have it. My happily listened to 1/22/78 session today did not really provide too many new insights to my last listening stream of consciousness, so those stand; however, should you be interested in such things here is how 4/15 rolled through my head last night:

--Bobby is a thrill to listen to on the beginning of this Miss. Half Step. A good spot for anyone wanting to see a facet of his trip a bit more. Jerry a bit rusty but no need to worry. Yep he digs deep at the end.
--Passenger slips a shoe. Jerry seems to take a few beats to recover. He is not flailing mind you but off a bit and the band senses it.
--Great FOD. It has a basic feel to it musically, exploring the building blocks of the canon but at the same time still turns the crank at the denouement. Listen just after end of first verse, like he is driving a nursery rhyme which Phil senses then the two of them lope down the scale like two teenagers who just started their first band; everybody pulls back to gather forces. Heading into second verse and now working up the gears. Jerry feels more relaxed by the end. Keith has been lurking nicely.
--El Paso flows nice, Jerry with extra flair at the start. Phil waking up the rig. Drummers solid as always but staying in the pocket. Its show time now. Musical whips are getting flung around now with ease as this song ends.
--With Brown Eyed Women you get a feeling this may be a work in basic colors night and that seems fine. Drummers stepping out a bit. Damn Jerry getting feisty vocally. Nice Bobby in spots once again. They seem righted now and ready to do whatever they want.
--This is a fantastic Let It Grow. I feel if they made a Without A Net this year this would be on it. Nothing absolutely noteworthy to say about it but rather just top to bottom fundamentally solid while still hot enough to be on the official live album. Jerry starts by and then continues to lay back in that basic mode he feels tonight then just wails in the appropriate spots. About 5:20 in on they stretch the group mind's legs. Jerry jams stick soon thereafter but he just returns to basic and he works something new. 10:00 Jerry starts a new language for this song. Yes the next crash transition back is a bit wooly keeping this one from GOAT but then this thing starts to haul off to a funky finish but pretty soon winds down softly. It’s a twister, but those do well on an album.
--Deal and Jerry is country picking this thing from behind. Ending it cool as you like just before ending this with a hint of fangs. Not a thing going on now to dissuade you from the sense that these guys are finally operating at optimal oil pressure and temperature.
--It was a solid basic great sloppy-clean fun first set. One you can't remember well even after it just happened because you are so anticipating what could be next.
--Ok so Bertha. This feels like you are in a live album now for sure, they want to build from the bottom yet make sure they hit their spots tight. Bobby impressing again though. A great group version of this as Keith rolling off phrases, drummers getting less thick showing their toms.
--I normally don't talk about Good Lovin but the Phil splat shows up. This thing is my nemesis in PITB.
--Terrapin tease but we stay basic folks. Not because of a gimpy knee, just because Jerry still wants to plumb this thing. Phil has a nice tone. Ends solid but where is this ship going exactly?
--Terrapin tease again. Nice response though with Heart Of The Sunrise, Donna sounds real nice ; Bobby playing nice yet again.
--Bobby seem tired of this stuff and the bargain was he gets to fast count out a PITB. Jerry still layin’ back at the start; Phil sets the table into the first jam. Jerry right where he wants to be, nothing pushing on him from any direction, floating in openness but left to then carve out his own gravity that pulls everyone into him and together around 8:00 they head into a musical nebulous first touching on hard bop just before Jerry stomps on the warp drive pedal that splats Phil it is so deconstructive. 10:30ish in you see a Close Encounter call signal sent to deep space in the works only to end up in a lovely gaseous cloud at the edge of the dusky ionosphere before descending through the atmosphere into rhythms.
--An entertaining Rhythm Devils.
--Drummers whip up NFA nicely and Jerry builds up from the basics... Whoop a little band waggle at the beginning , but again better living through the basics. Jerry rolling in tightness now and it seems he is going to ride this tight root groove home. Ends with a nice dance of Jerry and the Drummers.
--You feel at the end of NFA Jerry wants to reward everyone for their patience on this his back to roots journey tonight as he slips things deftly into a Dew that Jerry is fully awake to deliver. This one is a beaut and sure to please.
--A revival tent night like only Levon Helm could describe. Everyone got shown the spirit of what was immediately around them with a short sermon in PITB that only hinted at the magic of the beyond; to then finish with the departing message in a Morning Dew boldly declaring that you don't need magic to appreciate all that is true about the things right at your feet.
--Not the soaring evening, but one you will turn to after too much soaring; much like a Levon or Richard sung Band tune.
--Requisite Around & Around and Encore and time to leave the tent for the night.

 

Wow, what a write-up! Finally we get one that it is worthy of the enormity of this match! It's fitting that it would be from our host.

But seriously, I like your roots vs. magic analogy, although there are a few moments in 4/15 that transcend the "revival tent"/"basic colors" mode in my mind - specifically, Let It Grow and Playing in the Band. Still, it is indeed apparent that there are many facets to the Dead, which is one reason why I think doing a tournament of shows derived entirely from one year was the perfect decision. They may all be 1978 shows, but even 4/14 and 4/15 are vastly different listening experiences. Not to mention shows multiple months (or almost a year) apart. For this reason, I think that 12/30 was a bit of an outlier and probably didn't get as much of a fair shake because of it. But listening to these two shows so many times over the past couple months has indeed been revelatory in showing how much there is to discover in multiple listenings of a single Dead show. That's one reason that I tend to get very excited about a new Dave's Picks release - because I know that I will treasure it, and return to it repeatedly over the coming months and years, in a way that I wouldn't normally do with shows listened to on the Archive or downloaded en masse. However, this tournament format forced us to do a similar thing collectively - narrowing a good-sized starting group of shows down to a chosen few that were listened to incessantly as the tournament progressed, much like they would be if they were official releases (even if they already were). It was a great idea for an experiment and I think it was very successful.

 

This has been a new road for me. Since the easy availability of so many shows from torrents, the Archive, YouTube and official releases, I haven't repeated shows in close proximity very often. I certainly hadn't focused on 1978 at all.
In the end, this trip has not converted me to 1978 but I do have a new appreciation for it.
As for the finalists, I'm going to go with the underdog.
Much of these two shows are fairly equivalent. First sets are both hot. The first set ballad and closers are usually the highlight of 78 and these are no exception. I give the nod to MacArthur for Peggy-O over FotD but to Let It Grow/Deal from William and Mary over Music Never Stopped. Call it even.
MacArthur Court is rightly a legendary show. I had an old tape with the Close Encounters jam back in the day. This is truly a special Other One, getting much spacier than expected for the era, but in the end, the Playing and Morning Dew carried the day. Playing is also much wilder than usual and the Morning Dew reaches the peak.
I don't want to denigrate Close Encounters as a mere gimmick, but after hearing it several times, I find it more "cute" than musically interesting.

4/15/78 William and Mary

And of course, big thanks to our sponsors!

 

Well said and I agree with all your points. Also if I was not clear enough let me state categorically you can no doubt find high religion in a tent setting! That Let It Grow, PITB and Morning Dew were my clear highlights and each preach the good word brothers and sisters.

 

Great breakdown and logic very hard to dispute. I'm not sure what you felt but I think we may be in agreement that is a very throwback The Other One and it turned out pretty epic.

 

Thanks for the kind words to you and everyone. Another top-notch recap, I think we found our groove here deep into the tournament.

All-tournament team, why didn't I think of that, great idea! Maybe an MVP. I might have to put some more thought into that. I am glad we are done before the '78 Chuck box, getting excited for that while hitting DaP 18 today.

 

1/22 v 4/15.

 

I'm with pretty much the consensus: 1/22/78 is my winner.

 

4/15 is a hotter show from start to finish but 1/22 has that magic going on in the second set. Great write-ups lately guys. I feel like I don't have much to add.

4/12, 4/15, 4/21, 5/6 and 5/7 going to stay in rotation. I had heard most of them once or twice before but now it feels like I know them

 

Our GDAA 1978 College Show Champion

McArthur Court (U of Oregon), Eugene, OR (1/22/78)



This one was never really in doubt with a 6-1 score, and throughout the tournament 1/22/78 McArthur Court proved worthy of its first round bye. There are some great shows within this small subset of the Grateful Dead universe that have now turned some heads and jumped into future playlists. It was great getting such valuable input and support from everyone here and it was a real pleasure to participate and score the proceedings.

As good ideas for future listening projects come to light on the Grateful Thread we can always crank things up for some more listening fun.

Championship Game Scoring
@bmoregnr Final McArthur Court (U of Oregon), Eugene, OR (1/22/78)
@budwhite Final McArthur Court (U of Oregon), Eugene, OR (1/22/78)
@Claxton Final McArthur Court (U of Oregon), Eugene, OR (1/22/78)
@ducksdeluxe Final McArthur Court (U of Oregon), Eugene, OR (1/22/78)
@posnera Final William and Mary Hall, Williamsburg, VA (4/15/78)
@US Blues Final McArthur Court (U of Oregon), Eugene, OR (1/22/78)
@WiseJake237 Final McArthur Court (U of Oregon), Eugene, OR (1/22/78)

 

Had fun with this tourney. It was a bit daunting initially, but I liked getting to experience a lot of new shows for the first time that I'll go back to again in the future (1/22 included).

I like the idea someone else threw out about a future tournament featuring same venues/cities over from multiple years.

 

Because of the reasons mentioned in my above post, I think that I would most likely prefer a tournament of shows from the same period to shows from the same venues/cities/etc. I think that it would get too difficult to judge objectively (as far as it goes, anyway) when there's the chance to give preference to shows from a certain era because you like that era more, or because you just happen to be more in the mood for a [insert year here] show at the moment. Whereas with this tournament, it was all 1978 all the time, and sometimes the matches were decided by fairly minute details because of it. It just seems like it could get overly complicated and less merit-based in terms of picking a winner if we did a venue or city-based tournament, but on the other hand, it might result in more people participating and thus a wider possible margin for shows to win or lose. So I can see both sides, although I veer strongly towards one of them.

But regardless, count me in as being open to future tournaments. I'm even open to setting one up and scoring it at some point if a volunteer is needed.

 

Welcome any new readers checking this out given our recent 4/12/78 Peggy-O love renewal on the Big Thread. Because the pics were lost to the ravages of time here it is again, let's see how long it lasts this time.