Friend of The Devils: April 1978 (Dead.net Exclusive) [19 CD]
WHAT'S INSIDE:
Curtis Hixon Convention Hall, Tampa, FL 4/6/78
Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, FL 4/7/78
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, FL 4/8/78
Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA 4/10/78
Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA 4/11/78
Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University, Durham, NC 4/12/78
Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA 4/14/78
Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, WV 4/16/78
Recorded By Betty Cantor-Jackson
Newly restored and speed-corrected audio by Plangent Processes
Mastered by Jeffrey Norman
Liners By Author Steve Silberman
Artwork By Acclaimed Artist Matthew Brannon
Limited To 10,000 Individually Numbered Copies
Dead.net Exclusive
It’s been said before but April ‘78 was an incredible month for the Dead. Like May ‘77, you could throw a dart and guarantee you hit a stellar show. - KyloRensPecs, r/gratefuldead, Reddit
.... April/May '78 has a lot of the same qualities of Spring '77 but with some extra edge and a much bigger sound from the Rhythm Devils. A really special era that often gets neglected. - viewtiful_alan, r/gratefuldead, Reddit
Sportatorium - April 7, 1989
when drums started I thought, oh s*#!, i hate drum solos and Billy and Mickey stopped me in my tracks. Wow, these guys are really good. Little did I know the pervasive influence this phenomena would have on my life. - pearlybakerbest, Dead.net
Huntington Civic Centre, West Virginia – 16 April 1978
This is another must-hear concert by The Grateful Dead. The sound and mix are almost ‘absolutely perfect'... It’s difficult to pick out highlights because everything is played so well; the band are tight, Donna is great and the set list is strong. - Grateful Ted, gratefulted.co.uk
We're hitting the bullseye with the eight previously unreleased stellar shows that make up FRIEND OF THE DEVILS: APRIL 1978. Filled to the brim with peak performances from the Grateful Dead's post-hiatus period, this collection captures the historic tour where "Drums" begat "Space," morphed into "Drums">"Space" and cemented the Rhythm Devils' second-set power move from the music business to the "transportation business."
Spring 1978 finds the Dead consistently weaving spontaneous magic, showing signs of great promise and potential - from the no-nonsense rock'n'roll in Tampa, where scholars cite the first "Drumz" leading into "Space," to the lengthy communal get down in Pembroke Pines to Jacksonville where the twain emerge fully formed, offering the primordial opportunity for "soul retrieval." It's evident in the dynamic range delivered on back-to-back nights at the intimate Fox Theatre and through the laid-back unity of the band's performance in Durham at Duke, a comfort that carries over to Virginia and West Virginia where the playing is unbridled, bursting with momentum, threatening to carry itself away. And nowhere can you hear that more clearly than through Betty Cantor-Jackson's original recordings, reliably crisp, bright, and vivid.
Individually numbered to 10,000 copies and exclusive to Dead.net, FRIEND OF THE DEVILS: APRIL 1978 has been mastered by Audio Engineer Jeffrey Norman using Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction. Steve Vance designed the collection’s custom box, which features a removable wave drum. (We invite you to unleash your inner Rhythm Devil.) Acclaimed artist Matthew Brannon created the set’s original artwork. The collection also includes a 48-page book with original liner notes by author Steve Silberman and photos by James Anderson, Bob Minkin, and more.
9/24/83 Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds
I was there, great show , great venue.
12/28/83 Favorite 1983 show
I saw the Dead a lot of times in 1983, a lot of great shows at a lot of cool venues, but 12/28/83 was definetly my favorite show and should be an official release.
Ok Billy....
....I'm sure you probably posted it before, but how many shows did you attend? Genuinely curious.
Edit. The 4.11 Terrapin is outstanding. 🐢
As is all of the rhythm devils so far.
Another edit. A Brokedown to end the second set @ Santa Cruz?
Like A lot of others here, I usually don't look at setlists when I decide to hit play. Surprise, surprise, surprise.
If you want to do the shows in order, play Dave's 37 Williamsburg, VA after Blacksburg, then Huntington, then the Pittsburgh 4.18 philler from 37, then Dave's 15 Nashville then Dave's 7 Normal,IL.
That leaves Columbus & Lexington regarding the Spring '78 tour.
Those will be released in the future, along with the rest of Pitt as philler split between the two. I guarantee it. 🍻
Mark my words. I mean, the ptb are putting out a treasured Sante Fe show, so it's definitely doable.
I saw the Dead.....
over 100 times. My brother saw them over 300 times, so did Nite Cat. Pretty easy to do when the Frost, Greek , Warfield, Ventura, and all the other places they played are fairly close to where I live. Saw Garcia's Band play a lot at Keystone Palo Alto , and at the Warfield.
Still "en route" ?
But I got a strange letter last week, which I've only just opened. It's from parcelforce and it says they are holding a parcel for me sent from overseas which they will not release until I send £47.29. I assumed this was for the 78 box, but on closer inspection, it says the country of origin was Germany. I suspect it relates to another box I bought from Bear Family - in Germany last month. Which was delivered without additional charges. The tracking number reference number etc don't tally with the Dead box, which I understood was still with DHL en route.
There's no reason why the Dead box should have come via Germany, surely! I don't want to not pay it and lose it in the system. But I also don't want to pay for what has already been delivered.
Germany
DAVE ROCK
it will be the GD box. DHL shipped to Germany and then into the UK. If you look at the shipment tracker and click the details tab it should show you a second tracking number in red ending in DE. Clicking on this will show you further tracking into the UK.
Hopefully, you’ll see it soon.
Cheers
Thanks Colin - I'll phone them up tomorrow and pay up. I got a bit confused with ordering a box set from Germany recently as well as this Dead box. I do remember either you or Frank mentioning that the customs charge was £47.29
Just thought I had found a way of wangling out of paying!
Help on the Way......
Played at the commercial break of the Padres Dodgers game Great song from a great album. Estimated Prophet played at next commercial break
Wharfrat6969....
....indeed.
Anticipation is making me wait - Heinz ketchup commercial. Circa the '80's.
Not a fan of leaving out the dead air....
....but. I get it. 9.14.78 Blacksburg spinning.
Tennessee Jed in the number two spot is nice.
Stopping after the first set.
My cousins son notified me of a new Blood Incantation release, so I'm going to make a left.
First cousin once removed.
Nail me to the couch
Paid up and due tomorrow. I hope it's worth it. I don't automatically buy Dead box sets these days, but I still like and play the last 78 box - the one that culminates at Red Rocks, so I thought I'd have a punt on this one.
There's so much dead air on the 5th cd of "Wattstax The Complete Concert" that in 74 minutes there's only room for 5 tracks. None of which are particularly long. Most of it is spent telling people to get off the grass.
309 of 10.000
Got my box at the post shop.
Greetings to Gerd. Enjoy your box.
Santa Fe AUDs
Very excited all I had back in the day were AUDs. This is gonna be real good.
Started year with Frost ending with this!
Let's get some Meriweather shows, 83,84,85 in 2025.
4 8 85 first set yes
My recollection of set two is more meh, but next time it might glow
Set one is a keeper, for sure
Taking It Slow
Doing the 4th show in the box today. Life in the way but that's a good thing. Purposely not reading the book in this 1st go round. Just doing the comparisons between shows without the influence of info or opinion to see if my take is as others have seen it. Too early for any conclusions but so far, other than the 1st show in the box, these seem fairly standard shows for the era. Not complaining at all as this is my era and you really can't have too much Dead, lol. I'm imagining that touring takes its toll on creativity sometimes. So seldom that I listen to tours in order. More like, hey Jerry seems a little too high on this or that particular show. But even that is a generalization (i.e. 7-8-78 where being a bit too high is fantastic!) as it can turn on a dime sometimes, especially after a set break. Rambling on now so back to the music.
Cheers
Well, I Met #1920 Accidentally, In Saint Paul, Minnesota
It actually arrived by FedEx (but I didn't pay for fancy shipping) two weeks ago, but I waited until today to open it. I wanted to make sure I had a lot of time to dig through it when I cut the tape open, and today was finally that day!
Spectrum, Philly
Philly was a crazy town if you didn't play good enough they might riot and if you didn't bring the energy down before you let them out you might get the same thing!
4/16 a well oiled machine!
A box and a kalamazoo
Like Christmas Day here today. I am very impressed with the box - very snazzy. Excellent article by Steve Silberman, and the whole book looks very attractive. Ominous how drums....sorry, drumz... expands exponentially during the first 6 shows from a modest 7 minutes to a jaw dropping 25.
A few gimmicks - it took me a moment to work out the existence of the draws, and for all the flamboyance the cds are still just housed in bog standard card board sleeves. I will put them in paper sleeves back in the draw and put the empty cardboard covers on top, where the drum was.
I like the first show I have listened to - Estimated really developed in 78 compared to the previous year. Because it's all on 2 cds I though of it as a short show - but it is still about 2 hours 20 minutes long.
Weird sounds you can get on that drum. Today I got my Kalamazoo guitar delivered too. Made in 1937, it's in amazing condition for an 87 year old instrument. and sounds much louder than you expect looking at it's diminutive size. This was the guitar that Robert Johnson played, according to his contemporaries, and he can be seen holding one in that photo of him taken in a photograph booth.
I am wondering if I can use this drum as accompaniment to my guitar playing - get a bit of Hill Country/John Lee Hooker groove going. Though I don't want to put my foot through the drum by mistake.
Scarlet/Fire 4/8/78
is divine!!
Just listening 2nd time. What a beauty!
---
Gerhard,
morgen ist (leider) Kellerschluss und: we're preparing for the last ride to OFR in this season.
Cheers G.
Philly 85
I had a great time at those shows and always have dug em.
Last GA? Or was that 86?
The “voice” doesn’t bother me so much, but I understand why some folks can’t get past it.
Too bad, that Easter Sunday show is a short but sweet monster…except for the voice : (
Thought it was better by the 8? Maybe not, been awhile…I think I recall an interesting set list?
Yeah Philly, crazy energy! Some how saw more shows there than any other venue. What was that Mick Jagger quote? Lol
So Glad ya made it…awesome our friends across the pond are getting their boxes and digging on em! Woah Daverock, that sounds like a interesting axe, sounds expensive too lol You need one of those one man band set ups with the kazoo, harmonica, cymbals and kick drum etc ; )
Harding Theatre November 1971
Does anyone know if the Harding shows are in the Vault? If so, does their having been radio broadcasts in any way limit their chance at ever being an official release? Or because the shows already circulate in good quality audio?
Also, anyway to acquire the music on DP23?
Peace!
Buddy Rich was a Deadhead?
Buddy Rich was a Deadhead? Who knew?!!! ; ^ )
kalamazoo kazoo
Oro - it was expensive, but nowhere near as pricey as all the others I have seen for sale online. Something of a bargain off a chap who also sent it in one of the most beautiful leather guitar cases I have ever seen. He wanted to talk to me on the phone before he sold it - which really added to the experience of buying it.
Not a bad idea, that one man band thing. Apart from the inclusion of a kazoo. No way was that a musical instrument !
I think I'll skip a day before I play the next show in the box - do one every other day. So far so good.
Spectrum
Pre GPS, driving in Philly always scared me a bit, which curtailed my visits to the Spectrum. Jerry's voice in '85? Goodness..
Thankfully, there was an explosion of new material and a focus on his playing. True, it's not for everyone and even for me, an avid '85 fan, I have to be in the mood. But it works.
I listened to 4/8 on my PC while working today. I had this on tape way back when but my recording sucked. This was much better. The things you are exposed to here.. every once in a while it's amazing Grateful Dead music you never really listened to before, especially when the only exposure you had was a raunchy, generation X cassette you had 35 years ago. Once in a while you get shown the light..
I guess that's what these forums are all about. Thanks to you all.
Just finished Blackburgs second set...
....the Dancin' was very nice. As was the Black Peter segue into Sugar Mags. All three of our dogs tails were wagging in the beat.
Longer 1st set songs - shorter 2nd sets songs
Something else occurred to me listening to 4/7/78, 1st set songs were often much longer in 1978 than they were in the 72-73 shows I have listened to so much. The opening Promised Land here clocks in at 5.14 seconds compared to - picked off the shelf at random - the one that opens 9/17/72 which is only 3.39 seconds long. Sugaree 12.12 seconds compared to 7.59 in 72, and Tennessee Jed 9.30 in 1978 compared to 8.05 in the 72 show I chose,
To my ears, this makes the 1978 versions more exciting, as Jerry takes more solos in the middle sections before returning to the concluding verses. It doesn't work out like this in every 1st set song from 1978, but it does often enough for me to notice.
Things are reversed in the second sets though . "The Other One" clocks in at 39.07 on 9/17/72, and only 16.15 on 4/6/78.
78 & Harding
Birchwood, don’t know what’s in the vault but I know Dave has 11/7/71 listed on his list he doesn’t have, but has been chipping away at for the last 12 years or so…so I bet we’ll get it eventually.
Daverock: good catch. I call this “wait for it dead” since they often really take their time and move at a relaxed easy pace and slowly build up and then WHAMMM! Jerry especially gets all animated and peaks out loud! Then back down again, really great dynamics on much of this box!
But then in the second set, perhaps not as much big or long jams.
One thing I don’t like about the late seventies: usually not a lot of big jams, or spacey stuff…but that’s personal minor quibble, overall I’ve been blown away by the consistent excellence throughout the box (really, the whole tour!)
Watching the video from the 12 really helped me fully grasp these shows.
And 8 shows of some of Betty’s best, yeah atta boys all around to the team on this one! MUCHO GARCIAS!
Anniversary show 10/9/80 Warfield Theatre
44 years ago I was up in S.F at the tiny Warfield Theatre for a knockout of a show with the Good old Grateful Dead. 3 sets of acoustic and electric Grateful Dead, it doesn't get any better then that. Big Fun!
The Best Week Ever
but won't let me post it.
I do wish they would take the time and publish what is allowable and what isn't. I have no links or embeds. Keep names to a minimum. Getting old very fast.