Playin' In The San Joaquin Valley

Your eyes do not deceive you, here is a show posted for your listening pleasure. Been awhile, eh? I've been wanting to post one for seemingly forever now, just have not been in the mood. I'm still not, really. Twasn't inspiration that moved me. I don't know what it was. But I decided to give a show a shot and see what happens.

32 years ago tonight...

Grateful Dead January 18, 1978 Stockton Civic Center Stockton, California

1st Set: Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo,
Mama Tried-» Me & My Uncle, Peggy-O, Jack Straw, Friend Of The Devil,
It's All Over Now, Row Jimmy, Lazy Lightnin'-» Supplication

Set 2: Terrapin Station-» Playing In The Band-» Passenger-» Space-»
Estimated Prophet-» Stella Blue, Sugar Magnolia

Encore: Around and Around

transcribed from: The Deadhead's Taping Compendium, Volume II: An In-Depth Guide To The Music of the Grateful Dead on Tape, 1975-1985 [out of print] The finale to the California tour occurred in the unlikely setting of Stockton, the second of two gigs the band played in this oft-maligned valley town. First set highlights include a nice, soaring "Half-Step" opener and a blazing mid-set "Jack Straw" that kicks things into high gear until the "Lazy Lightnin'" > "Supplication" closer. The nearly continuous second set is full of surprises, from the somewhat ragged "Terrapin" opener to the weird Bobby triplet of "Playing" "Passenger" (out of a long jam), and "Estimated," leading, just as surprisingly, straight into "Stella Blue." Things bog down at the end, with a sluggish "Sugar Magnolia" and a half-hearted "Around and Around" encore. MICHAEL PARRISH

Definitely in agreement on the 1st Set highlights. As Half-Step rolls forward it gains some nice momentum before an ultra-nice plateau that had me feelin' pretty darn good. After a nice Peggy-O, there's a false start for Jack Straw and if you listen closely, you can hear Mickey having a good time with it. The hottest part of the set is without a doubt the Jack Straw. Jerry turns it on for real here and Bob's rhythm work is crankin' at double time to try and keep up. Outstanding! Play this LOUD!!!!!

Another moment of beautiful perfection happens with the entirety of FOTD. It sadly cuts at the end but what a lovely version. Jerry hits some nice auto-pilot in Supplication, as well. What a great vehicle to spend some time in jamland to close out the set.

With the second set we finally get to hear Phil. I don't think he was that prominent in the 1st set but in set 2 he's an integral part of the proceedings, especially in Playin'. This version might actually be on the droll side without Phil in the mix as much as he is. The jamming might be a little disjointed here and there but still a great place to get lost in the music.

Estimated has me in a nice little bit of a trance. Keith's keys shine in a spot here and a spot there. There's an ethereal feel that is very relaxing and the way it slides into Stella is... oooooooooooo so yummy. Wow. The sweetness continues with Stella but I disagree with Parrish about Sugar Mag being sluggish. Jerry's cruisin' right on through it while Phil kicks it up a notch as do the drummers. This is a full-on dancin' good time tune right here!

Has tuning ever been a highlight of a show? It is for me here. Before the encore, Jerry plays around with a familiar song that won't be played by the GD or Weir for several years -- Blackbird. Kinda sluggish and has the longest Aud patch of the show by far, Around and Around is not the best way to end the show. Maybe if the SBD wasn't missing at the end it wouldn't be so bad. In any case, the Blackbird tuning surely makes up for it. So brief yet so very cool to hear!

The quality of the recording, for the most part, isn't too bad up through Terrapin; the worst problem is a little hiss, primarily noticeable during the quiet parts. But unfortunately towards the end of Playin' the sound problems really start. There are moments of slight muddyness and well over a handful of dropouts that have been patched with a questionable-quality Aud source. Except for two, each patch is a mere few seconds long, the longest (before the end of the encore) is maybe a minute or so. (Read the shnid text file linked below for more info.) Because the quality had a certain crispness to it, it's a shame these problems occur. This easily could have been given 3½ or 4 stars for quality but these problems knock it down, overall, to 3 in my humble opinion. But what are ya gonna do? Dig what ya can 'cause this is probably the best source there'll ever be for this show.

1-18-73 @ the Internet Archive: an Aud source for listening & downloading; the Soundboard for Listening Only

download it here if you'd like Source: shnid=13101 ♦ Audio Quality: Lineage: SBD>MR>?>D>CD>EAC>SHN patched with: AUD>MC>C>D>CD>EAC>SHN 1/18/78 - Part 1 ♦ Part 2 - 1/18/78 Stockton, Cali - 1/18/78 - Part Three

1-18-78 a.k.a. 01/18/78 a.k.a. 78-01-18 mp3 download 320 kbps no lossless flac, sorry

Post game wrap-up (post second listen of this show analysis): I know why I haven't listened to the GD for almost 5 months . . . and I hate it. I hate the why and I hate the fact that this music's been out of my life. Even with a show that isn't the most spectacular and with quality flaws like these, I'm left feeling . . . I'm left knowing that I've just listened to some of the best music on the planet. It hasn't healed me, it hasn't made anything better in my life . . . but I'm glad I listened to it. Like watching la di freakin' da, an hour here, an hour there, whatever dramas on TV as a distraction, I guess listening to great music is also a distraction . . . but a much, much, much better one.

So... what year is next? Don't ask for a specific date
but first one to ask for a year gets it.