[.ca] Grateful Dead - The Closing Of Winterland (2DVD)

Capturing a milestone marker in rock 'n' roll history:
Grateful Dead: The Closing Of Winterland is a DVD capturing a milestone marker in rock 'n' roll history, when the world famous Winterland Arena closed on December 31, 1978 after featuring a final blowout performance by the Grateful Dead. The heady music is enhanced with exclusive interviews, blues brothers band songs (including John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Paul Shaffer), archival interviews from 1978, a Winterland documentary film, and a great deal more make for an extravaganza which is highly recommended for anyone who thrills to the groundbreaking rhythms of the day.

Some of the best Dead available on DVD:
I have to admit that a lot of that night is just a blur for me. We had caught the shows in San Diego and at Pauley Pavilion, so by the time we got to Winterland we were pretty exhausted. I do remember getting the flu after this affair, too. Still, I have to say it was one of my peak experiences at a Dead show, and this music speaks for itself. The sound is really quite good considering the age of these tapes, and the engineers did a bang-up job on the 5.1. The only quibbles I have are with the cheesy, flashing "Happy New Year" that KQED splashed across the screen and other like travesties. Although somewhere Bill Graham says he couldn't have imagined a better audience for the last show there (I think I probably caught at least 30 shows there -- not all Dead), when I asked people around me if that was Kesey up there on the stage (I was about 2/3 of the way back, down on the floor), I just got bewildered looks. Breakfast? It wasn't all that great, and it took ages to get your food. But I wasn't there for the food, of course.

Millions of people should like this one:
Bob and Jerry look like they are having a good time. When Bob sings "Good Lovin'," at the end of Set 3, the Grateful Dead's ability to add life to a cover of a familiar song sparks some of the excitement that every great act would like to achieve near the end of a long night. I like Jerry best on "Ramble On Rose" near the beginning of Set 2, but he also had an inner glow that seemed to reflect "the engine just gleams" in the "Casey Jones" encore. It was dark inside after midnight, and the concert was merely being filmed for live TV broadcast without studio lighting, so the clearest picture of anyone on this DVD are the few flash bulb instances when someone took a snapshot and lit a face from a different angle than the incredibly dim spotlights. There were a few extra people playing a song or two with the Grateful Dead that night, and someone on harmonica had a few great moments. I did not take myself to any live performances of the Grateful Dead in the sixties or seventies, so this DVD is as young as I ever saw any of them play. Listening to them later, I came to appreciate a few unique elements of their sound. As much as anyone, the Grateful Dead has shown the ability to produce a body of work that defines them as an entity significant enough to make the question of what they were doing at any particular point in time interesting. Phil Lesh on bass guitar seemed to spend his time with the drums, but he could be seen enjoying himself on "Terrapin Station," when he finally had some notes that meshed well with the other guitar parts. Jerry Garcia plays so many notes in his concerts that I marvel at his ability to remember when he is supposed to play them. During the chorus of "Ramble On Rose," the guitar interludes provide as much of the melodic flow as the singing, and the words on paper suggest very little of what is going on: "Did you say your name was Rambling Rose? Ramble on baby, settle down easy Ramble on Rose." The typical popular song makes enough sense musically to keep seven people heading in the same direction, but the fun of "Terrapin Station" seems to be in wondering how such music is even possible. Such instances of multiple inspirations remind me of how JFK's boat PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer in WW II: it would not be fair to blame such an event on the activities of one person. Anything that complicated requires teamwork. There is another instance of multiplicity which makes this DVD worth owning. The song "B Movie" by DELBERT McCLINTON is a psychological study in transference unlike any other, and the Bonus material on this DVD includes a live performance by the Blues Brothers in which Jake and Elwood bow most notably to guitarist Steve Cropper as co-writer of the San Francisco song "Dock of the Bay" while they introduce members of that opening act. Jake and Elwood overdo the dancing in their frenetic fashion, but having easy access to "Soul Man" and "B Movie" from a famous bunch of great musicians makes more sense on a DVD than the TV interviews with personalities involved in every aspect of putting on a show.

It's almost too much...:
A great show, fantastic hippie-dippie sorta groove, excellent sound quality. Watch the disc and (to me, anyway) it becomes abundantly clear just how much the GD were Jerry's band. I don't know who proposed those stages of greving, but I'm still stuck in the Anger phase... Seeing and hearing the Dead like that (especially when you turn the stereo WAY up) can get a bit intense, and I get pretty miffed at Jerry for being Dead. Be prepared to move the furniture - you'll need some room to dance!!

Absolutely Awesome:
This is the first Dead DVD I have purchased. I had a old New Years Eve VHS from 87. This DVD however blows anything I have ever seen away. The sound in my home theater is mixed so perfect in surround sound that my floor shakes from the Phil's great bass playing. There is so much on here for such a little price. My favorites are Teppapin, Magnolia, Me and my Uncle, and Other ones. This is the only one I have seen with Keith and Donna as part of the band. Great jams, great sound, and so much extra footage makes this a must have for any rock fan. A magical experience.