The SetList Program allows you to search through the Grateful Dead's setlists for shows between 1965 and 1995. It also allows users to comment-on and share their experiences for each show. Find a show you've attended, and leave some comments for other users!

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1 Show Found

12/31/78
Winterland Arena - San Francisco, CA

Set 1:
Sugar Magnolia
Scarlet Begonias
Fire On The Mountain
Me And My Uncle
Big River
Friend Of The Devil
It's All Over Now
Stagger Lee
From The Heart Of Me
Sunshine Daydream

Set 2:
Samson And Delilah
Ramble On Rose
I Need A Miracle
Terrapin Station
Playin' In The Band
Drums
Not Fade Away
Around And Around

Set 3:
Dark Star
The Other One
Dark Star
Wharf Rat
St. Stephen
Good Lovin'

Encore:
Casey Jones
Johnny B. Goode
And We Bid You Goodnight

Download/Listen to this Show at Archive.org

Comments:

The Farewell To Winterland — One of my favorite bootlegs! Unfortunately, I only have Set One, and have never heard the rest. Can anyone else comment on the rest of the show? Or tell me where I can get it?
-Anonymous


I have no new information about the sets, but it was a really cool show. The last night of Winterland, the night started with the usual volleyball game, and at about 6:00PM, a movie screen lowered in front of the stage, and we were treated to a showing of "Animal House". When that was over, the screen was raised, and there on stae was, unaccounced, The Blues Brothers. they played a full set, tore it up, did backflips, the whole deal. Very cool. They were followed by the New Riders, then the Dead. After breakfast, we stumbled into the cool misty air of a new year at about 5am. Great stuff.
-


This is the day I was born. It is a beautiful show for my birth day. I found a great copy on tape, and love every second of it......
-


any chance they will evey release this as a "view from the vault"....i believe bill graham had it video recorded??
-Anonymous


Get this show from Furthurnet.com. Download furthurnet. It's the fuckin shit man!!! You can get some rare dead shows including the acid tests days.
-


Happy day! Now I've got the whole freakin' show! Not from Furthur (although I've gotton plenty of other shit from there), but from a kind soul who I did a B&P with.
-Anonymous


to open with sugar mag is exciting but when they went into that beautiful long jammed out scarlet>fire for their SECOND song it was obvious that this was not going to be an ordinary night by any means...this is one new year's eve shows that really delivers the goods!
-


Released as 2 DVD due Nov. 2003 as "The Closing Of Winterland" (check deaddisc.com)
-Andy Black


I'm gonna buy it the first day it comes out on DVD. I can hardly wait
-Anonymous


Soundtrack is also available. Really fantastic to see and hear this in 5.1 glory!
-Anonymous


The Closing of Winterland is really a must have for any dead fan. Most of this entire night is chronicled. It includes performances by the blues brothers and NRPS, as well as interviews with some band members in between sets. This would have been a really amazing show to have been at, and the entire three sets of the dead show are here. They came on at midnight, opening with sugar mag, and the energy didn't quit all night. The opening of the third set with dark star was an amazing moment, as it hadn't been played at winterland in more than five years. The crowd went nuts! It was a dang good dark star as well, and everything is great here. The rythym devils section is incredibly unique and a treasure to see. And the whole place seems like it might just come down when the dead come on for an encore, doing a great casey jones and then a johnny b goode to die. The crowd is really going nuts and so is jerry. End it with we bid you goodnight and it doesn't get much better than this.
-


Looking for A Cd of this show. Really great Good Lovin'
-


The last show at Winterland is one of the best gems the Dead have ever played. Every single song is absolutely perfect and they are in a tremendous groove with each other from the first notes of Sugar Magnolia to the end vocals of We Bid You Goodnight. The Closing of Winterland could be the best live release put out by Grateful Dead productions. If you don't have it and you consider yourself a Dead head, get it now, or else shame on you. One of the best shows they've ever done.
-anonymous


I believe it was mentioned before, but this has been released officially as "The Closing of Winterland" 4 CD set, with great sound. A kick ass show... love the Sugar Mag>Scarlet Fire and of course the Dark Star>Other One>Dark Star.
-Adam j


Great show man,the best scarlet/fire i ever heard.
-


Officially released on DVD as "Closing Of Winterland."
-Anonymous


fuckin donna sucked it up
-simon (04/15/2007)


100% the best scarlet/ fire ever. Whole show is mind blowing! That was really cool at the end how they offerd breakfast to the whole croud
-mr. charlie (07/14/2007)


DTS sound on a high quality suround system - WOW! is all I have to say. This DVD set is the best sounding dead recording I have ever heard. I thought I died and went to heaven when I heard this.
- (09/16/2007)


yup, top 5 for me, this show is GREAT! from start to end. I love Sugar Mag, hell the whole first set is one of the best first set's. It's was cool how every one got breakfast at the end.
-Stevie G (02/19/2008)


did anyone else notice the weird 'me and my uncle'?
- (10/10/2008)


this looks like a really good show does anyone know how i could get a copy?
-chris (12/02/2008)


want a copy? the the CD or DVD "Closing Of Winterland" available all ove
- (12/31/2008)


there is a really neat sound, probably from jerry, in 'fire on the mountain'.
was that the MIDI?
- (07/13/2009)


"was that the MIDI?"

Richard, didn't you know the screwdriver was invented in 1975?
-Bossgobbler (11/19/2009)


amazing show!!! Truly worthy of ANY collection!
-deadhead (12/04/2009)


I found a three lp set with no writing or anything on the lp labels. White cover with removeable picture of Jerry on the front and the line up on the back. Looks like a bootleg
- (12/19/2009)


Whoever said that the Blues Brothers appeared "unannounced," has no idea what they are talking about. The show had been advertised extensively, and included the Dead, the Blues Brothers and NRPS.

After Animal House, NRPS came on first. Then the Blues Brothers took it up until before midnight, with John Belushi ending their set by pulling out a magnum bottle of Champagne, shaking it, and spraying it out over the crowd. I was in the front row, dead center, and saw it coming, and ducked with photo and other gear, below the stage lip.

One of the greatest shows ever. Period.
- (09/21/2010)


We all know this show was released and mass produced on both DVD and HDCD officially by GDP and is available on Dead.net...right?
- (12/18/2011)


Great ramble on rose. i dig the powerful vocals on this cut. great show as a whole. a must have for fans
-Anonymous (04/12/2012)


Opinions vary, but the Band reached its zenith in the period '71-'79 - that is the period with Keith. And of the 400+ shows during this time, this one has to be among the "top five". The ear doesn't lie, nor does a show's length and a three-set blowout of energy, intensity and musicianship makes for a formidable title contender. We fans in the East always thought the Boys saved their very best for their beloved left coast; this show would seem to validate that notion. Peace, pals.
-DobbsBaby (12/21/2012)


Beautiful
-Murphy (04/21/2013)


The show as a whole is great. the scarlet fire is quite good but for me the best ever tag goes to 7/21/77 the clarity and energy of that show is second to none. The news years show is great for its own reasons:3set show at winterland on new years with a band at their peak. cant get much better than that.
-Anonymous (08/13/2013)


Yes, we all know that this has been officially released, and prior to that was available on both audio and video because the show was simulcast that night.

I still watch this show all the time. It is so nice to see Jerry, younger, slimmer, happier, and full of energy. Phil is on fire all night long, either engaging Jerry or the drummers almost non-stop. The whole third set is a thing of beauty. The "Dark Star" you hear yelled right before they start is me from the front row.
- (11/09/2013)


Great recording of a great show. Whoever commented that they savers one of their energy for the Es Coast must have never ventured to Deer Creek in Indiana. Some of the "Best Shows" per DBase. They alway came into the Creek with something special until the lights were fading in '95 and we all saw the end coming. I was paralyzed in '92 and '93 was my first show back. We mad our annual trip to Deer Creek from Chicago and I rolled right to the front of the stage no hassles. Opened with Stranger - how fitting since I had been gone for 3 years from the road. Turned into the Rain Show if memory serves me and was voted best show of the year by DBase. However some of the best do originate from East Coast MSG, VT, etc... Peace
- (01/09/2014)


One of my good friends was a Dead Head. He started taking me to shows in 1971. When tickets went on sale for this New Years show & The closing of Winterland, the tickets sold out so fast I didn't get one.
The day before the show I went down to the San Jose Box Office to get tickets to a different upcoming concert. I made some offhand comment about not getting tickets to the Dead show. The guy at the counter asked me to hold on for a minute. He came back with two tickets in his hand that had been cancelled. Holly Shit... I remember only paying $35.00 for those tickets. What a memorable night.
THE BLUES BROTHERS, what a treat. Belushi was awesome. That was the night that the Dead finally played "Dark Star." It had been played at Winterland in something like five years. In the morning Bill Graham had set out a huge buffet, the food wad warm and good, The show was great. I always liked Winterland, i could go up to the balcony and take pictures just above the bands heads from the back. I have great pictures from dozens and dozens of 1970's Winterland shows...

- (03/05/2014)


LOVE THIS SHOW
-Anonymous (12/02/2014)


It took we a few days to recover from that magic night. The dead where so focused. Bob hardly moved and had glasses on.

We were right up front. The crowd dancing during the Blues Brothers was outlandish. Full leg kicks, I don't no where all leg room came from!

I needed a rest and went up to the balcony and sat on the rail on the steps. Ushers did not tell anyone to move. Dark Star started. Not a dry eye in the house.

Sleep over in line, movies, cartoons, juggling show, Blues Bros, Riders, the Show, and breakfast.

I got home at 8:30a and slept for 2 days......Winterland was over with a bang
- (12/18/2014)


John Cipollina also played with the Dead that night. BUT, I think the much better performance by the Dead was the night before at Pauley Pavillion at UCLA. Check that recording
out.
- (11/21/2016)


Not Fade Away,,,Indeed (+ Lee Osckar),,

- (04/11/2017)


"Samson and Delilah" really smokes on this one. Easily in my top five of best shows.
-Bob (06/16/2017)


last show ever with both St Stephen and Casey Jones
-Just Exactly Perfect Band (07/18/2019)


This show is too powerful of a moment in my life to make sense to any mortal. The build up of not getting a ticket in the lottery. Getting the the lead to go to the Top Hat ticket outlet in San Jose and paying a bit more to go to this show. Blues Brothers. What the heck they rocked. Jerry starting his decline to addiction leading us to a Sugar-Scarlet-fire opening that will always melt my face and understand what the real deal was. Until the third set removed my soul and donated it to the Warlocks. Thank you Phil and Jerry. I’m still having fun.

- (11/08/2019)


Ramble On Rose is the most high energy version ever at this show. Amazing.
-Steve (01/16/2020)


Not Fade Away,,,InDeed Lee Oscher & John Cipollina.

- (05/02/2020)


... thank you Sirius for sharing the 12/31/1978 San Francisco, CA show with us today for the 12:00 Noon Hour ...

iko iko forever & a day …
tyedyetom

- (12/28/2020)


I Need a Miracle,,,InDeed! (Lee Oscher/blowing Harp),,,,

- (01/03/2022)


Comment on this Show!

 

Band Configuration
(10/20/74 - 02/17/79)

Lead Guitar: Jerry Garcia
Rhythm Guitar: Bob Weir
Bass: Phil Lesh
Keyboards: Keith Godchaux
Drums: Bill Kreutzmann
Drums: Mickey Hart
Backup Vocals: Donna Godchaux

Note: Band configuration is across specified time period. Configuration for particular show may have differed.

The SetList Program is Copyright © 1996-2024 Madhu Lundquist. Band configurations compliments of .
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