A New Year, a New Dead
Why the Grateful Dead’s 1978 New Year's Eve live performance remains its best.
1978 a time of love in America. An overall good year for most people but not for Roman Polanski or the concert hall “Winterland” in San Francisco. This concert hall, which was first used as an ice skating rink, has been used by many West Coast bands, was damaged beyond repair and the owner Bill Graham didn't want to fix it.
This concert venue is most famous for being the spiritual home of the California native band “The Grateful Dead.” The Dead played 59 times at Winterland, including five nights in a row to film the Grateful Dead Movie which is on YouTube. There was always an immense amount of support when the Dead performed there. Bill Graham, of course, wanted the Dead to play at Winterland for the venue's last ever concert.
“The Closing of Winterland” was on December 31, 1978. New Year's Eve. There's not a better time to give a final performance for a venue than New Year's Eve. A new year means a new start for the owner. What made this performance by the Dead special was the fact that they actually played some of their old songs. They rehearsed for this performance. This is something that they rarely do.
Another way the concert was legendary was how long it was. The full concert is on YouTube, and it's 4 hours long of straight Grateful Dead. It seems like every deadhead all around the country came to watch this awesome show. In the opening song, “Sugar Magnolia,” hundreds of balloons rain from the rafters to bring in the New Year. The crowd screams for the Dead in their Winterland final performance while smacking the balloons in the air keeping them moving. One could tell in the concert how happy everyone is in the venue. Most likely due to the number of psychedelic drugs and to the joy of seeing the Dead rock their spiritual home one last time.
In the mid 60s, psychedelic rock was sweeping through the San Francisco area like wildfire. Especially on Haight and Ashbury Street, a street colonized by hippies. The media called it “Hashbury” due to the drugs and counterculture ideals. “The Grateful Dead House,” a purple Victorian walk-up on 710 Ashbury Street housed the band members and Deadheads passing through Haight and Ashbury.
The Closing of Winterland was sold out. Bill Graham said “We could’ve easily sold half a million more tickets. Everyone was trying to get in so they aired the performance on live television. They wanted to make sure everyone could see the last performance in this iconic music hall. Afterwards, the venue served breakfast to every single person there including the Blues Brothers, Bill Walton, and the Hell’s Angels who were pacified with LCD.
As the sun rose above the former ice-skating rink, the Dead served champagne, ham, and eggs for everyone buffet style. A real testament to the Dead and how they stand for peace and love and celebration.
