On December 30th, 1977, the Grateful Dead played over three hours of music, as part of a four-night run, at Bill Graham‘s famed Winterland Ballroom. The lineup features Keith Godchaux on piano and Donna Godchaux on vocals.
The San Francisco venue was home base for the Grateful Dead, having played there nearly 50 times between 1966 and 1978. This particular night of music featured fan-favorites like John Philips‘ “Me & My Uncle” alongside GD classics “Dire Wolf”, “Ramble On Rose”, and a scorching “Estimated Prophet”.
Speculation rises between the setlist in this “official” video versus documented setlists from the night, as the video’s second set seems to include 12/27’s “Cold Rain & Snow”, and skips “St. Stephen” and “Sugar Magnolia” entirely. There is no video documented from 12/27, and Deadheads have voiced their concern on the legitimacy of 12/30’s video based on Bobby’s double wardrobe change, as he returns to the original shirt after only a song. What happened to 12/27? What about 12/30?
Thanks to Chris Handy, you can watch an entire video from (most of) “12/30/77” below:
Grateful Dead – Winterland Ballroom – San Francisco, CA – 12/30/77
[Video: Chris Handy]