The Deadcast tells the story of the legendary Duke ‘78 show, the unexplored history of the Dead in North Carolina, the first campout at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the mysterious guest percussionist, & the student-run cable station that filmed it.
by Jesse Jarnow
The Lost Live Dead blog explored the Dead’s unusual history in the region in the comprehensive post, “The Grateful Dead in North Carolina and Virginia, 1968-1995 (Building A Bridge to the New South.” Originally playing around the Triangle in the early 1970s, Grateful Ed Ibarguen and the South Wing Band stayed active into the 21st century.
The Dead’s relationship with Duke continued with the 2022 launch of Duke University Press’s Studies in the Grateful Dead series, as well as Eric Mlyn’s Dead at Duke course.
A tribute to Deadcast friend Steve Silberman, who wrote notes for Friend Of the Devils and was a frequent contributor to the podcast.
Robert K. Toutkoushian’s groundbreaking paper, “Is There A Day of the Month Effect on ‘Beat It Down the Line’?”
A photo of Cameron Indoor Stadium’s interior is often misattributed to the Dead’s appearance, but was actually taken a few months earlier at a show by the Atlanta Rhythm Section with Chuck Leavell’s post-Allman Brothers act Sea Level. Deadcast guest Joe DiMona is at right in a down vest.
Comment
Duke 4/12/78
What a fabulous Deadcast! Brought back so many memories of my first Grateful Dead show. I've been in Cameron many, many times, but that show was a highlight. It really opened my eyes and set the stage for becoming a life-long Deadhead. I made just ONE photo that night, but it shows the whole band and you can plainly see who is wearing the Duke t-shirt! I tried to upload it here but it won't go. So if anyone knows how I can do that, let me know. The photo is supposed to be included in the 78 Duke CDs that are out now, but I haven't seen it because my copies have not arrived yet. Anyway, fantastic job on this one! Well done. John Rottet, Durham, NC
Duke 78-82
On the 43rd anniversary of the Dead's last appearance at Duke I decided to listen to this Deadcast. It's the first time I listened to the Deadcast. I didn't travel down for this show but was admitted to Duke for matriculation in January 1979. By that time I'd seen 6 shows starting at the Palladium then Englishtown 20 minutes from where I grew up. Also the Boston Music Hall, The Spectrum spring 78 and Giants Stadium 1978. The stories people told about being a Deadhead at Duke, the waiting for tickets the crowd around Cameron that day were all the same four years later.
A couple of things I'd like to point out is I read through the archives when I was at Duke and I think the biggest reason they didn't want them back after 78 were the motorcycle gangs on campus that day. The Dead wanted to play Cameron again in the Spring of 81 but Major Attractions couldn't get approval because the show would have been after the semester during finals. There was a big open meeting on campus to try and get enough people involved to convince the administration when the Dead reached out.
I really enjoyed listening to Nick who I haven't seen in about 25 years. When I first saw Nick at Duke you could tell just by looking at his big, bushy beard he was a Deadhead.
I can't remember if it was my first or second semester at Duke but I was shocked getting back to my dorm late at night and seeing the TV in the commons room with the Grateful Dead playing on the TV. Duke Cable would play that show a lot. One of the last things I did before graduating was get a friend that worked at the cable station to bring me in to make a 2nd generation 3/4 " copy of the 78 Duke show. The one unfortunate part of the recording is that they had to switch tapes during the filming of the show. That's why there's a break during the jam at he end of Truckin'. When I got back home I made a bunch of VHS tapes of the show to give to friends. I did not collect videos myself and I'm sure other people did what I did. The current upgraded version on YouTube is better.
I did not know about The Perry Como shows at Duke and was happy to hear that story.
Brad Winters/NYC
On the 43rd anniversary of the Dead's last appearance at Duke I decided to listen to this Deadcast. It's the first time I listened to the Deadcast. I didn't travel down for this show but was admitted to Duke for matriculation in January 1979. By that time I'd seen 6 shows starting at the Palladium then Englishtown 20 minutes from where I grew up. Also the Boston Music Hall, The Spectrum spring 78 and Giants Stadium 1978. The stories people told about being a Deadhead at Duke, the waiting for tickets the crowd around Cameron that day were all the same four years later.
A couple of things I'd like to point out is I read through the archives when I was at Duke and I think the biggest reason they didn't want them back after 78 were the motorcycle gangs on campus that day. The Dead wanted to play Cameron again in the Spring of 81 but Major Attractions couldn't get approval because the show would have been after the semester during finals. There was a big open meeting on campus to try and get enough people involved to convince the administration when the Dead reached out.
I really enjoyed listening to Nick who I haven't seen in about 25 years. When I first saw Nick at Duke you could tell just by looking at his big, bushy beard he was a Deadhead.
I can't remember if it was my first or second semester at Duke but I was shocked getting back to my dorm late at night and seeing the TV in the commons room with the Grateful Dead playing on the TV. Duke Cable would play that show a lot. One of the last things I did before graduating was get a friend that worked at the cable station to bring me in to make a 2nd generation 3/4 " copy of the 78 Duke show. The one unfortunate part of the recording is that they had to switch tapes during the filming of the show. That's why there's a break during the jam at he end of Truckin'. When I got back home I made a bunch of VHS tapes of the show to give to friends. I did not collect videos myself and I'm sure other people did what I did. The current upgraded version on YouTube is better.
I did not know about The Perry Como shows at Duke and was happy to hear that story.
Brad Winters/NYC
Nick Morgan, another guest on this podcast, is to Joe DiMona's right in the photo above. Two fresh little Deadheads, with many shows ahead of them!
What a fabulous Deadcast! Brought back so many memories of my first Grateful Dead show. I've been in Cameron many, many times, but that show was a highlight. It really opened my eyes and set the stage for becoming a life-long Deadhead. I made just ONE photo that night, but it shows the whole band and you can plainly see who is wearing the Duke t-shirt! I tried to upload it here but it won't go. So if anyone knows how I can do that, let me know. The photo is supposed to be included in the 78 Duke CDs that are out now, but I haven't seen it because my copies have not arrived yet. Anyway, fantastic job on this one! Well done. John Rottet, Durham, NC