Once we heard about the closing of Winterland, our group started putting away a stash of party supplies to get us through that night. We saved for months until we had an ample supply. We had been going to Winterland for years, and the fact that it was closing was very emotional for me. It was my home away from home, and the place I first started seeing shows, as a young girl at 15 years old. When I received my tickets via Grateful Dead ticket sales, I was elated, and felt so lucky. Many were shut out.
The night of the show, we arrived to the most beautiful billboard, “They aren’t the best at what they do, they’re the only ones that do what they do.”
We were asked numerous times if we would sell our tickets, with offers upwards of $1,000, which is a lot of money in 1978. We did not blink an eye; nothing would keep us from being at this show. We saw so many people we knew in line, and we were there for hours to try to get a good spot in the seats.
Entering Winterland for the last time was both a celebration and a sad moment, and the tears started flowing before the drugs started kicking in. We secured seats at the back of the arena on the floor and had the best sound back there. The place was full of energy, celebration, festive wear, love and hugs. The New Riders played an epic set and we all sang along to the tunes we grew up on. The Blues Brothers were something else, and brought smiles to our faces. But that was all warm up.
The Grateful Dead put on one hell of a show, with special guests, if I can remember correctly. And our group was way lit for the entire three sets and encore, keeping ourselves well supplied throughout the evening. Sugar Magnolia at midnight was a sea of balloons after Bill Graham came flying out of the sky as Father Time on a giant joint. The crowd went crazy! Throughout the night, the spinners in the hallways were a beautiful sight, and everyone in the crowd was elated to be there.
We danced, we laughed, we sang along and we cried. And then we had an epic breakfast at dawn. No one wanted to leave, they literally had to escort us out. It is a night I will never forgot!
~ Deb Matson