[ckissick]

Kesey was at the closing of Winterland on New Years 1978/79. (As was I!) In an interview between sets they asked him what was special about the Grateful Dead. He said,... well, go to 8 minutes in the interview to find out. Or watch the whole thing.

It was a hell of a show. We went in at sunset and left the place at sunrise. In between, we watched Animal House, then heard New Riders of the Purple Sage, then the Blues Brothers, then the Dead starting their first of three sets at midnight. And they played Dark Star for the first time in years. Bill Graham provided breakfast for everyone.

We knew it would be a long night, so we prepared ourselves with a some sort of fungus that was meant to keep you awake. It had some certain side effects that were interesting, as well.