| Pure Jerry: Warner Theatre, March 18, 1978 | |
| Type: | live |
| Artist: | Jerry Garcia Band |
| Cover: | PureJerryWarnerTheatre.jpg |
| Alt: | A hand-written set list, a Merriweather Post Pavilion ticket stub, a Keystone Berkeley napkin, two photos of Jerry Garcia as a stage magician conjuring a guitar from out of a hat, and a backstage pass for the Jerry Garcia Band |
| Released: | August 9, 2005 |
| Recorded: | March 18, 1978 |
| Genre: | Rock, rhythm and blues |
| Length: | 146:34 |
| Label: | Jerry Made |
| Prev Year: | 2005 |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
Pure Jerry: Warner Theatre, March 18, 1978 is a two-CD live album by the Jerry Garcia Band. It contains two complete concerts – the early and late shows performed on March 18, 1978, at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. The sixth in the Pure Jerry series of archival concert albums, it was released on August 9, 2005.
From November 1977 to November 1978, the lineup of the Jerry Garcia Band was the one featured on this recording — Jerry Garcia on guitar and vocals, Keith Godchaux on keyboards and vocals, Donna Jean Godchaux and Maria Muldaur on vocals, John Kahn on bass, and Buzz Buchanan on drums. Two other albums recorded by this same lineup are and Garcia Live Volume Four.
On Allmusic, Lindsay Planer said, "The JGB are hitting on all cylinders, as if this were Garcia's primary focus, rather than a side project. Perhaps one of the reasons they're so solid is that they were fresh from creating Cats Under the Stars... The sound quality is pristine, especially for tapes that were the better part of three decades old before being digitally restored. If not for the meticulous efforts of original on-location audio engineer Betty Cantor-Jackson — whose so-called 'Betty boards' are among the best live recordings of the era — archival anthologies like this one might not exist at all."
In The Music Box, John Metzger wrote, "Although there were moments during the concerts at the Warner Theatre when the ensemble struggled to find direction... the Jerry Garcia Band largely delivered a sturdy pair of sets. Despite the replacement of drummer Ron Tutt with relatively unknown percussionist Buzz Buchanan, the rhythm section was remarkably tight... Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Pure Jerry: Warner Theatre, March 18, 1978, however, is the manner in which it thoroughly highlights Garcia's relationship with pianist Keith Godchaux. Indeed, within the open terrain of the Jerry Garcia Band's sonic structure, the duo had an abundance of opportunity to interact, and in employing the intuition of musicians who were extraordinarily fluent in jazz, they frequently spurred one another into carrying the music to new heights."
On The Best Of Website, Barry Small said, "Much of [''Cats Under the Stars''] is vocal oriented and some songs are light on the guitar. This material is perfectly suited for this two-backup-singer lineup. As a result, some of this material never sounded better live.... There is quite a bit of excellent music packed onto these two discs. Superb sound quality."
Disc one
Early show:
Late show:
Disc two
Late show, continued: