Dead & Company 2019 Summer Tour

I wrote up a review of Dead & Company's latest summer tour for Weekend Wook, go check it out!

https://www.weekendwook.com/post/dead-co_summer19

Dave's Picks 31 (1979-12-03 & 1979-12-04)

     For the 31st of his Picks, David Lemieux has given us the first '79 show in the series, and only the second Brent show.  A lot of partial Fall '79 shows got released in the Road Trips series, and I wasn't sure if there were any full shows left, but Dave has found one in 12/3/79 from Chicago's Uptown Theatre!  Well actually he's found one and 1/6th of a show or so, with the inclusion of an incredible jam sequence from the next night at the same venue.  They did a couple different legs to their Fall tour that year, and these shows come from about the middle of the final leg before they returned home for their New Year's run in Oakland.

     I was a little underwhelmed the first time I listened to this, but upon subsequent revisits I've really come around on it.  Jerry certainly doesn't sound his healthiest, but what I at first mistook for sloppiness and lack of interest I now hear has inventive ways to play the same old songs.  Jerry was a musician who get bored with doing the same thing over and over, so he would change his approach to certain songs over time.  Lazy Lightning, Terrapin, and Franklin's all sounded off to me at first because I was expecting them to sound more like '78, but when I considered the temporal setting of these shows, I could appreciate the mastery of Garcia's playing a lot more; he just likes to keep us guessing!  I wouldn't call this my favorite Dave's Picks, but I definitely like it a lot in ways I didn't expect, and would have to put it pretty high up in the rankings of the Picks.  Now let's get into it in detail.

12/3/79

• Alabama Getaway >
• It takes a minute or so for the mix to equalize, but you can hear everyone clearly once it does.
• Only a month old at this point, Alabama Getaway was already a machine for churning out smoking hot leads.  Jerry and Brent trade some great lines, Brent sticking to the Rhodes instead of switching to the organ or playing his faux-pedal steel synth solo.
• Jerry even gets most of the words right!
•  Promised Land
• This combo eventually got worn out in much the same way Bertha > Good Lovin' did, but it sounds fresh here.  Nice smooth transition.
• Bobby singing and playing are great this whole release.
• Brent's organ sounds clear and full, really tears up his solo.
• Brown-Eyed Women
• I will say that '79 wasn't necessarily the best time for Jerry.  He did have his new Tiger guitar, which sounds amazing here, but his vocals were starting to get more mumbly and his solos weren't always as focused.  By the fourth pass at the solo section he's really into it, but the first couple sound like he's spacing out...but it could just be tech issues given the little burst of feedback.
• El Paso
• One thing that keeps throwing me off about this Pick is that they've cut out a lot of the ass-scratching that the band would normally do between songs.  I don't think this has been done on past Picks, though it definitely was done for a lot of the May '77 releases.  It's not a bad thing, especially if Bobby isn't even telling a joke, it just keeps catching me off guard; how's Jerry supposed to smoke a cig between songs with so little time??
• Anyway, this is a fairly standard version for the era.  Jerry's harmonies and accompanying leads make me think he must've just been having some tech issues during BEW, he sounds very focused and intent here.
• Ramble On Rose
• Jerry's voice sounds a little strained again, but his playing is precise.  He builds the solo up nicely, and the bridge feels big and powerful, as it should.
• Brent and Bobby's rhythms and counterparts fit perfectly, and the drummers are on top of everything tonight.  Phil is surprisingly low in the mix for the first set.  When I think '79 I think Big Phil; is it the mix, or is he just a bit restrained?
• It's All Over Now 
• The start of this one does feel very jarring without any tuning or chatter leading up to it, but if I didn't spend so much time listening to unedited recordings I probably wouldn't notice.
• A lot of pep on this one, and once again Brent's organ sounds fantastic.  He was fully integrated into the band at this point and it sounds like he's having one hell of a time.
• Jack-A-Roe
• I don't know if it's the band not clicking at first or the recording, but this one sounds a bit quiet and muddy to me.
• Solo doesn't burn any barns down, but instead feels kind of moody and bluesy.
• Lazy Lightning >
• Jerry's all over this one, fiery spiraling leads that are loose, but not quite sloppy.  It's like he's playing around the song instead of just playing it.  
• I keep saying it, but Brent's organ is perfect, especially for this pairing.  Keith's grand piano was always good here, but the organ is just so much more flexible in this weird time signature.  And it provides a nice backdrop for Jerry to spin circles over.
• Bobby mixes up the last couple lyrics, but this is still a definite highlight of the show.  Vocal rave at the end not quite as gnarly with Brent's early voice, but still good; he's just not belting it out like Donna, and his voice doesn't have that beautiful rasp quite yet.
• Supplication
• Phil still surprisingly low in the mix even during his Supplication intro.
• The tempo eases down a bit and the jam starts to spread out in weird directions.  The players try out little rhythms of their own that fit into Phil's basic pattern.  Jerry starts to amp it back up by hammering out the beat with some big chords, following them up with climbing licks leading into the verses.
• The outro jam is stretched out for some more hot leads from Jerry, this is great!
• Althea
• A few months old at this point, this Althea starts off pretty basic, not much fire in the first few solos, but by the end this space has definitely gotten hot *bdum-tsh*.
• One thing I've never noticed about these early versions is that they do the bridge twice.  They do the first three verses with small solos between each one, the bridge, a small but explosive solo, the final verse, a really big solo before vamping back into the bridge, then the final verse again and they close the song out.
• Music Never Stopped 
• This version rocks hard right from the start.  Phil's starting to step forward in the mix, the drummers are tight as ever, Bobby gets all the words right, and Jerry's still hot off that Althea energy.
• Brent's harmonies are still a little too smooth, but it's not like it sounds bad or anything.
• Even the spacier part of the jam has a lot of drive to it.  Phil, Bobby, and Brent all bounce around each other while Jerry storms down the middle.  Things get pretty chaotic with Bobby strumming off big fanfares and Jerry fluttering in fast arpeggios until it finally breaks into the second part of the jam and things get really crazy!  Jerry starts fanning and everyone builds up into a frenzy around him until Bobby finally brings it to a close.
• Scarlet Begonias >
• This song, and the set, start off with a bit of Bobby delay/echo effects that he dabbled with on and off in the seventies.  It feels a little plodding at first, Jerry seems to think the line is "scarlet begonias tucked into her shoes," and he skips the ever elusive "ain't nothing wrong with the way she moves" verse, but it all starts to click during the solo section.
• At one point it seems like the band are all a beat off from each other, but they pull it together like only the Dead can and Jerry proceeds to tear up the soundscape.  He plays like a madman, stringing together fat powerful chords with speedy runs and triplets.
• The outro jam is propelled by the drummers, with Mickey tapping away at his trusty cowbell, and the other players take a more laid back approach.  Jerry switches to a fuzzier tone, Bobby gets some of his delay effects going, and Big Phil comes out to play.  Things start to get real swirly and heady as the combined effects of pedals and the organ act together like a psychedelic cocktail.
• It really switches over to the Fire chords about ten minutes in, but the track doesn't change until Phil starts slamming his bass line.  In the meantime Bobby writes the chorus for Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" live on stage, truly an impressive display of multitasking.
• Fire On The Mountain >
• Phil gets sick of flirting with Fire and energetically busts into his classic lick.  Jerry does his intro lead shortly after, Mutron effects very ripply and wavy.  His singing on this is certainly not his best, but his mastery of the guitar coupled with his array of effects and pedals leads to some amazingly weird music. 
• Jerry gets a solid B for a vocal score; he remembers most of the words but doesn't sing them very confidently.  Between you and me, I think that guy might have been a little high.
• There is an audience recording (~50 seconds) patched into the end of the first solo that goes into the second verse, and while the switch to the Aud is actually pretty smooth, there's a beat dropped when the soundboard kicks back in which is distracting...until you forget about it and listen to the rest of the song.
• Huge melts left and right, Jerry must cycle through just about every possible tone he has.  During the second solo section he drops into a rhythm role and Brent gets to do some quiet little leads of his own.  Bobby seems to think they're losing direction and tries to ripcord them back to the final verse, but quickly realizes they're having a Moment and joins in.  Jerry takes back over, playing more speedy butterfly arpeggios.  The final jam is a showcase of wild drums, thumping bass, and bright chords, then a smooth slide into the Scarlet ending.
• Samson & Delilah 
• This one starts out kind of rough, Jerry again sounds like he's having some tech issues since it takes him a while to get back up in the mix.  Once he's in he goes right back to those blistering fast arpeggios, something that's really a hallmark of this era.  I think he got bored of playing these songs as straight as he had been, and was trying to find new ways to play the same old songs.
• Time for more Brent Talk: this song was made for the organ, and Brent was made to play the organ, so clearly this song was made for Brent to play.  It's just logic.
• Ending of the song goes off without a hitch, neither of the drummers feel compelled to yell at anyone for screwing up.
• Terrapin Station >
• This one starts off pretty helter skelter, but once Jerry starts singing they bring it together.
• As part of Jerry's switching up how he played the songs, the Terrapins from this tour usually featured a double dip on the solo section, and this one is thankfully no different.  The first solo follows the same basic pattern as earlier versions, but he stretches the song out a bit on the second one, showing just how flexible he can be.
• The Starlight Jam gets far out in a nice soft way, Brent's plinking on the Rhodes really putting the "star" in starlight.  From the clouds Jerry emerges with the return riff and shifts them into the Lady With a Fan section.
• Jerry's voice starts sounding scratchy (though emotive) by the end of the lyrics, but his playing in the outro jam more than makes up for it.  He plays just about everything except the basic riff, while Phil and the others balance between playing the key notes and improvising with Jer.  The drummers stay right on top of every curveball they get thrown, nothing gets by them.
• I can't help but think that this recording doesn't do Phil justice.  His rumble just doesn't come through as well as it does in other contemporary recordings.  To be fair, a lot of those others have what some might call "too much Phil," but that sounds like nonsense to me and I'm offended you brought it up.
• Playing In The Band >
• Very easy transition into Playin', at a pretty good speed too.  They speed through the vocals and complicated changes without missing a beat, ease right into the lighter part of the jam on the opening theme.  Brent's organ works around Bobby's playing while Jerry gets his filters and pedals appropriately adjusted so he can take over and make things super weird.
• Phil stays right alongside Jerry through the jam, playing under him while somehow also emphasizing the beats that Mickey keeps accenting.  Brent steers the jam at first on organ, leaning into wide open shifting chords, the rest of the band swaying along to stay in the range he's prescribing.  Eventually though Jerry gets an idea that he can't shake, followed by another, then another, and he just has to take over, and Brent shifts into a dark Rhodesy mood.
• Something that our fearless Canadian Archivist mentioned in his Seaside Chat was that while this isn't a particularly long version of the song (just over 11 minutes), it still feels like it has many distinct episodes or incidents within it.
• Drums >
• The jam fizzles down to nothing and Billy and Mickey take over.
• This is a very active Drums, though it's hard to say exactly what's happening without seeing it.  You can tell there's a wide variety of percussion instruments being played, but I sure don't know what they all are.  You can certainly hear the Beast in action, and there's a bit of droning though I don't think it's from the early Beam.  Things sound like they're settling down into Space territory when that droning kicks in, sounds like some hand drum work, but then they get back on the big drums and they get rambunctious again before the rest of the band comes back.
• Space >
• Space starts suddenly, almost like they already had a song playing in their heads when they walked on stage and they're just letting us in as its happening.  Bob and Brent seem to have Lost Sailor on the brain right away, but Jerry seems more content to think about it for a sec, going into a Mutron filled solo space before tapering off, allowing Phil and Brent to lay the ground for Bobby to start Sailor.
• Lost Sailor >
• There's a little confusion at first between Jer and Bob, maybe just shell shocked from Phil's thunder, but it's quickly resolved and Bobby jumps right into the lyrics before there's any time for anyone to get lost.  It's ~smooth sailing~ from there.
• Honestly these early versions are some of my favorites, it's so new that the band must actually still be rehearsing it occasionally, so it feels very crisp and (almost) seamless.  And Mickey doesn't even sound like he's sick of it yet!
• Saint Of Circumstance >
• This song, and this version in particular, meshes perfectly with Jerry's new speedy *sniff* approach to playing.
• Bobby sings some of the earlier lyrics, but the song was pretty close to being at its complete form by now.  He also blows a line or *sniff sniff*, but the song is very tight and strong.
• The jam has a nice frantic build up to it, I just wish it was a bit longer.  Bobby skips his "I never know!" rave up before the "sure don't know" refrain, and it feels like awkward vamping for a couple bars.  But the refrain is strong and fun.
• Wharf Rat >
• Saint ends in peals of feedback before Jerry starts up the Wharf Rat chords, not real jam into it.  This version could be described as glacial, though it has some pretty moments.
• Things come so close to falling apart at every second in the bridge, I think it's just too slow for Jerry to play and sing at the same time, he keeps coming in too early.  Or he's doing it on purpose and was planing on holding the notes longer...but if that's the case, the rest of the band sure aren't ready for it, and at the very end Brent sounds totally lost.  Shockingly though it never truly falls apart, and they still go into the "fly away" verse all together!  These fucking guys.
• Both of Jerry's solos in the back half of the song absolutely soar, especially the second one.  There's not much to say about it beyond that, you just gotta listen to it.
• At the end of his solo he starts teasing towards something and Bobby joins in.  It sounds Other One-ish to me at first, but then Jerry hits a few notes that are definitely closer to Truckin', and the drummers do a neat little turnaround that allows the rest of the band to start the song.
• Truckin'
• A rare set closer, probably because they never know how to end it, but a good way to end on a high note.
• Pretty high tempo, Bobby gets all the words right, and the band sounds on fire, so it's a pretty goddam great version.  And the chorus sounds so good with an organ!
• The jam gets pretty far out and again it starts to sound like they're going into the Other One, but instead Jerry steers them into a Truckin' frenzy with a big release, before everyone awkwardly drops out while Jer plays some big final notes and everyone jumps on the bandwagon to bring the song to a close.
• Johnny B. Goode
• The recording starts a bit quieter here, and goes through a couple of mix changes, but it still sounds clear.
• A solid, hard rocking version to wrap up an excellent show.

12/4/79

• Estimated Prophet >
• This unusual sequence starts in the middle of the next night's second set, right after China > Rider and Looks Like Rain.
• Nice balance of Rhodes and synth from Brent on this one.
• Exciting solo section, even if it doesn't end quite together.  A lot of high peaks and squawking mutron tones.
• Once Bobby's done "nah nah"ing Brent gets his own little solo while Jerry hangs back, maybe tuning, probably lighting a cigarette.  Things get pretty far from the basic Estimated starting point, and it starts to sound a lot like they're about to make the typical switch to Eyes...
• Franklin's Tower >
• And in fact it sounds like some of the band is expecting that too, but Jerry makes it very clear that he wants to play Franklin's instead!  In my opinion it's a bit of a step down, but I'm always a fan of changing the formula.
• The majority of this Franklin's is pretty typical for the era, long solos between each verse, and about a B+ for Jerry remembering the lyrics.  Brent and Bobby keep doing weird little "huh"s after Jerry's lines in the chorus.
• Jam
• After the final verse and chorus, instead of doing a solo then the chorus again they take a hard left turn into a totally unique jam.  It starts of very bright from the residual Franklin's energy, but Jerry slowly takes it away from that bounce into a slightly more funky and driven direction.  Brent starts playing some backing chords that almost make it feel like they're going into a Mind Left Body Jam, but it stays in a fun disco zone.
• The whole jam is about ten minutes long, and things quiet down about 4 minutes in.  It doesn't lose any energy though, it's just a shift in the dynamic that draws the listener in.  Things keep getting close to a dark jam, but they never quite drop into those evil realms, mostly staying happy and pretty.
• Brent gets on what I've always called his Funk Machine at one point, some kind of squonky, wonky synth tone that he used in a lot of Dancin's in this era.  Feels really cool here in this totally free form territory.
• Things start to melt down as Bobby starts making weird slide noises and the rest of the band starts playing seemingly random beats and notes, and the tape fades out as the drummers take over.  What a jam!

Dead & Company 2019-06-22 Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA

     On the second day of Summer, Dead & Company played the 12th show of their Summer Tour.  Due to my own schedule and the (small) tour's schedule, this was the only show I could make; no pressure at all, right?  Foxboro is always a bit of a hassle to get to, and this is probably (I'm not checking) the biggest venue the band has played, so between travel worries, crowd anxiety, and first show shakes, there was a lot of tension in the air.  Especially given the surprise change in weather that led to rain and thunder on the way to the stadium!  But when my folks and I finally did get situated in the lot and met up with some friends, all those worries seemed to blow away with the clouds.  We had to get to Will Call to clear up some ticket confusion, which meant we got to hear the band soundcheck Big Railroad Blues, Help On the Way > Slipknot!, Friend of the Devil, and Black Throated Wind.  Some people claimed to have heard Box of Rain soundchecked as well!  We got our tickets, made it through the line, and got spots right in front of the soundboard with plenty of time to spare.  We wandered around, checked out merch, met and made friends, and all made it back to our spots ready for the show to start.

First Set

• Eyes Of The World > (BW)
• I've been following along with the tour through streams and recordings, and should have known to expect a strange opener.  They've been opening shows with Other Ones, Terrapins, and the like, but this one caught me off guard!
• It started off with a relaxed vibe.  A bit of vamping before the first verse, and then John took a very summery solo.  Not a lot of shredding, just easy, smooth licks, not so much soloing as plucking a string of notes from the air.
• And that was nice, but then it was Jeff's turn to solo...or so we thought.  Really it was a duo between Jeff and John, which at first irked me because Jeff deserves his own solo, but it was still the high point of the song.  Jeff and John would trade leads, Jeff taking the first part and leading John where he wanted him to go, then countering in the other direction.  This made for some amazing interactions between the band as they followed one leader or the other.
• After the final verse Oteil got his normal solo.  He got a new bass this tour, the body of which is a giant purple ankh, with a smaller ankh on the octave frets.  I had only heard it digitally up until now, and was impressed by what I heard, but seeing and feeling it live was another thing.  It rings like a bell on the higher end, rumbles deep and low on the bottom end, and has such clean sound across the whole sonic spectrum.  It was a bit shorter than some of his other solos (I mean it was the show opener, how much can you expect?), but still an incredible listening experience.  When he was done they brought the song back to a one chord vamp like at the beginning, and then went through a closing sequence that Jeff first started leading back at Fenway in '17.
• Deal (JM)
• They've done Eyes > Deal quite a lot in the last few years, but here in the first set it made a bit more sense to me.
• They did pause for a small beat before starting up Deal, but it does feel like a > situation.
• You've probably heard me complain of getting enough Deals in the past, but this one really was fun.  John did an excellent job leading the band through peaks and valleys in the various solos, and Jeff got to shine on the organ.
• Black Throated Wind (BW)
• Ok, one soundcheck song down!
• I love this song so much, and have been itching to see this band play it, but this version did feel a little plodding to me.  John seemed to have some tech troubles at first, and never really took off.
• And I have to say, Bobby (or his manager) must have been trying to troll the New England crowd.  The Bruins had just lost the Stanley Cup to the St. Louis Blues, and here was Bobby singing in MA the only Dead song with St. Louis in it, and throwing in additional "blues" references no less!  Well we all caught on to him and you could hear the crowd reacting for a good while afterwards.
• Easy Wind (JM)
• A first for me!
• John started playing Big Boss Man at first, but the band all stared at him until he realized he was wrong, looked at the setlist, and said "Ok, different song...same key," and kicked this one off instead.
• Unfortunately short, but they've had some troubles with it in the past, so maybe it was for the best.  As it was, John really made it his own vocally, and the solo he played was still hot, even if we all could have stood for another minute or 4 of it.
• Loser (BW)
• Two dark bluesy songs paired together, more or less successfully.
• This one was a little shaky up until the solo.  I think the drummers got lost or distracted, and tried to end the song after the first "got no chance of losing," maybe because Bobby had come in early just before?
• Either way, John saved it all in the solo section.  He started off restrained, but really took over and brought the house down by the third rotation.  He approached it a little like Jerry circa '78, really high on the neck and bending the notes, but ended with a fast barrage of spiraled leads.
• Big Railroad Blues (JM)
• Another soundcheck down, and a real highlight of the set.  Some smoking leads from John and Jeff, and at a great tempo!
• Bird Song > (BW& JM)
• I've seen a few of these, but this one really caught me off guard.  The intro, while obviously Birdish, felt like it could have gone into Jack Straw, He's Gone, or maybe an Allman Bros song.
• Jeff and Oteil provided excellent counterpoints and embellishments throughout the lyrics.
• The jam after the verses had Mickey on the Beam, and started off in the typical Bird Song way, but soon turned went in a whole new direction that sounded exactly like Loose Lucy and New Speedway at the same time.  I'm still shocked it didn't turn into one of those, especially the way Jeff was leaning into them.
• Instead, John went into total Mayer Mode, ripping off bluesy leads while Jeff, Bobby, and Oteil led the drummers back towards Bird territory gradually.  Through telepathic architecture they brought it back to the perfect launching point for the reentry into the chorus.
• The other versions this tour have featured a huge second jam before finishing the lyrics off, but instead this one drifted off into silence before John launched them into...
• Box Of Rain (JM)
• I had forgotten to tell my dad about this being soundchecked, and he was thrilled.  At least up until the trainwreck; then he was thrilled and entertained!
• First John forgot a verse, then Bob pitched in to remind him of what it was.  This seemed to throw John off for the next verse, but when he tried to skip ahead to where he thought the band was, the band had reverted to vamping for him to start the entire verse over.  At that point John threw his hands in the air to call the whole thing off, but the band kept rotating to see if he wanted to give it another shot, and then they all just called it quits.  Bobby gave a quick count off and they started the whole song over, Bobby stepping to the mic and saying "Take two!"
• John forgot one of the same verses, but the train kept rolling this time and it turned into a great version of the song!  They hadn't done it since 2016, and it's a damned complicated song, so you can't really blame them for getting it a bit off.
• They jammed out the end of the solo a little bit like Phil does, with some fireworks from John, but mostly played it a lot like the album version.  Bobby provided some nice, if sometimes questionable, harmonies and backups.
• We had gotten a bit of rain when we first got into the stadium, and the wind had been blowing all day, so between the "box of rain," "wind and water," "sun and shower," "wind and rain" lines and the "words have twisted and thoughts unclear" lines, it all felt very appropriate.

     I think the original plan was probably to have gone back into Bird Song, but instead this wound up the set.  The crowd had really filled in by now, so I stayed rooted in place while my dad ventured out for bathrooms and drinks.  The venue staff had been very chill all night, and there was just one lady with a headset wandering from one smoke cloud to another telling people they couldn't smoke, then walking away before they had put it out.  We had lucked out with our neighbors, and everyone was having a good time.  A friend of mine was at the show hoping for her first Dark Star, which hadn't been played for a while.  Would she finally get one??  Well the lights went down and we soon got our answer.

Second Set

• Help On The Way > (JM)
• Even if I hadn't heard the soundcheck, this was obviously what they were tuning up to.  Right when Bobby was counting off I muttered "Help on the Way..." and when they hit those opening chords the guy in front of me lost his shit!
• This set the tone for the rest of the night: they were gonna play the best show they could play, and we were gonna have to dance to not get knocked off our feet.
• John's solo was a little more laid back than previous performances I've seen of the song, but it was still engaging, especially with the rest of the band feeding him their own ideas for him to bounce off of and run around.  Jeff's Rhodes sounded amazing, very clear and splashy.
• The transition into Slip! was played so perfectly I could have cried, they were clearly firing on all cylinders.
• Slipknot!
• The Slip Riffs were equally perfect, and felt simultaneously organic and mechanized, like the band was some kind of techno-organic force churning out these sounds.
• John wasted no time laying into the jam, rocketing the band into far out territory.  Jeff and Bobby sat back a little to provide atmospheric whispers and current, while Oteil followed right under John's part.
• While this didn't really leave typical Slip! territory, it sure did explore every corner of it before they were done.  John and Jeff, who have been next to each other on stage for about a tour and a half, started building each other up as they approached the Slip Cord until Bobby was finally ready to slide into it.  I thought they might have gone into it a bit early, but it ended up being as perfect as the rest of the song.  Oteil delivered a ground shaking bass bomb right at the end.
• There may have been a wrong note in the fast ascending section of the Slip Riffs, but all of the timings were still just exactly perfect.
• Franklin's Tower > (JM)
• Even though they had soundchecked Franklin's, I was expecting them to throw us a curve ball here.  Oh well!
• John kicked it off with a little "Eyy!" and the whole stadium was bouncing and dancing.
• This version felt a little thin and rough to me at first, especially when Jeff wasn't given time to really grow his solo.  But right after that he and John worked together again to make things a little raucous.
• In the quiet section before the final verse, John totally took over and created his own little minijam that brought this performance from average to awesome.  The crowd was going nuts as he built up from a simple riff to what felt like a whole other song, before he led the band back to the lyrics.
• Instead of coming back to the closing riff from Slipknot!, Bobby counted them off into...
• He's Gone > (BW & JM)
• Amazing set so far, but our Dark Star hopes were dwindling!  "Maaaaaybe they could go into Dark Star, but it's a long shot," we said to each other.
• Not that we were complaining, this was an excellent version.  It's always been a slower song, and this one felt particularly slow, but not in a lazy or sloppy way.  Each note dripped with intention and focus, and the solo really took off.  Bobby has a new guitar this tour that sounds great, but he was playing our favorite green guitar during this song to great effect.
• The outro jam wasn't very long, and for about 30 seconds I was sure Bobby was starting up Easy Answers, a song I would like to hear but is a far shot from Dark Star.  But then Jeff played some unmistakable notes and led the band into a sloppy intro to
• Dark Star > (BW)
• IT HAPPENED!  The crowd picked up on it during the intro, and drowned out the slightly flubbed riffs, but then Bobby settled into his main holding pattern and the others locked into sync around him, Mickey getting the Beam droning; I'm not trying to knock Mickey's drumming, but this band seems to jam best when he's got the Beam doing its thing and Billy handles the actual drums of it all.  Remember, the original Dark Stars had barely an percussion in them until mid '69!
• This at first followed the outline they've been doing since last year: a jam on the main theme, an instrumental take on the lyrics section, some more theme, and then the verse.  But even in this relatively formulaic part of the song, Bobby surprised us by jumping into the lyrics before the theme had really settled, instead coming out of seemingly nowhere.  Jeff provided some mind bending reinterpretations of the old organ riff that Pigpen and TC used to play.
• And then magic happened.  I have often faulted this band, especially John, for seeming uncomfortable in formless jams, but tonight they made me eat my words.  In the past they never drifted too far from the theme even between verses, but this time it was like they had an agreement that no one would play remotely near the theme.  Instead they proceeded to get weirder than I've ever seen them get, live or recorded.  Jeff and Oteil provided forms or absences thereof that Bobby and John would pick up on or let pass by, depending how they felt.  Mayer too contributed many ideas to the mix, leading to a Dark Star that was dense and weird, but manically danceable.
• Then suddenly, out of the chaos, Bobby started singing the second verse!  This was done kind of like how he's been doing The Other One, with big gaps between the lyrics for the band to fall back into chaos before singing the next line.  This felt very JRAD-y, and maybe confused Bob a bit, but ultimately was very cool.  They locked back into sync to finish the lyrics, and then went off on their "Nightfall of Diamonds" jam/refrain.  This jam is in 12/4 time, and even before they started playing The Eleven last year, I've always thought that was the logical destination.  Unfortunately no Eleven tonight, just a spritely jam that drifted off into nothingness as Billy and Mickey got in position.
• *Editor’s Note: David’s friend Dreamflower was at peak face-stolen bliss. Her entire section hugged and high-fived her on hearing her first live Dark Star, and she lived happily ever after*
• Drums >
• This could be the best Drums I've seen live.  Oteil joined in as always, and Mickey set some rhythms looping from his Beam computer, and then the three of them crafted some very compelling polyrhythms on the actual drums.  I know a lot of people will excuse the drummers for their sloppiness by saying that they're actually just playing complicated rhythms that sound sloppy to the untrained ear, but these felt intentional and well executed.
• They had a cam right on one of the center drums that turned into a very intimate Oteil cam on the Jumbotrons.
• Space >
• Eventually Mickey gave that Beam a whack, and Billy and Oteil ran for cover.  I've seen Mickey kick, lick, and assault the Beam before, but tonight was the loudest and deepest I've ever felt it.  He would pluck a low string, then play the others with a bow, and this would create a giant harmonic frequency that could be felt in every bone of my body.
• Eventually he even blew a speaker in the top left stack!  They eventually cut the feed to that one I think, because it stopped once the rest of the band came out.  On the soundboard you can't feel the real resonance of the Beam, but you can sure hear that casualty crackle.
• Mickey left with a mischievous grin on his face as the others returned for their half of Space.  They played a very light and empty kind of a jam, Oteil sitting down and running his arms up and down his bass while Bobby took most of the directional work.
• John quoted something that I swear I've heard him quote before, but I just can't place what it's from.  It sounds like something from a sci-fi show or movie, but I can't place it for the life of me.  If you have the soundboard recording, listen to Space from 2:00-2:20  and tell me what you think.
• Stella Blue > (BW)
• Eventually the jam wound up to a perfect jumping off point for them st start up a beautiful Stella.  It started a little shaky, but they locked it down almost immediately.
• While I would love to hear Oteil sing this one, Bobby still does a great job on it.
• Like with He's Gone, this slow song felt very full and alive, not a dirge or a drag at all.  John's solo really shines too, very piercing and heartfelt.
• The outro jam takes off nicely for a while before drifting back down to a mellow melody.
• Not Fade Away > (ALL)
•  Bobby starts up the unmistakable Bo Diddly riff, and everyone who had been blissing out got down to boogie.  Some people had left already (cowards) so there was more room than ever to cut a rug...or a piece of plastic or metal, take your pick.
• Hot leads between verses, and then right when it seemed like they were going to wrap it up into a short version, they instead shifted into the classic follow-up.
• Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > (ALL)
• Honestly I think this is the first time they've paired these two?  It was certainly the first time I've seen them paired, so I was thrilled.
• Probably not the best version I've seen, but it was one of the few times Oteil got a lead tonight, so we all cherished it for that at least.  John and Jeff did have some good back and forth too.
• Not Fade Away > (ALL)
• No real jam back into this like back in the seventies, instead it just wound down until they started up the NFA beat again.
•  Bobby took a short little Wolf Bros-esque solo on the way back to the lyrics that sounded great, John providing shredding backing rhythm.
• Encore: The Weight 
• I figured we would get something soulful for the encore, but was expecting something more like Brokedown.  This was a pleasant surprise!
• Their arrangement of the song is great, very deliberate and mellow with a bit of an island groove.  John even took a little solo before the final verse!
• Everyone but the drummers got their own verse of the song, and the crowd (predictably) went nuts for Jeff singing.  He has a strong, gravelly voice that I feel could easily be put to a Brent song or two, but I'll take what I can get.  Everyone loved Oteil's verse too, but I felt a little bummed out that he didn't get to do a full song of his own this night.
• The song ended with a little call and response of "put your load" between Bobby and the crowd, which I've heard fall apart on other recordings, but worked great here, it felt cathartic.

     And that was it.  The band took their bows and departed, and suddenly we were bathed in the blinding stadium lights.  We were surprised to not hear One More Saturday Night, but we were in no position to complain about what we had just received.  This was one of the most amazing shows I've seen live, and I'm going to be listening back to it for a long time.  The first set had some hiccups, but the entire show was filled with top notch playing and surprising twists that kept everyone on their toes, onstage and off.  The crowd leaving seemed so content on the way out, and the lot was surprisingly quiet.  Everyone seemed to have burned up their energy at the show, and was just looking to get home comfortably.  I wish I was seeing more shows this tour, but if I was to see any of them, it would have to be this one.

Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival (Ft. Phil Lesh), Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion, Bangor, ME, 2019-06-14

     Summer's here, and while everyone is focused on the Summer Tours of Dead & Company and Phish (more on those in the coming weeks), Phil Lesh is going on a mini tour of his own as part of Willie Nelson's traveling Outlaw Music Festival.  It's a rotating lineup, and this Friday he played in Bangor before moving on to Mountain Jam and then Connecticut.  We caught the Bangor show, since we have a place to stay with some family nearby, and what a show it was.  I'm mostly gonna focus on Phil since this is nominally a Dead blog, but the other acts were nothing to sneeze at!

     The venue is right between Main Street and the Penobscot River, which is a little weird, but also pretty cool when Phil plays Brokedown by the waterside (spoilers).  The stage faces a local bank's headquarters, and as the music started we could see them pulling down the shades and leaving for the day; hopefully a few of them came over for the music! Getting in was pretty easy, metal detectors in place but as long as you held everything in the air they didn't really care what you were holding.  I've been told that weed is legal in Maine, and this was a Willie Nelson concert, but the local cops all looked pretty suspicious of the crowd.  Maybe that was just because it was such a weird mix of people; local country fans, Heads from Canada, general music fans looking for an eclectic Friday in June, geriatrics hoping to find youth in Willie, and local kids hoping to see something cool.  It doesn't feel like it's meant to really operate at full capacity, but all in all everythingwent as well as could be expected, and it started out as a beautiful afternoon.

     We got down to our seats in the 7th row, and had some room to move down under a huge speaker stack right as Particle Kid was opening the show up.  Particle Kid was a weird act, featuring Micah Nelson (one of Willie's sons) on guitar with a drummer, a bass, and a guy who would wander on stage in a space helmet.  I would describe them as...Noise Grunge?  But with laser sound effects on the guitar and some looping sound textures.  They were definitely the loudest act of the night, which at first didn't mix well with the jitters of going into a concert, but by the end I was really enjoying them!  The elderly audience members didn't know what to think.  Following them was Lukas Nelson (Willie's other son) & the Promise of the Real.  Micah came out for this act too, and he and the bass player really clicked; at one point Lukas went to look at his bassist, and when he wasn't in his normal spot he looked over and found him and Micah terrorizing the drummer up on the edge of his riser.  They played some great pseudo-Southern Rock, with a little bit of jamminess here and there, a total crowd pleaser.

     The next act up was the Revivalists, who are on the poppier side of Alt Rock by my accounting.  They seemed fine, but now it's time for a digression.  We had eaten before going in, but I was feeling a bit peckish a few songs into their set so I went to grab a hot dog.  Easy, right?  Right??  Instead I spent the whole set waiting in line, marveling at how a modern music venue could handle crowds of people so poorly.  There were only portapotties for facilities (which were labeled with gender icons that got ripped off as the day went on), one place to get food, and huge lines impeding the flow of foot traffic everywhere you looked.  I made friends with some folks from Canada who I promised I would stop for Krispy Kreme on my way back to Boston, and I'm sorry to say I definitely lied to them (so sorry if you're reading this!), then eventually got back to the seats before Alison Krauss's set.

     Alison Krauss is a national treasure and everyone should listen to her.  Her voice is perfect, and she really knows how to put a band. together  One thing I was thinking about some of the earlier acts is that they don't really have control over the sound of their music; everything's turned up, and everyone's playing great, but it can all get lost in translation from stage to speaker.  Alison Krauss though (and Phil and Willie) has been around the block a few times and knows how to carve a song into the air in a way that lets every instrument and voice find its own space to be heard.  The set was a bit sleepy, and some of the folks who were too drunk or took their drugs too early were getting restless, but it was just so beautiful, especially with the sun starting to descend into some of the first clouds of the afternoon.

     The next act was Phil, and the Heads were starting to stand up, stretch, and otherwise make their presence known.  I didn't see the staff hassle anyone for milling about or smoking or vaping, they were mostly keeping folks from sneaking into the very front row and blocking the exits.  Phil took a bit to set up; Alison had a whole stage set-up involving fake windows and a street lamp that needed removal.  We hadn't known the lineup going into this, and were hoping for Jorma Kaukonen to join him, since he had just played with him at the Capitol Theatre, and was playing with him the next night, but instead we got: Grahame Lesh, Ross James, and Alex Koford, all on guitar and vocals; Rob Barraco, keyboard and vocals, Eliott Peck, vocals, John Molo, vapes and drums.  This is kind of a half and half of the Terrapin Family Band and the lineup Phil was playing with at the Cap and Mountain Jam, and it was awesome!  I got the feeling that they hadn't rehearsed too much, but they really didn't need to, every one of them has been playing this music with Phil for so long that they know the music better than almost anyone.  After Phil got his computers set to the appropriate settings the rest of the band came on, and it was showtime!  As of the time of writing there are no recordings of this show out, so I'm going from memory here.

• Jam >
• This wasn't exactly a jam, mostly just Ross James getting the band ready to play some blistering rock 'n roll.  Phil was looking excited, maybe he had been hanging with Willie backstage?
• New Minglewood Blues (RJ)
• The straight folks in the audience were looking a bit nervous about all this talk of stealing women and seducing the sheriff's daughter, but everyone else was dancing immediately.  Ross James has always been a bit of a talk-singer, which works great in blues songs, but his real strength is his guitar playing.  He and Grahame took most of leads this night, but Ross' were the ones that got the biggest crowd reactions.
• Instead of the the "couple shots of whiskey line" he sang something else that I can't...quite...remember...but it sounded great!
• Jack Straw (RJ & GL)
• This seemed like the perfect song for this crowd: an easier tempo, a little bit of country licks thrown in, some jams, and some hot leads.
• They really eased into this one, showing how comfortable they were as a band.  I couldn't really see Barraco from where we were, but the rest of the band was trading smiles all night.  Elliott came out for this one and heped round out the vocals.  She's part of Grahame's band, Midnight North, and while I'm not sure on her official status as a member of the Family Band, I certainly would hope to see her with Phil as often as possible.
• The "eagles fill the sky" line got some extra cheers due to an earlier bald eagle flying overhead, wondering who all these hippies were that were scaring away its prey.
• As is typical at this point in Dead music, this song was stretched out a bit more between verses, especially right before the "gotta go to Tulsa" line.  Ross really led this one as far as when they would jam and when they wouldn't, and he and Grahame brought it to a triumphant finish that involved a lot of fist pumping from the crowd...or maybe just me.
• Box Of Rain (PL)
• There had been a few people yelling "let Phil sing!" after Jack Straw, and while I don't think they determined this, Phil did follow it up with Box of Rain.  A few people (me and the heady couple in front of me) muttered "careful what you wish for," but Phil was singing great this night.  He did seem to forget a few words (smoking weed with Willie will do that to ya), but the lines he did sing rang true.
• They stretched this one out a bit after the solo section, like Phil normally does.  It didn't grow any teeth or get feedbacky at all, but instead made for some nice early summer cloud watching.
• Ramble On Rose (AK)
• Elliott came back out for this one, but it was Alex's turn to take a lead vocal.  He did some great work in the jams, but spent most of this night playing rhythm and singing harmonies.  He emoted really well here, and got some of the sitters to stand up and dance a bit.
• Ross and Grahame traded some amazing leads here, and Phil was loving it.  The Moon, not quite full, was peeking out behind the increasing clouds on our side of the stage by this point, making for an even more beautiful evening.
• Music Never Stopped (RJ & EP)
• This brought some much needed funk to the night, probably the most dancing in the crowd of the whole show.  They really jammed out the opening of the song too, which is a nice twist.
• Elliott handled Donna's parts with so much gusto the chick in front of me turned around to the elderly couple sitting next to me and yelled in their faces "SHE'S DOING THE DONNA PART!"  This couple had exhibited some Maine feistiness towards other exuberant folks throughout the night, but were at a loss as how to how to react to this exclamation and just slowly nodded.
• The first part of them unfolded nicely, mostly led by Grahame this time, but Barraco was providing excellent counterparts.  The shift into the second phase of the jam was the only rough spot of the set, and they recovered by letting Ross just shred his guitar to pieces until they brought the song to a close.
• Jam >
• At a typical Dead show I think most of the crowd would have known where this jam was going from the first 30 seconds, but it seemed like a lot of these people took at least that long to realize this wasn't just a tuning exercise.
• The Wheel (ALL)
• Ross started this one on a pedal steel, which I didn't know he played!  He switched back to his regular guitar halfway through, but I wish he had stayed on it more.
• Again, this one never really got scary or too far out, mostly staying adjacent to the usual theme in happier jams.  In classic Phil style, each verse was separated by another jam, instead of just going through them all at once.  They all forgot to repeat the "won't you try" refrain at one point and Phil cracked up; how do I get me some of that Willie weed?
• There had been no segue jams between the songs up this point, and I thought for sure this would be the song to break that trend, but no.  Instead they neatly wound it down into nothingness and stood back from their mics for a bit.
• Jam >
• The band engaged in some scheming and planning at this point, and then Barraco led them into a kind of Russian waltz kind of jam that everyone in the know could tell was leading into...
• Help On The Way > (RB)
• Barraco had contributed some great backup vocals so far, and I was surprised this was the only song he got to sing lead on.
• Even if this wasn't one of my very favorite songs, this still would've been the highlight of the night for me.  They were on fire at this point, and the musicians were shooting sparks off left and right.  It's not like there was a different arrangement or anything, the band was just so in tune to each other that any little accent or omission was carried out by the whole group.
• Grahame's solo might have been the best I've ever seen him play.  I thought each player would get one shot at the solo section, but instead Grahame just took it twice himself, and hot damn was it fire!
• Slipknot! >
• There seemed to be a little flub in the transition section leading to the Slip Riff, but the band hurdled over it and nailed the riffs.  Molo got to do the only real solo drum work of the whole show in the spaces between riffs, and then they finally went into a jam that got a little scary.  There was a lot of clanging chords and shredding lines, all while Phil boomed and swooped around the soundscape.  Grahame and Ross locked eyes right at the start and didn't stop looking at each other/shredding guitar in each other's faces until eventually the jam morphed into the Slip Cord and they made their way back to what we assumed was going to be the Slip Riff again.
• I Know You Rider (ALL)
• But instead, they drifted off into space until Phil started up a solid choogle that could have ended up in GDTRFB or Deal, but I correctly called as Rider.
• Not the most jammed out version of the song, I think due to time restrictions, but the band still played confidently.
• It had started to rain lightly sometime in Slip, so the "cool Colorado rain" line got some attention from the folks who didn't even know Jerry used to sing it.
• Brokedown Palace (EP)
• Elliott sang her heart out on this closing number, putting a soulful little bow on this festival set.
• Like I teased at the beginning, hearing this by a river really hit home, as cheesy as that sounds.  It wasn't just the lyrics and being next to a river though, it was the whole package of the performance; Barraco had finally moved over to the organ, the rain was clearing, and we were in the middle of a happy crowd; what could we do but enjoy it!

     That was it for Phil.  It looked like he was going to deliver a mini Donor Rap at the end, but instead walked off with the rest of the band.  My first Phil show with no Donor Rap??  We hung out for a bit waiting for Willie, with small rain showers coming and going the rest of the night.  He had a Donor Rap of his own, but it was about rescuing wild horses, which also seems noble.  He eventually came out, backed by a band that included both his sons, his sister, and some guys that I'm told are regulars.  The crowd was mostly standing for this one, and finally the smell of weed and vapes was freely blowing in the wind.  He played some favorites (Mamas, Don't Let Your Baby's Grow Up To Be Cowboys probably got the biggest sing-along) and some new songs, and everyone had a great time.  Lucas was his lead guitar and back-up singer, and certainly had his hands full, but everything seemed so relaxed and fun!

     He finished up with some time to spare before curfew, but that was it for the night.  I thought getting out of there would be a nightmare, but we were able to just walk right out and get back to the parking garage, then drive off into the clearing mist.

Dave's Picks 30 (1970-01-02 & 1970-01-03)

     2019 is flying by, we're already on to the second Dave's Picks of the year!  The second one is always the biggest, because it comes along with a bonus disc, meaning we get two (almost) complete concerts, this time from the beginning of 1970.  As Dave has pointed out in his most recent Seaside Chat, the Dead really didn't take any time off for the holidays, going from playing New Years in Boston to playing in NYC at the Fillmore East just two nights later.  I'll admit I was a little disappointed when this release first got announced, since this makes for the 6th and 7th shows in the Dave's Picks series from December '69 to February '70, but I soon came around to the idea when I remembered just how good the other Picks were.

     The songs are kind of oddly arranged (not to mention the inexplicable track listings like "Cosmic KeithFan") on the discs.  1/2/70 takes up all of the first disc, and most of the second, but then after Monkey & The Engineer it switches over to 1/3/70.  The third disc is the rest of 1/2, and then the bonus disc is the rest of 1/3.  It makes more sense as far as fitting an hour plus of Live/Dead material on one disc, but is a little jarring when you aren't paying attention.  1/3 is also made up of an early show and a late show, which also makes the mixed up setlist even more confusing in the context of a whole concert, but the material on it is so good that it's not a problem, just another oddity from an odd band.

     I would have to put this at the top of the list for contemporary Dave's Picks.  The performances are more consistent than DaP 10 and 19 (also has fewer cut tracks than 19), and the song selections aren't as redundant as DaP 6.  There are some mixing and fading anomalies throughout, but the recordings themselves are crystal clear.  Thanks to Bear for recording, Jeffrey Norman for mastering, and Dave for picking!

• Mason’s Children
• The album starts a few bars into Mason's, skipping the "Zarathustra Introduction" opening that's on the circulating tapes, probably for the best.
• This is a bouncy version of the song, and a great way to start off the record.  Jerry's solos absolutely drip with electricity...or something else.
• Casey Jones
• TC provides some excellent backing parts throughout both shows, near the end of his tenure with the band.  I've said it before, but his playing at this point with the band really was fantastic.  He knew the material, was comfortable jamming into unknown spaces, and really had his own spot in the soundscape.  One of the many What If's of the Dead's history is "What If TC Stayed?"
• A solid performance, one of the strongest of their new songs at the time.
• Black Peter
• This is another new Workingman's song that they played very consistently in this period.  TC really embraces a bluesy approach to the organ, and Jerry's young voice sounds so good and clean.
• After going through the solo section normally, Jerry leads them on a one chord jam before going back to the lyrics.
• There's a bit of banter and tuning afterwards where Phil asks someone if their hit only lasted for one set, and Jerry says something about putting Black Peter on two different records?  These guys are weird.
• Mama Tried
• Pigpen tells everyone not to use dirty words in public, and the band launches into a neat and contained Mama Tried.
• Hard To Handle
• This feels more jammed out and fiery than I expected, almost like a '71 version but looser.
• Cumberland Blues
• What a hot version of this song!  Jerry even quotes the line of the lyrics in one of his solos, throwing off the rest of the band for a little bit before they snap right back into line.
• Everyone shines here, not exactly jamming but instead all soloing at once, trying to keep up with Jerry.
• That’s It For The Other One
• Jerry really emotes on the lyrics for Cryptical, singing lines that would make his voice crack and wheeze ten years later.
• The drummers take the time to stretch out their section, starting with a crash of gongs and cymbals, then building up patterns just to break them down, before finally settling into a quiet groove with plenty of room for Phil to thunder his way into the song.
• There is a small(?) cut near the start of The Other One, but it's very well mixed into the song so you only notice it if you're looking for it.
• Bobby takes charge right away, steering the jam so Phil and Jerry can take their own synchronous leads.  The jam between verses stays pretty close to the main theme, with Jerry playing some interestingly dissonant leads.
• In the second verse Jerry holds his "Coming around" line longer than normal ("Comiiiiiiiiin' around"), making the song feel for a brief moment like a tradition Round.
• Instead of jamming Cryptical's outro to a blistering peak, Jerry takes the shuffling lope that the drummers have going and does a neat little turn into Cosmic Charlie.
• Cosmic Charlie
• Some confusion in the timings and lyrics here, but still a classic Charlie.
• Uncle John’s Band
• Not exactly an even performance, with strange timings in some places, but overall interesting to listen to.  The middle jam has good energy, and TC plays some unique fills behind the last few verses.
• High Time
• Most versions of this song from this period feel janky and off kilter, but this one is just exactly perfect.  All the lyrics are correct, the harmonies are excellent, and the musical parts all fit together right.
• Dire Wolf
• Jerry tries to convince the crowd this is a fun and easy chorus to sing a long to, hard to hear how much they agreed with him. 
• TC does feel a bit out of place, even cheesy on this one.  I feel the biggest knock against him is the lack in dynamics, he only has a few sounds he can get out of that organ, compared to all the following keyboardists who would have a couple different instruments to work with.
• Easy Wind
• There's a weird change in the mix near the start, but the whole song sounds clear.
• Bobby takes a small solo with heavy backing from TC, but Jerry takes over after not too long.  Not the most rocking or melting version, but still has that nice swampy, sultry groove.  And who can complain about Pigpen??
• China Cat Sunflower
• One thing I've never noticed before that must be common in this era is that during the China Cat solo, TC plays Bobby's part right along with him.
• This is a relatively early China > Rider, but Bobby is already taking his solo in the transition jam to exciting places.  It's not exactly where it would be by '74, but has some of those familiar facets to it.  In some ways these really were the first seventies shows; but in reality the seventies started for the Dead in 1971 when Mickey left.
• Jerry, TC, and Bobby have some fantastic interplay going on right before Rider starts up.
• I Know You Rider
• Good harmonies here, and a blistering solo from Jerry, but they either skip the last two verses, or there's a very subtle cut in there.
• Phil does the same descending line on "rolling in your arms" that he does in DaP 19, to not as great an effect.
• Good Lovin’
• There's so much good Pigpen in this release.  He doesn't have any raunchy stories to tell in this one, saving them all for Lovelight later I guess.
• Just a small drum break after the lyrics before Phil rumbles to life and everyone jumps in with him.  Once again TC impresses the hell out of me here.
• The jam gets pretty far out, mostly still led by Phil, before they all settle back into the opening riff and close out the lyrics.
• Me And My Uncle
• A perfectly serviceable MaMU.  Gone are the raw, sprawling ones from '69, this is a lot more like an early seventies version, but again this is not yet the seventies.
• "Broken String Blues,"Bobby says before a bout of tuning.
• Monkey & The Engineer
• A rarity that Bobby brought into the mix a few weeks earlier.  Can't help but have fun with it, even if it is short.
• Morning Dew
• Just when you thought you were getting to Dark Star, the tracks jump forward 24 hours!  But if you complain about getting a Dew instead of a Star, you need to reexamine your life choices.
• You can tell just how much Bear would change around the sound system (for better or worse) by the difference in sound from the last track to this one.  Both sound fine, but different for sure.
• Jerry switches the last two verses around, but the playing is spot on.  Flawless solo in the middle, cathartically epic jam at the end.  Jerry and Bob's guitars sound so good together on the outro jam, TC providing atmospheric organ trills for them to play off of.  More flashy/splashy gong work from Mickey too.
• Big Boss Man
• Small audio adjustments can be heard at the start of this one, but the recording remains intact.
• This one feels a bit rough, the only real weak spot on the album.
• Dancing In The Street
• The first Dancin' in a year famous for them goes a bit off script.  The jam progresses like normal, with Jerry soaring on waves of sunshine while everyone boogies their asses off.  But right when you think they're about to hit another instrumental peak or maybe go back to the lyrics, everyone but the drummers drops out.  They don't really leave the song's beat behind, instead sticking to the main rhythm while the crowd chants along.
• Bobby tries to get different sections of the room to clap at different times while Pig gently reminds them that they can't clap while they're sitting.  It doesn't really work out though, so the band comes back in and wraps up the song.
• St. Stephen
• This one feels a little shaky in parts.  Everyone's playing confidently, they're just not all confident of the same things at the same time.  The middle jam has some cool syncopation to it, but that dissolves into a bit of confusion when they try to come back in for the final verse.
• In The Midnight Hour
• This was newly back in the rotation, but was still a rarity.  It feels a bit under rehearsed at the start, with Pigpen mixing up lyrics and the band not always on the same part, but once they get jamming it's nothing but good times.
• The looseness of it allows for even more free form Pig-isms, making sure everyone is dancing and ready to see someone fine round about midnight before closing out the show.
• Dark Star
• Back in the previous night's show, where we left it off, Bobby tells the crowd they'll play some "easy-listening music," followed by one of the best and most complex Dark Stars I've heard in a long time.
• The jam before the verse sounds pretty much like most Dark Stars, incredible playing around the central theme without too much variation or exploration.  After the verse, the band gets quiet in a very noisy way.  There are some cymbal flourishes and brief organ swells, but it all resolves back into nothingness again and again.
• After drifting atonally and arhythmically through the darkness for long enough, Phil starts up a pulse for everyone to work with, and things get really crazy.  They drift through several distinctly thematic jams, like the Feeling Groovy and Tighten Up jams, a proto-Sugar Magnolia jam, and even a snippet of what sounds like the Beautiful Jam from 2/18/71!  But in between each of these familiar spaces are jams that are completely unique and fully formed, almost like they were songs the band was writing at the time that never reached completion.  The playing during all these jams is as close to perfection as this band can come, everyone telepathically in sync with where the music is taking them.  *chef's kiss*
• St. Stephen
• A little better than the previous one, which is of course the next one.  Still a little rough on reentry from the jam, but overall a stronger performance.  Or maybe it's just what it goes into that makes me think that...
• The Eleven
• One of the last versions of this excellent song.  Jerry (in)famously got bored with the how the structure of the song, saying it limited his playing, and he does sound a lot like he's trying to find new patterns to play with here.  To some success if you ask me, but I'm not gonna argue with him.
• Even the William Tell Bridge sounds nicely matured, a little less bare-bones than earlier ones, with more varied drum fills and TC in his final form.
• The shift into 11/4 time is a little shaky, with the drummers breaking early, but it all comes back together quickly.  The other members of the band also sound like they're trying different fills and rhythmic combinations to fit into the song, pushing it as far as it will go without devolving into chaos.  Even the drummers' little counter-solo after the lyrics gets broken down more than usual.
• The dark jam at the end neatly breaks down into a full stop, and then a full band launch into Lovelight.
• Turn On Your Lovelight
• This Lovelight is just long enough if you ask me, at around 22 minutes.  I think Pig might have had a few more things to say, but the crowd got the basic gist of it at least.  Pig does a lot of conducting and wait-a-minute-ing, getting the whole Fillmore East to clap, dance, scream, and tear the building down.
• It sounds like they're getting ready to close it all down about 15 minutes in, but then they get back to rocking and rolling, Jerry throwing out licks and leads left and right.  Pigpen, failing to get Bobby to sing, gets that screaming crowd to sing along with him, bringing things to a huge, if sloppy, close.

Bonus Disc

• Cold Rain & Snow
• Ok, now we jump forward again to 1/3, but the middle of the first set.
• Bobby is on fire for this one, and very present in the mix.  He honestly outshines Garcia just a little bit.
• Alligator
• Very tight and deliberate playing from everyone, with excellent vocals from Pigpen.
• Drums
• That tightness carries into Drums.  It's not a very raucous or flashy drums, just some moody, tribal, setting of the scene before Jerry comes back in.  Normally the drum break would last a lot longer, and maybe that's why only Jerry comes in while the rest of the band is still scratching their asses.
• Alligator
• Jerry's solo doesn't go too far before the rest of the band jumps in with him, and then things really start to cook.  Phil seems to have a plan for this Alligator jam.
• Bobby does a lot to shape the music's direction, his counterparts working nicely with Phil's part to keep things nice and bouncy.  Bob even leads them through a small little China Cat jam that evolves into its own unique flash of bliss, before Jerry slides them into a We Bid You Goodnight jam.
• Feedback 
• Jerry and Phil start sounding like they're going into Caution after Bobby's done yelling "Alligatorrrr!", but instead they crawl up to their speakers and get into some spookily ambient and very long feedback, rounded out by TC's organ swells and Mickey's wind chimes.
• This ended the early show's set (except for the UJB encore at the end of the disc), which explains why they're saying goodnight on just the 5th track of the disc.
• Casey Jones
• You might think you don't need two early versions of Casey Jones on one release...and you might be right.
• Mason's Children
• This Mason's has a bit more pep to it than the previous show's version, if that can be believed.  The two versions aren't too different, but this one is just a bit more accurate and lively.
• That's It For The Other One
• To show you just how big of a hypocrite I am, and how I play favorites with the songs, I've gotta tell you that I'm glad they have two instances of That's It For The Other One > Cosmic Charlie on here.  To be fair, there's a hell of a lot more jamming to differentiate the Other One suites...
• This one starts out very mellow, but still just as tight as Alligator.  Even the drum break is restrained and almost introspective.
• Or at least until Phil decides it's Other One time and everyone freaks out at once.  Big gong splashes from Mickey, and a lot of intricate give and take rhythms between all the instruments.  They take this one far out, leaving behind the theme for a while to explore an empty space, only to come rocking back in for the second verse.
• Instead of a surprise transition into Cosmic Charlie like the other night, they bring Cryptical to its typically triumphant conclusion before calming down into Charlie's opening riff.
• Cosmic Charlie
• A much tighter version than the previous show's, with all parts and lyrics not only remembered, but played with gusto!
• Uncle John's Band
• In response to a request, Bobby says "You'll take what you get," followed by some classic Dead banter and complaints about feedback.  They're about to play a delicate song after all.
• It's not the strongest performance, with a few missed chords and a jam that doesn't go too far, but it's still a great way to end the set, and this disc.

Phil Lesh's Birthday Run, Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY 2019-03-16

     Phil Lesh wrapped up his birthday stand at the Capitol Theatre last night, and he left it all out  on the stage.  After two nights of intense music that went well past midnight, you would think a newly 79 year old would want to take it easy.  But instead, he invited even more Friends to join him, including an opening act, the Sisters of the Strawberry Moon.  In the very little research I did before the show I couldn't really figure out who would be on stage, but while I didn't catch the pianist's name, I can now safely say that the rest of the band is Amy Helm on drums/mandolin, Luther Dickinson on guitar, Grahame Lesh on bass, Allison Russell on banjo/clarinet, and JT Nero on guitar.  Allison and JT are in their own band called the Birds of Chicago, who I've seen and enjoyed at the Green River Festival.  The Sisters were very much just a meshing together of the different musicans' styles, but it worked perfectly.  The harmonies were heavenly, and Luther showed the crowd right away that he was bringing a lot to the table for when he would join Phil later (replacing Scofield).  Jackie Greene joined them on organ for the last song, and the crowd gave them a huge round of applause when they were done.  I don't know their songs enough to provide a setlist, but I highly recommend you check them out if possible.

     They wound up their set at exactly 9, which left us wondering if Phil was still going to play two full sets (he was).  The vibe in there was a lot less edgy and it was a lot less crowded than the previous night, perhaps because all the birthday expectations were gone.  It honestly felt more like a Sunday crowd than anything, and the music that was to follow the short setbreak reinforced that feeling.  My parents and I were in the left balcony this night, towards the center more than Friday, and all of our neighbors were thoroughly enjoyable.  A lot of very spaced out people being their friendliest to each other.  After not too long Phil came out, the lights went down, and we were ready for one more Saturday night (someone should write a song about that).

                                           

First Set

• Deal (JG)
• I'm generally of the opinion that I've seen enough Deals to last a life time, but the energy with which they opened this show was so infectious that I couldn't help but love it.
• It seemed like they were just going to play it in the 80's fashion with the middle solo, the "don't you let that deal go down" refrain, a big solo, then the refrain and the end.  But instead they added another final solo in after the second refrain just to make sure they had covered all the ground the song had available.
• Grahame got to show off his chops early with some very danceable lines; this whole night all in all felt like it was the "& Friends" night, after the Phil-heavy set the night before.  I think Phil wanted to show off how cool all his friends were, even if one of them was his son.  In fact, Phil didn't sing a lead verse until late in the second set.
• Operator (LD)
• I had seen Phil sing this before, so I was a little disappointed when Luther stepped to the mic instead, but he proved himself more than capable.  Well ok, maybe he came in a bar or two early for the first verse and the first solo, but he did it so convincingly that the rest of the band didn't seem to mind.
• Luther had two guitars, which I couldn't say more about other than one was white and sounded very clean, and the other was darker and sounded raunchier.  This was the 4th Phil show I've seen Luther play, and by far the best.  I think he knew he had some big (and weird) shoes to fill over in Scofield's position at stage left.  The band kind of forgot how to end the song and drifted apart, until Luther led the closing riff and everyone cracked up.
• This is one of those Dead songs that you'll probably never hear live unless you see Phil.  So go see Phil.
• High Time (JG)
• This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about when I say this felt like a Sunday show.  This was crystalline perfection, with a beautifully unexpected solo section.  High Time can be so finicky and faltering if not played right, and they got it exactly right.
• This was the only time all weekend when Jackie's personal stylings didn't elevate the song.  I just think there's no better way to sing it than how Jerry did it.
• King Bee (LD)
• Luther is Phil's go-to Blues Boy, typically of the Bobby Blues Boy variety,  but he got some good Pigpen work in this night.  It sounded like he said something about Pig at the start of the song, but it was hard to make out.
• Last time I saw Luther with Phil they did this song, but the two versions are night and day.  Instead of a brighter, peppier blues song like in 2016, this one was more the murky, dark version of the song like Pig used to sing.
• Or at least it was until they started jamming it out.  By the time Luther came back for the final verse it had turned into more of an uptempo shuffle.
• Tennessee Jed (JG)
• A typical Saturday Night Crowd loves to cheer "drink all day and rock all night," but a Secret Sunday Crowd can cheer that and then shut up to listen to the music, which of course is way better.
• Jackie and Luther got their leads in between the verses, but once the unfolding jam at the end started, it was Tench Time.  Benmont's organ work made it sound like he wrote this song with Tom Petty and had been playing it ever since.  Even some of the band looked shocked by it!  With Grahame's help he built a solid foundation for the Jackie to take over, who walked up to Luther to join forces in a charge to the end.
• Brokedown Palace (GL w/ Amy Helm and Allison Russell)
• My dad and I both leaned over as soon as Tennessee Jed ended and said, "Is Amy not coming out with Phil?"  And as if she heard us being impatient, she came out on stage immediately with Allison!
• What followed was one of the most beautiful renditions of Brokedown that I've ever heard.  Allison took Jackie's mic, Amy had her own, and they traded verses with Grahame with seamless fluidity that couldn't have possibly left a dry eye in the house.  And as if their individual parts weren't stunning enough, their harmonies can't be described as anything less than unearthly.
• I just listened to it again and I'm crying, you should be too.
• Sugaree (JG)
• I heard the first note of this and hung my head and said "dammit" to myself.  Why me, why another Sugaree?  Is it because one came on in the car earlier in the day?  Is it because I did something wrong?
• These were my thoughts as I sat down for all of 30 seconds before the music swept be back onto my feet.  "Well if they're going to play it like this...," I thought to myself as I started dancing.
• It's not like they changed up the arrangement or anything, this was just a damn good Sugaree with fiery solos left and right.  Tench actually did take it down into a barroom jazz kind of space during his solo, which definitely grabbed my attention, but the rest of the time it was wailing guitars and thrilled dancers.

      The lights came back on for setbreak, and we knew that Phil was giving us the whole shebang tonight.  Everyone was beaming, even the people mysteriously waiting in line for an empty stall in the bathroom.  I don't know if all the assholes just got too drunk at a parade to make it to the show, but everyone I ran into was happy and pleasant.  It's almost like we all love this music or something, go figure.  We made it back to our seats and prepared ourselves for the final set of the weekend.

Second Set

• Viola Lee Blues > (ALL)
• We had been expecting Caution tonight, and this fooled both my Dad and I into thinking we were right (almost...).
• We definitely weren't disappointed though; who can complain about not getting one Primal song when you're still getting another?
• This one played out about as expected at the start: heavy blues, ricocheting solos, and thundering bass until the next verse.  But instead of building the final jam up into a blistering frenzy of flashing lights and guitar fireworks, Phil pulled the rug out from under everyone's feet and led the band into what could arguably be called Viola > Jam (or even Space) > Viola.  It was totally outside of what I expected from the song, and led into some thick layers of feedback.  I thought this was where the floating Dark Star Reprise would come in, then even thought this was the beginning of Caution (patience...), and then it became what sounded like a completely different song that none of us had ever heard before...but then they sneakily slid back into that Viola groove and finished up the final verse.
• Jack Straw (GL & JG)
• They slipped back into some more feedback ambience, led by Luther.  That boy likes to make his guitar make crazy noises. 
• Jackie and Grahame resolved the discordance into what could have turned into any Allman Bros song, but it revealed itself to be Jack Straw instead.  Grahame took Jerry's parts, and Jackie took Bobby's, both of them singing excellently.
• Like both Phil and Bobby have been doing since at least Furthur, if not earlier, the band took the opportunity to stretch out what had otherwise been two bars between verses into a mini jam, and it really started to feel like it was a hot sunny day in July.  The jam at the end was a little compacted and didn't feature as many hard bass bombs as the typical Dead version, but it was still played at a breakneck pace with a huge ending.
• Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks) > (LD)
• Well it finally happened, and it took a couple of minutes to even realize.  Luther would fan his guitar for a bit and get everyone rumbling, and then it would die down...then he would do it again with slightly chords and it would die down again....and then he did it one more time and I realized that they were the Caution chords and punched my dad in the arm right as Phil started doing that signature Caution riff.
• Sure, it wasn't a total meltdown that resulted in all of us leaving our physical forms behind to explore distant galaxies, but it was pretty damn close.  Luther sang some pretty convincing lines about a gypsy woman and having to go down somewhere, but there wasn't quite enough mojo hand content for this aficionado.
• But then none of that silly shit mattered because the jam was kicking in and Phil was feeding back, and I was running out of room on my face for my grin to spread.  They were a little off kilter for the fanning at the start of the post-mojo jam, but Luther took over and got Jackie playing with him in some tight leads before fading back into the land of feedback and dark shadows.
• Truckin' (JG)
• Phil took a little bit of a lead himself out of the darkness, setting the rest of them up for the revolving intro into Truckin'.  My dad had been saying they would play this and I didn't believe him because I'm a fool.
• Grahame provided some great backing vocals here.  There was so much whispering, pointing, fist bumping, and smiling between these two all weekend long that I wouldn't be surprised if they started their own side band, or at least started playing racquetball on the weekends.
• Truckin' got everyone back on their feet and singing along after the roiling weirdness of Caution.  There were some exciting solos between the verses, but instead of a huge jam with a big finish they closed it out with a funny little vocal ending.
• China Doll (BT)
• The guy next to me had called that they would play this tonight, but he had promised that Amy would sing it.  While I haven't heard her sing it before, I have to say that it couldn't have been any better than this.  I don't think Tench had even sung any harmonies or backups this weekend, but he can apparently sing the ever loving shit out of China Doll.
• They switched the arrangement around a little so that the piano was the lead instrument, and if I hadn't heard Oteil sing the song before I would say that no one alive could ever do it as well as Benmont Tench.  I have a feeling like Phil had planned to go right into Terrapin from there, but the crowd went absolutely nuts once this song ended that the band had to just stand there and clap along.  I think it's safe to say we'll be seeing more of BT playing the with Dead in the future.
• Terrapin Station > (GL & PL)
• The poster for this whole weekend was a giant turtle floating above some bears who were holding its lines so it didn't float away (or a giant turtle being held up by the bears with sticks that was about to fall and crush them, if you ask my dad), so you know they had to do a high-flying Terrapin.
• Grahame and Phil traded verses on this, kind of like it was two generations of "The Storyteller" telling the same story years apart...or maybe I was a little high.
• Grahame played the solo just once through, and he did it nicely.  I was still sure they were going to finish Dark Star, and when they took off into the Starlight Jam it really seemed like that was going to happen.  Phil led them on an extended journey that seemed to have a definite destination in mind, but instead was just the most scenic route back to Terrapin that Phil could think of.
• The crowd screamed "Terrapin!!" at the top of its lungs in the lead up to the final jam, and Phil looked so goddam happy.  The rest of the band didn't go too far off the reservation in the outro, but Phil sure did some interesting leads throughout.
• Morning Dew  (GL, AH, & AR)
• The band held onto the last chord and the crowd cheered over it, but then everyone realized that they were still playing, and the were playing motherfucking Morning Dew.  And not only that, they were rushing out a music stand for Amy and Allison!
• Amy and Allison sang the "question" parts of the song ("I thought I hear/where have all"/etc.) and Grahame sang the answers ("I can't walk you out/there's no need"/etc.), and once again their harmonies were beyond description.  If this Dew doesn't make you cry you're a robot or severely dehydrated, and I feel bad for you either way.
• The band, perhaps overwhelmed by emotion, wasn't perfectly together in the build-up to the middle solo, but got it together immediately and did their best to live up the vocalists' perfection.  The solo and the outro jam were both played masterfully and with all the heart these beautiful people could muster, but those ladies stole the show and all of our hearts.
• Donor Rap (PL)
• Phil seemed really touched and emotional for the Rap, but everyone kept yelling and clapping whenever he got up any momentum, so it was very faltering, took forever, and was impossible to understand.  Let Phil say his piece, cheer when he's done, and give him your organs already.
• In the Midnight Hour > (JG, AH, & AR)
• Everyone had wiped the tears away by now,  and was ready to dance again.  It was about 12:30 when they started this, so it was really the obvious answer for what they should play.
• It wasn't exactly a perfect version, but everyone onstage (and off) was beaming, and they immediately picked up any beats they dropped.
• Turn on Your Lovelight (LD, AH, & AR)
• See comments for Midnight Hour.
• Molo wound up the song with a little drum solo and big group finish.  I realize I didn't say anything about him tonight, but just know that he might be the perfect drummer for Phil.  He's ready for anything, keeps the beat going no matter what, and even challenges the other musicians into playing better.

                                       


     Well damn, what else is there to say?  This show may not have been as technically great or mind bending as Thursday night, but it had more heart in spades.  It might have been the most cathartic concert experience I've ever had.  The whole band was hugging, fist bumping (even Phil!), and congratulating each other before they even had their instruments off.  Official soundboards haven't surfaced (take my money!), and the audience recordings are slowly trickling onto the Archive, so we'll just have to wait to hear it again.

Phil Lesh's Birthday Run, Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY 2019-03-15

     As you must know, yesterday was Phil Lesh's 79th birthday, and we were determined to help him enjoy it.  For the second night we showed up in Port Chester, this time meeting up with a good friend, and entered the Cap in high spirits.  The opening act this night was Deadgrass, a semi-electric Dead cover band, which seemed like a strange way to prepare for a Dead show.  They even played at least one song that Phil would be playing later in the night.  But no matter, we dug them for a bit before heading to our seats which were a little further right than the night before.  The sight lines and sound were still great, but because of a totally sold out and slightly more boisterous crowd some of the first set was drowned out by chompers.  There were a few halfhearted attempts at getting Happy Birthday started before the show started, but once the band came on stage we had better music to listen to.

                                        

First Set

• Liberty (GL)
• A great song to start the night off, even if not everyone in my section appreciated it.
• Grahame does such a great job singing this one, it suits his voice perfectly.
• Casey Jones (ALL)
• They got the crowd's attention with this easy singalong, and then Jackie and Scofield took advantage of the refrain at the end to play some scorching leads as the tempo got faster and faster.
• They maybe drew this out a bit longer than necessary, but as we kept saying, it's Phil's birthday and he can do what he wants.
• Mississippi Half Step > (PL)
• The first half of this song felt very thin and shaky, I don't know if it was the crowd, the mix, or what.  The solos between verses were short and it all felt uneasy until they started jamming out of the song.  I think the band was just trying to find that same groove from the previous night, and maybe trying to force it instead of letting it flow (maaaaan).
• I heard someone pointing out after the show that this was "a guaranteed song" because of the "on the day I was born" line, and I have to say that makes perfect sense.  Too much sense, even,
• Loser (JG)
• Jackie led the transition into this and once again made a classic Dead song sound like his own.  Sure, he skipped a verse, and he never sang the second "go down" line in the chorus, but the band never faltered.
• Jackie really was the leader of the band for the rest of the set, controlling the dynamics and energy like he ran the joint.  Phil wasn't exactly reserved, but kept his head down and let the boys do their own thing.
• Tench's grand piano was chronically low in the mix tonight, but his organ and Rhodes were still cutting through great and his solos on this one really burned.
• Minglewood Blues (JG)
• This was very different from how Bobby performs it.  It was bluesy in a more traditional way, not exactly histrionic thunder rock.
• The band had a good head of steam at this point and tore through their respective solos.  Grahame was still holding down the rhythm role until Jackie forced his hand into a solo, and then he showed everyone that he did indeed have that Lesh spirit in him.
• Before the last verse, Jackie held up his finger to get everyone to stay on the first chord and led a cool simmering down of the song to close it out.
• West LA Fadeaway > (JG)
• Jackie, in his new found position of leader of the Jackie Green and Friends band, was all over this one.  Once again his vocal stylings made the song feel so much more personal and vibrant than just a cover of a 37 year old song.
• Bertha (GL)
• Jackie had a new guitar brought out just for this set closer that I swear he must have stolen from Bobby.  It was hard to get a good look at it, but it looked like Bobby's white guitar that he played with Dead & Company this past Summer.  And it sure sounded like Bobby's guitar because it was way too squealy and whiny for my ears.
• Beyond that though, this was probably the highlight of the set.  The band had found their mojo again and were playing as one tight unit.  Grahame and Molo took over from Jackie while he was busy making his guitar squeak, and got everyone soloing at once, eliciting some bass bombs from Phil.

     Ok, so it wasn't the best first set ever, but everyone was still having a great time.  It had started pouring outside but that didn't stop people from rushing out to the smoking section for consumption of various goods.  After not too long the band wandered back out on stage, and the crowd started singing Happy Birthday, but Jackie gave us the "cut it out sign" until Phil was ready.  Phil, who had been fiddling with his computer stack, turned around with a big grin on his face and they put the video feed of him up on the wall, bringing new meaning to the term Big Phil.  Jackie led us all through Happy Birthday, and then Peter Shapiro came out with a giant cake that looked a lot like the one in the poster above.  Phil, Jill, and Pete all shared some hugs, and then Pete went back to the mic to say that coincidentally enough, this wasn't just Phil's 79th birthday, it was his 79th time playing at the Cap (since it reopened)!  I'll leave it to someone else to check the math on that (his eyes did look pretty red after all), but in the meantime I'll believe good ol' Petey.  But that was enough fun, it was time to get back to business.

Second Set

• Playing in the Band > (GL)
• Whatever the band was doing between sets, they sure didn't lose their mojo.  Grahame did a great job singing, and while Tench maybe a got a little lost in the changes between the 2nd and 3rd verses, he recovered right away and the band didn't miss a beat.
• The jam progressed in the same way that it has since the 80's, a pleasant and easy improvisation on the main theme, and then a sudden twist into the Dark Realms.  This didn't go on quite as long as the first night's Dark Star set opener, but it was definitely cut from the same cloth.  A very patient journey through ever shifting soundscapes.
• Phil was back in charge for the rest of the night.  Maybe he had been biding his time, or resting, or was way too high for the first set, but he had places he wanted to go in this set.
• Scofield got into to some call and response dueling with Tench and Jackie, but then Jackie took the lead from him and opened up his envelope filter.  My dad and I each would have bet you $20 that they were going into Estimated Prophet from there, and if you read just one line further you'll see that you would have won $40 last night; your loss, man.
• Shakedown Street > (JG)
• In a set jam packed with heavy hitters, this Shakedown in the middle of a PITB sandwich was hands down my favorite part of the night.
• They had clearly rehearsed an almost start-stop version of the song that had a lot of dynamic control to it, and it blew everyone's minds.  Phil was roaring away on his bass, and everyone got a chance to really tear up the solo section.  I think if they hadn't planned out the rest of the setlist already they would have just played this all night, and no one would have complained.
• They got pretty far outside the box after the lyrics, but then Phil brought them back to the main theme as if they were going to just wind up the song, but Grahame took the lead from there and wound everyone back into the Dark Realms.
• Playing in the Band (GL)
• It was here that we heard our first tease of the Playin' riff, but there was still a world of possible destinations open to us.  At various times I thought they were going to wind up the last night's Dark Star, go into Mountains of the Moon, or actually go into that Estimated we could have sworn we heard.
• Eventually though, through the clouds of delusion, Grahame and Phil leshed together to get the whole band into the PITB holding pattern that comes at the end of the jam.  Molo seemed like he was maybe caught off guard when they went back into the rhythmic changes before the final chorus, but he caught on quick.
• They really jammed out after the chorus ended too, which surprised me.  A nice, refreshing major jam with country flavors.
• And on a personal note, I'm so glad I got an immediate reprise to this Playin'.  I wouldn't be able to handle another unfinished one...
• Help on the Way > (GL)
• They didn't do any tuning or anything to tip this one off, but somehow as soon as they started the count-off I knew exactly what they were gonna play, and my fists were in the air as soon as the opening chords rang out.
• This was a particularly fierce performance with a lot of bite to it.  Grahame opted out of the solo section in favor of keeping everyone on the right chords, which let the other three leads let loose.
• The transition between Help and Slip! was pretty iffy, but they all got the timing right at least.
• Slipknot! >
• The Slip Riffs at the start were perfect, with Molo providing epic fills in between.  Phil took off at the start of the jam, but soon laid back a bit for the others to have their way with it.
• For my tastes, this Slip! focused a bit too much on teases and call and response than the more freeform versions.  But everyone was playing so well that I didn't bother getting caught up in personal preferences.  And Phil seemed to be on my side a little, so when Jackie or Scofield would get too into a particular theme, he would slam down and bring them back into the typical Slipknot! area of weirdness.
• They did an extended Slipcord sequence on their way out of the jam, but when Phil started the transition back into the Slip Riff only Grahame seemed to be on the same page with him.  But again the rest of the band recovered quickly and they finished up the riffs neatly, before letting the jam mellow down.  I was sure it would be Fire on the Mountain next, and I was close...kinda.
• Mountains of the Moon > (PL)
• Right, it's Phil's birthday, time for some heavy Lesh jams.
• I don't think there's been a run of Phil shows since...1995 that didn't feature this song, and this is why I love Phil.  What was a simple acoustic song that could maybe lead into Dark Star has turned into its own unique jam vehicle that has "PHIL" written all over it.
• This one didn't get into any heavy themes or jams for the most part, and was more of a hazy, spacey meditation.  Tench and Scofield both had some great tonal work that helped make the song.
• After the final verse the jam took off briefly and got people back out of their seats and swaying, if not exactly dancing.  But then Phil gave some arcane hand signals that confused the shit out of Jackie and Grahame, and he had to take over and wind things down to a little more than an ambient hum before resolving in another essential Phil song.
• Unbroken Chain (PL)
• If it wasn't for the opening sandwich, this would be the shining star of the night.  There was a little miscommunication at the very start after Phil's gesticulations, but everyone got in line before the first verse and it was gold from there.
• While there was some shakiness at different parts of the night, the band was absolutely in sync for one of the Dead's most complicated songs.  The instrumental section switches between 15 and 13 beats per measure, seemingly whenever Phil decides it's time to switch, but I didn't hear a single player miss any of those beats.  In fact, the leads they were playing through those tricky changes were some of the best I've heard any of Phil's friends manage.
• Grahame backed up a lot of his dad's vocals in this second set, and they sounded beautiful together.  And the outro jam had me in awe as Scofield attempted to burn his amp to the ground with just the sheer power of music.  If he had just one more minute I think the fire marshal would have gotten involved.
• He's Gone > (JG)
• You could almost hear the sighs of relief from parts of the crowd when Jackie started this one up; "finally, something we can sing along to!"
• Jackie maybe got a little too histrionic with his singing for such a gentle song, but who can blame the guy for having fun?
• They rolled smoothly through the lyrics and middle solo, and vamped on the "nothing's gonna bring him back" refrain for a little bit, but then instead of jamming the song out Phil decided it was time to bring the dragons back out.
• The Other One > (PL)
• It started off a little uneven, but Phil brought together with his intro run, even though it wasn't thunderous enough to bring the building down on us all (disappointed? me? noooo).  The guitars got themselves all riled up, but before they could really catch fire, the birthday boy stepped up to the mic.
• Look, I support Phil singing just about anything.  Bird Song?  Great. Dark Star?  Cool, man.  Truckin'?  Give it a go.  But I think Grahame needs to take away his dad's iPad next time he hears him start rehearsing the lyrics to this one.  If you think Bobby stretches out the space between each verse too much, you ain't heard nothing til you hear Phil.  But once again, it's his birthday, and if he wants to sing the song let him.
• It seemed like this was going to be my shortest TOO ever when Phil suddenly started up the second verse, but then he dragged it out longer and longer before finishing the lyrics.  And then instead of going into the next song right way, Grahame and Jackie decided they needed to get all of their Other Oneing out now, so they put their heads together and got truly gnarly.  They had been fist bumping and laughing all night long, and I am on board for this bromance.
• New Speedway Boogie (JG)
• Jackie eventually tore his eyes away from Grahame's beautiful beard and started in the tune our friend had just said she wanted to hear during intermission!
• Phil led Jackie lead this set closer, and lead it he did; well, when the crowd wasn't too busy forgetting how the song goes and chanting "one way or another" way too early.  Molo and Scofield stole the lead back from the audience and embarked on a solo section that was more of a tease showcase than anything else.  They teased Smokestack Lightning, Spoonful, One Kind Favor, and at least one other classic blues song that I can't remember right now, but made them all fit perfectly into the general boogie of the song.
• Then Jackie took over completely and kicked the tempo way up, leading the band on a headlong charge into straight rock n' roll territory, before suddenly picking up the final verse in this new jam.  They brought it back to the usual chorus and refrain, got the crowd singing along at the right time, and wrapped up the set.
• Donor Rap (PL)
• A fairly standard Donor Rap, no teases or guest stars, but Phil just looked so damn happy!
• Not Fade Away (ALL)
• The crowd had been clapping along to demand this before the Donor Rap, and from the way it was played I think the band hadn't really rehearsed it until they heard the demands.  Not that there was anything wrong with it, they just never really took it outside.
• Jackie wasn't wearing his hat for this one and I barely recognized him.  Thank god he put it back on.
• Ripple (PL)
• This, however, was a perfect encore.  It was played at a nice rockin' tempo, and everyone loves a singalong they can dance to!
• After the Other One I was skeptical when Phil stepped to the mic for this one, but he actually did a great job!  I couldn't believe it, but I would gladly listen to him sing it again.  Grahame and Jackie provided excellent backing vocals too.

     The lights came back on and once again we sat our asses down to give our feet a little rest before the walk to the car.  Luckily it had stopped raining, so it was a cool and refreshing night when we walked out.  While the first set hadn't been anything to write home about on its own, but the two sets fit together nicely to make a whole show.  A bit of average intro stuff, and a little uncertainty, but all in all an amazing experience.  One more night to go!