We hung out at the end of the lot within sight of the train tracks and dirt piles/unofficial restrooms: scenic! We had gotten lawn seats for this show, after splurging on the last one, and were eager to get in early to get good spots. So after not too long we packed up our food and beers, and wandered through the easy-going security. They had not yet opened the lawn, so we lined up and made some friends, realizing that the band was doing a late soundcheck! We couldn't make most of it out, but heard Don't Ease Me In clearly, which got me excited. While in line I also got myself headed towards a good state of mind to enjoy the show, and I didn't seem to be the only one with a secret smile starting to form. They let us up the stairs a little late, but everyone was in such good spirits that we all just ran up the stairs whooping and laughing. We snagged a great spot with unobstructed lines of sight, and we could also see trains rolling about in the yard next door which is a plus for me. The clearing sky started to become colored by the sunset, and soon the band came on stage.
First Set
- Hell in a Bucket
- Like the last time we saw them here, they opened with a jam that was clearly going to turn into Bucket.
- My one complaint from the Mansfield tour opener was that John wasn't stepping up to the plate as the lead guitarist, but right off the bat he was showing us that tonight would be different. In this song, and every song they played tonight, Mayer was at the forefront of the music, making daring choices and taking risks- just like he should be!
- Sometimes this led to some disagreements between him and Bob, like when John tried to bring the second solo to an end but Bob instead pushed him and Jeff to take it a little farther out. But these disagreements always led to interesting and masterful improvisation from all members of the band as they got the song back to where it should be.
- Next Time You See Me
- Always great to see a Pigpen song thrown into the mix, but otherwise not much to say about this one.
- Ramble on Rose
- Dead & Co has been nailing Ramble on Rose since the first show we saw them do in 2015, and they've only gotten better.
- John and Jeff were on the same mental plane for this whole show, and it led to seamless transitions between their solos. That's crucial in a song like this where the band really builds the music up to crashing peaks with wide valleys drawn out between them.
- I made an excursion to what I thought would be bathrooms but turned out to be porta-potties over in the corner of the amphitheater, where the band's tour buses were lined up in front of the train yard with a beautiful sunset in the back. I danced my way back through the border between the seats and the lawn as Ramble was starting up, encountering increasingly weird scenes in the crowd as I went. Maybe it was so weird because of certain decisions I made earlier, but this was still a truly weird (and very peaceful) crowd.
- When I Paint My Masterpiece
- We had seen Bob do this with Phil earlier in the year, but it was still great to get a full band version.
- John was playing such delicately beautiful leads behind Bobby's singing, with Jeff swelling on the organ, switching to piano for the solo section.
- Bobby was singing and playing incredibly this night, and it really showed here. He was playing a blonde Fender that he started playing last year (I think) for a lot of the show, and while it does have a good sound to it, it was a little thin and didn't cut through the mix on some other songs. Here it sounded great though!
- Cumberland Blues
- Another repeat from last time they played here, but this one was even better. The band has just matured so much and made this version feel a lot more full-bodied.
- Like I said up top, John was playing with a ton of confidence and energy, leading to two excellent solos here. But the real star, of course, was Jeff during his solo. While Jeff can play anything excellently, Cumberland and Eyes are his two powerhouses. All you have to do is face him in the right direction, and he will carve the most amazing music you've ever heard out of the thin air. He's been playing a chunky little baby grand for most of the tour, and it fits his style so well.
- Black Muddy River
- They kind of jammed into this one, making me think we were going to get another Bird Song, but they surprised us with what they almost exclusively play as an encore.
- This song is one of John's best, but his voice seemed a little weak this night. He had been singing some high harmonies with Bob on Masterpiece, but on his leads he kept his voice a lot lower than normal. He still sang and played beautifully though, and the song felt as soulful as ever.
- Don't Ease Me In
- We had heard them doing a bit of this during soundcheck, but it was still great to see! Knocked this off my list after far too long.
- Like Alabama Getaway from two weeks earlier, this arrangement felt more oriented towards John's blues side, less of a jugband rocker.
- The tempos so far had been excellent, but this one felt a little sluggish, maybe because of the blues shading. But John and Jeff once again burned through their respective solos, with John's final one bringing the tempo up finally in order to bring it to a big finish.
The lights came on (kind of) and my dad found his way back to us after taking his own bathroom break right after Cumberland and getting lost. We hung out with our neighbors for a while and raved about the set so far. While it hadn't had any big jam vehicles, the playing had an energy that was totally infectious and there were giant smiles everywhere. The weather continued to hold off and it ended up being a beautiful summer night spent with thousands of new friends. I spent a good amount of time trying to wrap my head around the size of the venue, which is apparently one of the largest amphitheaters in the country; at first it seems like you're just sitting on a grassy hill looking down at a stage, but then you realize just how far around the hill wraps, and how far the structure of the building extends, and it can get kind of freaky if you're in a freaky state of mind already. Eventually the lights went back down and we all stood up ready for some more dancing.
Second Set
- Feel Like a Stranger >
- I had been hoping for one of these from this band ever since they formed, and this one more than lived up to my expectations. John was still chomping at the bit, and as a result was all over this song in the best of ways.
- The tempo was still at a surprisingly brisk clip for this band, and during the jam in the middle of the verses everyone was boogying down, with John and Jeff trading licks and riffs back and forth while Bobby and Oteil kept the groove going underneath them.
- Bobby brought them back down from their stratospheric workings and finished up the lyrics, surprising us by not singing the "it's gonna be a long long crazy night/ silky silky crazy crazy night" lines, even though Jeff and Oteil were still singing the "feel like a stranger" part; weird!
- The jam was really chugging along, and everything seemed just exactly perfect, but right when Bobby took them into the closing riff sequence, John decided to switch to his silver blues guitar, and then tried to jump back in. This threw everything into a bit of disarray, and John, Bobby, and Jeff all tried to right the ship's course in order to finish it off right. When they couldn't get back on the same page, John and Bobby both decided to just say "fuck it," and slammed into the big discordant chord than can only mean one thing...
- Viola Lee Blues >
- The final repeat from two years ago, and a welcome addition to tonight's show. We had actually seen Furthur do this exact pairing to end a set before, and while this one wasn't quite as neat of a transition, it's still a cool combo.
- John punctuated the song with a stellar descending riff that while a little showy was still very cool. They do this song very different from Furthur or other Dead bands, in that it's a smoldering blues rocker that really just stays in one key instead of going through traditional blues changes. This allows John to unleash solo after solo in an almost Hendrix-esque style.
- After the first two lyrics and some virtuostic guitar, John locked eyes with Jeff and started hammering down on the main riff, which has always sounded to me like...
- China Cat Sunflower >
- Now that's a transition! Maybe not quite JRAD levels of finesse, but an exciting and logical transition that the Dead never did.
- This is where things got really interesting. Once again the song was bouncing along and everything seemed fine, but then Bobby tried to give john some inscrutable stage direction in the middle of the solo. John looked at him to do one thing, Bobby looked away to do another, and Jeff practically leapt over his keyboard to yell "NO!" at them, but it was too late and they were in uncharted and unplanned territory. While normally this is a recipe for disaster and a certain trainwreck, an amazing thing happened: they fixed it! John just kept soloing, and I thought maybe they would just shoot right in Rider, but instead they circled around and around until they were all back in the right respective positions, and then they jumped into the final changes of the solo and made it back into the lyrics! The crowd erupted in cheering, and I was laughing with tears coming down my face. This is what we came for, not for perfect and conservative playing, but for balls-to-the-wall risk-taking adventure with big pay-offs when it all comes together.
- I Know You Rider >
- The transition between these two slowed things down and got pretty loose, but they brought it back together for a triumphant iteration of this classic song. John led the way through Bobby's old transition riff, which felt a bit off, but it helped get the tempo back up.
- The first solo section was shorter and laid back, but after the final verses they really picked up steam and went around for a bunch of solos. I thought maybe it stayed there for a little too long, but everyone else was enjoying it, and it led to some truly great licks from John.
- I don't want to sound like a broken record, but John and Jeff's connection at this show was one of my favorite parts. It was less call and response, and more akin to the classic Grateful Dead group mind, the two of them finishing each other's solos and suggestions like they're old friends.
- Man Smart, Woman Smarter >
- Ok, my only complaint of the show is one that echoes back to the 80's: this song is great, but this placement feels like a bit of a let down. Some monster jam needs to go into Drums, like Terrapin or Dark Star!!
- Now that my complaint is out of the way, I can get to how well they played. Bobby was once again singing at his best, and this is a song I've always loved him on so really everything was pretty great. For the last time, it is worth pointing out that John and Jeff really pushed the envelope on this one, making it feel bigger and more powerful than it would have in its "rightful" place as a first set song.
- They finished up the song with a bit of an a capella jam, which seemed a bit out of place, while also feeling exactly right in this context.
- Drums >
- I don't know how he did it, but Oteil managed to get out from under his bass and take up positions by some marimba-sounding thing in about two seconds flat. Billy stayed at his kit for a while while Oteil and Mickey got a groove going on their different sounding percussion instruments of choice. Mickey even had the Beam bouncing to the rhythm and seemingly the chords of Man Smart, which was fun in a very weird way.
- A few people sat down, which you would expect, but a lot of people were still up and dancing, including us and a lot of our neighbors.
- Eventually the rhythms died down and the whole amphitheater and hill turned into sounding boards for Mickey and the Beam. After a couple of minutes of having our heads rattled, Mickey left the stage and thee was a bit of a full stop between Drums and Space. I still have a ">" listed because it's tradition.
- Space >
- This Space kind of reminded me of the one from Fenway two years ago, in that it was more of an percussionless jam than a traditional Space. Bobby, John, and Jeff, eventually joined by Oteil, took their time in creating a delicate and beautiful tapestry of music that flowed effortlessly between each player.
- Eventually the Rhythm Devils returned to their positions, and the jam started to pick up steam. It built higher and higher into a cacophony, and then they pulled the rug out from under us and thudded back into...
- Viola Lee Blues >
- Viola Lee! In retrospect we all should have seen this coming, but it caught me off guard and put an even bigger smile on my face.
- Jeff thought they were going to finish the last verse with another big discordant chord, but instead was the only one who did that, fading into the little jam that the rest of the band had going. He of course made up for this by taking the lead and ending the jam on a beautifully resolved chord, giving way for Bobby to start strumming what was hard to make out at first, but immediately became recognizable as the song I had most been wanting to get this tour.
- Looks Like Rain >
- I used to not like this song at all, skipping over it a few times when listening to shows that I felt it dragged down. But in the last year or so I've totally come around to the other side, and I think this is one of Bobby's best songs. It's a song of love, guilt, and hurt, and these days feels more like an ode to Barlow than to a recently departed lover.
- Bobby was on that pretty blonde guitar again, which meant he was a little hard to hear but what did cut through the mix was beautiful. John's playing was perfect in that he allowed room for Bob to shine, but totally took over on the solo (with Jeff playing around him and keeping the band in time).
- The song felt more like a pre-hiatus version at first because just Billy was drumming while Mickey tickled the Beam, making it feel even more delicate in that it felt like a safe haven in the middle of unknown space. Sometimes Mickey got a bit too boisterous on the thunder drums, but all in all this song was a huge highlight of the night for me. Especially since it hadn't rained at all, or at least not a drop on me!
- Not Fade Away
- Jeff and John tried to lead a jam into this, but Bobby and Billy decided to just start right up with the Bo Diddley beat, and anyone who wasn't already standing leap to their feet and got their hands clapping.
- On paper this wasn't a particularly long NFA, but at the time it felt like they would keep playing forever. Oteil, who I haven't said enough about I'm now realizing, had spent the whole show playing a lot of melodic and almost lead parts, and really tore it up with John here. John totally took over here, using the beats the others were laying down as a jungle gym for his leads to climb over and twist around.
- Encore: Brokedown Palace
- Semi-controversial opinion here, but I prefer this as an encore to Ripple. Ripple is great, but it's basically just a campfire song, whereas Brokedown (and Attics, while we're talking about American Beauty) has so much more going on. It's a more complicated song than it seems, and it's just so soulful and beautiful.
- Bobby and John do a great job sharing the lyrics, and I think the only thing that would make it better is if they gave Oteil a verse too.
We cheered for more, but the band had given it their all and we couldn't fault them for not playing a double (or triple or quadruple) encore. We sat our asses down in the rented chairs that the folks in front of us had left behind and waited for the crowd to thin out a bit. We knew we weren't getting out of that dirt parking lot any time soon, so after we caught our breath and did an initial debriefing about the show, we headed out to the far end of the lot where we were parked, and then cooled our feet some more until the cars that were lined up to leave actually started moving. We followed them out into the dark and onto the highway, where we had a long, strange trip ahead of us.
I'm sad this is my final live show of the tour, but I'm also incredibly happy that I got to see this band again. There was a moment during the China > Rider transition where I all of a suddenly stopped dancing and looked around me, and was filled by an overpowering sense of happiness and awe. Here we all were on a beautiful summer night, dancing, laughing, and hugging, as our favorite band did the thing that really only they can do; just for us! And that's what it's all about, not just the music but what the music lets us do all together. I'm a sucker for listening to music alone on headphones, but there's really nothing that lives up to being at a show and engaging in the living organism that is the Dead Head community.
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