So I haven't posted for a while and figured these Furthur shows were a good reason to post. I just transferred my photos from my memory stick to my laptop and when I looked at them, lo and behold, some of the shots came out okay. So I'll share some with you guys. These Furthur shows have been fabulous! I was lucky enough to see two great special guest nights; the Warren Haynes night at Best Buy Theater and the Elvis Costello and Larry Campbell night at Radio City. Cool stuff indeed! I've been listening to the soundboards of the whole spring tour and this band is really coming along! It all sounds great!
These shows marked the death of longtime Grateful Dead sound man, money man, psychedelic supply man, brother and friend Stanley Bear Owsley, who died in a car crash in Austria, where he has lived for a number of years. The shows I saw seemed to be particularly played with good old Bear in mind. Obviously the Best Buy show I saw was the day he had died, and Phil did say something about Owsley before the show; "I did something in honor of Bear tonight which I haven't done in a long time! I ate a steak. Red meat, for you Bear!" Phil also said that Bear was as much a part of the band as anyone on stage that night (meaning he and Weir). They went on to play a great show with Warren Haynes sitting in the whole second set. Opening the set with Warren singing the Allman's Blue Sky they played a really hot set for Owsley, encoring with a beautiful Attics Of My Life in acapella. Really sweet ending of a hot show. I headed on to see Warren play a great Allman Brothers Band show at the Beacon Theater the next night.
The two Radio City Music Hall shows I saw were great. They each had their own charm with Sunday night being another unusual first time special guest to the Grateful Dead family. Elvis Costello certainly is familiar with the Grateful Dead repertoire, being a self proclaimed Deadhead from long ago and appearing on the Deadicated album back in the Nineties. I must admit that when I heard the buzz before the show, that he was heard in the soundcheck earlier, I was skeptical as to what he might sound like with Furthur. Well, it sounded good with Elvis singing and playing acoustic guitar on a number of tunes, most notably for me was Tennessee Jed, on which he switched off on the vocals with long time Phil and Friends friend Larry Campbell. This show also featured both Costello's and Campbell's wives Diana Krall and Teresa Williams respectively. The show the night before this (Saturday night) seemed to also be dedicated to Stanley Bear Owsley and was really a great show. It featured allot of stuff from the early Grateful Dead years of which Owsley was such a big part of. They used lots of photos in the backdrop of the infamous Wall Of Sound and even flashed up pics of both Jerry Garcia and Bear. Most importantly they played a very inspired mix of potent music that night. Showing us all that you gotta try to see a little Furthur...
Here's the setlist from the Saturday Night Radio City Music Hall Show on 3/26/11:
Set 1
Golden Road (to Unlimited Devotion) > Viola Lee Blues > Alligator > New Minglewood Blues, Sittin' On Top Of The World, *Alice D. Millionaire > Cream Puff War > Turn On Your Lovelight
Set 2
Playing in the Band > Born Cross Eyed > Dark Star > Eclipse (Pink Floyd) > Jam > Mountains of the Moon > Space > Dark Star > Terrapin Station Suite > Stella Blue, Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower E: One More Saturday Night
*Very Early Non-Released Grateful Dead Song For Owsley
I may be goin' to hell in a bucket but at least I'm enjoyin' the ride!
John Barlow
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See the other Furthur setlists Here
