Darkstarjamblog

Furthur Adventures In NYC

2011-04-01T13:44:00.037-04:00

Deadheads from all over flocked to NYC to see Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and Furthur on two stops here on their 2011 Spring Tour. They played five nights at the Best Buy Theater (formerly the Nokia) and returned two weeks layer for three weekend nights at Radio City Music Hall. I was able to catch one Best Buy show, Sunday, March 13th, and two Radio City shows, Saturday and Sunday, March 26th and 27th. Throw in an Allman Brothers Band show at the Beacon Theater on Monday, March 14th and Dave was a busy little beaver as they say! I still wish I could have gone to more of each, but I can only do what I can do; oh well, youth is wasted on the young!

Furthur RCMH 3/26/11 Photo: Me
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!

Furthur Sunday 3/27/11 Photo: Me
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.

Furthur with Elvis Costello and Larry Campbell 3/27/11 Photo: Me
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...

Furthur RCMH 3/27/11 Photo: Me
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

Download the Furthur Shows Here

See the other Furthur setlists Here

Stonybrook University Grateful Dead Marathon For Phil Lesh's 70th Birthday

2010-03-14T16:18:00.011-04:00

My nephew Jake is gonna be a special guest on Stonybrook University's Radio station, WUSB, on their Grateful Dead Marathon, in honor of Phil Lesh's 70th Birthday, late tonight (3AM tomorrow -Mon- morning). You can tune in online at: stream.wusb.stonybrook.edu:8090 Check it out! It's great that a kid who's a Freshman in college can be so hip and so knowledgeable on such a topic and it's a testament to the fact that guys like Phil Lesh and Bob Weir are keepin' the music and vibe goin' on at such a ripe bold age. Thanks boys for keepin' on keepin' it on! Happy Birthday Phil! And good luck Jakie!

Furthur On Up The Road At Radio City Music Hall

2010-02-25T20:11:00.034-05:00

The Furthur bus, driven by the Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, pulled in to Times Square's Radio City Music Hall for a two night party in the middle of their mammoth Winter Tour. These were highly anticipated shows for me and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Furthur consists of Weir and Lesh joined by Ratdog alumni Jeff Chimenti on keyboards and Jay Lane on Drums, Joe Russo (Trey Anastasio Band, Russo Benavento) also on drums, Jerry Garcia sound alike John Kadlecik (Dark Star Orchestra) playing Garcia's part on guitar and vocals, and backup singers Sunshine Garcia Becker and Zoe Ellis.

Let me start out by saying that, as usual, I've been downloading and listening to this whole tour, as well as catching those two shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom back in December, and this band is indisputably the closest sounding band to the Grateful Dead since Jerry's untimely exit from this world in 1995. Kadlecik definitely brings that big Garcia sound to Furthur and alongside the authentic Grateful Dead members of Weir and Lesh and the other great musicians who are more than familiar with the repertoire you've got an incredibly potent dose on your tongue of the Grateful Dead. Kadlecik isn't the second coming of Garcia but he does play with a Jerry kind of sensitivity and his voice sounds uncannily like Garcia's. And by the looks of things, Furthur is built to last, with more shows recently announced for this summer at festivals (Nateva Music and Arts Festival, All Good Festival) and on their own at amphitheaters and minor league baseball parks like what Bob Dylan did last summer. After this winter tour and the summer tour under their belt Furthur will continue to develop, which is something that never happened with 2009's The Dead with Warren Haynes and the GD's core four; they only played that one spring tour and couldn't get anything back together because Haynes is too busy with the Allman Brothers Band and Govt Mule, differences with Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann wanting to go back to stay in Hawaii. Bobby and Phil seem to get along really well now, at least musically. They're clearly the leaders of this band and Furthur just really sounds great. It's a reflection of them and the seasoned professionals they are, and hopefully this lasts a while so Deadheads new and old can enjoy the great American experience that is The Grateful Dead.

The two Furthur shows February 23rd and 24th, 2010 at Radio City Music Hall were both great shows. In the next couple of posts I'll review each show. If you were at these Furthur shows or downloaded them and want to share your opinion please leave a comment. I'm really enjoying listening to this tour and am looking forward to the two shows coming up this June at Coney Island.

Download the Furthur Shows Here

Furthur Rehearsals and Furthurmore

2010-02-11T20:34:00.024-05:00

Recently the Furthur rehearsals from January 2010 surfaced on bt.etree.org. I downloaded four of them and since have been checking out the Furthur Winter Tour shows from bt.etree.org as well. Grate stuff! Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and the guys opened up their rehearsals for the public at The 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, CA, in no other than Bob Weir's neighborhood. The Throckmorton Theatre has a long history in Mill Valley dating back to 1915 when it was known as The Hub Theatre and showed Charlie Chaplin movies and live vaudeville. I couldn't find how many it seats on their website but am assuming it's quite small. This must have been very cool to see these rehearsals which really were more like shows when you listen to them. Each was about two hours long and are a compact "show". They worked up songs that they hadn't previously done like Comes A Time, Ryan Adam's Magnolia Mountain, Ratdog's Two Djin and Dylan's Silvio penned with Robert Hunter as well as Hurricane. The energy is great on these rehearsals and I recommend downloading them here.

142 Throckmorton Theatre
I've downloaded the whole Furthur tour so far up to Hampton, Va 2/12/10. I've only had a chance to listen to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium Asheville NC 2/09/10 show. I was able to abscond with a soundboard of this show and that's why I skipped right to it. I don't have a hell of allot of time to listen to my music these days and basically listen in my car to and from work every day (maybe an hour) and sometimes at home when my Wii playing, homework doing, violin playing 9 year old girl and my wife are not around; which isn't often. So it takes me a long time to delve through a whole tour like that. Like last years Dead Spring Tour which I downloaded the whole tour. It took me till like mid-July to listen to all that music! It's allot of stuff to go through. Anyway, the one show I have listened to sounds so good. This band really eerily sounds so much like - dare I say it - The Grateful Dead. There I said it. John Kadlecik's playing in this band has become more confident and he's exploring places with his band mates which are fresh yet reminiscent of times past. His voice is so perfect for Jerry Garcia's songs it's uncanny. And Furthur is really starting to gel. Like anything Phil Lesh and Bob Weir do; Furthur is a quality product with great players and is developing into something very special indeed. Deadheads should be happy we have this band to go see. Let's enjoy it while it lasts. Thank You Phil and Bobby for a real good time!

I can't wait for my two Furthur shows at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Check back here for my reviews of them. In the mean time I hope to see ya there! You got to try and see a little Furthur.

Download the Furthur Shows Here

Wolfgang's Vault Features Blues Legend Muddy Waters Videos

2010-01-31T12:22:00.015-05:00

As previously featured on Darkstarjamblog, Wolfgang's Concert Vault is a great sites to check out cool music, videos, and Rock n' Roll memorabilia. This past weekend they featured one of my favorite Blues performers and personalities Muddy Waters. I tried to share these free videos of both performances and interviews with the Blues icon Muddy Waters but for some reason Wolfgang's Vault's "embed link" wouldn't work with my Blogger Account. So, for your entertainment, I embedded this video from Youtube of Muddy in this staged video of You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had filmed over in England and I'll include a link to the aforementioned Wolfgang's Vault Video. Don't miss watching these if you love Muddy Waters or you just love the Blues. They're a must see for any Blues fan!

Legendary concert performances available for download at Wolfgang's Vault

Furthur Rolls In To Hammerstein Ballroom

2009-12-10T13:16:00.031-05:00

The Furthur Tour with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead got off to a great start at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom December 8th and 9th, a venue the Grateful Dead played back in 1971 when it was known as the Manhattan Center. It's been a long strange trip since then; coming full circle and back again, on a tour which will bring them to a number of classic venues the Grateful Dead played, including Barton Hall, Cornell University in Ithica, NY and Radio City Music Hall in February. The energy at these Furthur shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom was incredible, evident by the smiles on Phil Lesh's face and the intensity of the whole band. Very strong opening of a tour by a band which only played three shows together, prior to these, back in September. Weir and Lesh are joined by Jeff Chimenti of Ratdog on Keyboards, Jay Lane of Ratdog on Percussion, Joe Russo on Drums, and John Kadlecik of Dark Star Orchestra on Guitar.

Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and John Kadlecik

I was right up front for both Hammerstein shows so I was able to get a few good shots. The playing was great with John Kadlecik of Dark Star Orchestra on Guitar and Jerry. Kadlecik brings a sound to Furthur that resembles Jerry Garcia enough to make this the closest thing to the Grateful Dead since Garcia's Death. John Kadlecik plays guitar with a similar sensitivity and his voice hits that same register as Jerry's. It's fun to close your eyes and try to imagine.....nehhh! Actually I caught Phil a few times with a smile on his face and closed eyes. Wonder what he was thinking? The old boys were definitely having fun. They seemed to be simultaneously recalling the past magic and brewing up some new spells of their own.

Lesh and Weir

Here are the setlists from the two Hammerstein Ballroom Furthur shows:

12/8/09
1st Set
Jam> Truckin'> Dire Wolf, Doin' That Rag, Ramble On Rose, Reuben & Cerise> Looks Like Rain, Cosmic Charlie

2nd Set
Drums> King Solomon's Marbles> He's Gone> New Potato Caboose> The Other One, Days Between> Scarlet Begonias> Fire On The Mountain, Cold Rain & Snow, Phil's Donor Rap, E: Touch of Grey

12/9/09
1st Set
Jam > Feel Like A Stranger > Deal, Crazy Fingers > Memphis Blues, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo > Bird Song, Good Lovin'

2nd Set
Jack Straw, The Wheel > Welcome To The Dance* > Uncle John's Band, Unbroken Chain, Satisfaction, Let It Grow, Sugar Magnolia, Phil's Donor Rap, E: Johnny B. Goode
*New Phil Song

For me the high points of these two Hammerstein shows was the second set of 12/8/09, especially the Scarlet> Fire featuring Kadlecik on the vocals and guitar. This was a very emotional part for me. Really sweet stuff. I also really loved the Ruben and Cherise in the first set. This was a surprise song also featuring Kadlecik. Ruben and Cherise is one of those songs that was always a high point to see the Grateful Dead do with Jerry and also a favorite to see the Jerry Garcia Band perform. Kadlicik's interpretation was just sparkling with memories of Garcia. Just close your eyes and float to another place and time... Wow! In general I loved both of these shows, and as usual, I wish I could have gone to more. I can't wait for Radio City Music Hall in February.

Download all of the Furthur shows HERE

I'll be posting more photos to my flickr profile soon. Check back here for the link. I'll also be posting about the rest of the tour as it rolls on.

Strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hands. Everybody's playing in the Heart of Gold Band, Heart of Gold Band
Hunter/Garcia

Furthur Announces Major Winter Tour

2009-11-23T19:57:00.039-05:00

Furthur featuring The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and Bob Weir with Ratdogs' Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane, and Dark Star Orchestra Guitarist John Kadlecik along with Joe Russo on drums announced a major twenty-eight show US Winter tour.

Furthur Tour Info Here

After listening to downloads of the three Furthur shows from the Fox Theatre in Oakland, CA on September 18th, 19th, and 20th I'm really excited about the upcoming Furthur Winter Tour! Considering these were the first three shows of this newly formed Grateful Dead-ish configuration I think good things are to come on this Furthur Tour. I also just really love the fact that they brought back the "Furthur" name, initally used for the "Furthur Festivals" over the first two summers following Jerry Garcia's death. The Furthur name references Ken Kesey's bus driven by the legendary Neil Cassady , the man Jack Kerouac based his Dean Moriarty character on in On the Road.

Ken Kesey's Bus Fine Art Print from San Francisco State College on 31 Oct 66: 11x14 C-Print Signed

I guess Bob Weir and Phil Lesh decided to play with a "Jerry impersonator" type. John Kadlecik, of Dark Star Orchestra, has made a career as a Garcia tribute guitarist in a Grateful Dead tribute band of sorts. DSO's main theme is to recreate Grateful Dead shows from the past and thus has to be defined as a Grateful Dead copy or tribute band. This said, John Kadlecik sounds very good in this lineup, as well as with DSO. His voice sounds eerily like Jerry's croaky voice at times. Bob Weir was quoted as saying that if you close your eyes and listen to Kadlecik, you might forget that it's not Jerry. I think that's pushing it a bit, but Kadlecik does sound good when they let him sing. They finally got a guy that sounds allot like Jerry vocally, and they don't have him sing all of Jerry's songs. I think it would work well if Bobby sings his songs, Phil sings his songs, and John Kadlecik sings Jerry Garcia's songs. It would sound the most like the Grateful Dead this way and not like Ratdog or The Other Ones or Phil and Friends.

As an interesting side note; Jeff Mattson of the Zen Tricksters, one of my favorite local bands, is replacing John Kadlecik in DSO while he's playing with Furthur. I've also heard rumors that Kadlecik has quit DSO and Mattson will replace him permanently. In any case this reunites Mattson with ex Zen Tricksters' keyboardist Rob Baracco of Phil and Friends fame. I happen to think that if you would have just taken Jeff Mattson and plugged him in to the Jerry spot with Weir, Lesh, Hart, and Kreutzman and Baracco on keyboards, you would have something real close to the Grateful Dead. But Bobby and Phil chose Kadlecik instead (years ago Phil said that Jeff Mattson sounded too much like Jerry for him to play in Phil and Friends). Furthur got off to a good start and they'll surely get better the more they play with each other on this tour. Stay tuned for Futhur information.

The bus came by and I got on. That's when it all began - Grateful Dead

Further - Phil Lesh and Bob Weir Tickets Dec 12 2009 and More

Bob Weir and Ratdog Beacon Theatre 10-24-09

2009-11-02T13:59:00.050-05:00

Bob Weir and Ratdog wrapped up a five night, two venue, New York City run at the Beacon Theatre Saturday, October 24th 2009. The third night at the Beacon, preceded by two nights at the intimate Grand Ballroom (a first for Ratdog), turned out to be a great show which I'm in the process of confirming now digitally. On a drizzly night in NYC I drove in and met up with friends for a sushi dinner in honor of Shelly's birthday, then headed over to the show.

Bob Weir And Ratdog 10-24-09 Beacon Theatre, NYC
I could only go to this one show, but most of my friends did all five and said that Ratdog was playing really well on this NYC run. This show definitely confirmed that for me. Very strong indeed! Even some of my Bobby bashing friends felt that the Dog was playing hot at these shows. It seemed there were no complaints from anyone this time around. Even my buddy Tommy, the toughest Weir critic, enjoyed. I just can't fathom why some of these people complain about Bobby for years, but still go see him five nights in a row? Well they were lucky they did this time, and I wish I could have been there for all of them. I am still grateful I made it to this one. It was a most enjoyable night with great company before and during the show. The often barefooted Bob Weir and Ratdog were in prime form.

I made my way in and grabbed a drink and found my perch in the first row of the Loge, right center, as the lights went out. Perfect spot. No one in front of me, perfect view, drink in hand, and room to dance. What more can you ask for? The set started off with a short Jam into a strong Casey Jones, which Ratdog does a smooth double increase in tempo at the end on. This really set the groove for the first set. High Energy Man! Then they went right into a great Jack Straw which Mark Karan really tore up on the guitar into Cassidy into the blues standard Little Red Rooster into an intense Dark Star Jam which led to Lazy River Road stopping briefly then playing the Ratdog original She Says into Jerry's Liberty into an apropos Bertha - "Ran in to a rain storm, ducked right in to a bar door. All night pourin', but not a drop om me" - to end the set on a high note.

The Persuasions Special Guests at Ratdog Beacon Theatre

The second set brought a sweet surprise! After the customary Ratdog acoustic segment at the beginning of the set, which consisted of Mexicalli Blues > Friend Of The Devil and Black Throated Wind, Bobby brought out The Persuasions, who sang It Must Have Been The Roses a capella. Ratdog stayed onstage, reduced to spectators like the audience, witnessing the beautiful harmonies that these five master singers brewed. The band was then joined by The Persuasions on He's Gone, singing the "Oooh, oooh, Nothing's gonna bring him back" part, and adding a great gospel dimension to the Grateful Dead classic. They were really appreciated by the Deadhead audience, which erupted into cheers which shook the Beacon. The Persuasions left the stage and Ratdog resumed with the remainder of a powerful second set; The Other One > Jam without Weir (Ratdog fans like to call this often Jazz inspired segment "Stuff") into a great Morning Dew > Dark Star > Cassidy Reprise > One More Saturday Night to end the set. The Persuasions then joined Ratdog for the first encore of Ripple which was very sweet, followed by U.S. Blues - during which Hippie Bill waved a Grateful Dead Flag and Yankees flag on stage while Weir seemed to be oblivious to him.

Bob Weir is a trip! Hanging out on stage in what looked like pajamas, barefooted or sandaled, on his Grateful Dead trademark Persian Rugs, he makes the stage his home. And why shouldn't he? The stage is where he spends so much of his time; constantly touring with his different bands. Whether it's with Ratdog, The Dead, the new Furthur configuration, or the revisited Scaring The Children trio with old friend Rob Wasserman and Ratdog drummer Jay Lane, Bob Weir is always busy. He's got to be one of the hardest working guys in Rock and Roll today. Right up there with Warren Haynes and Bob Dylan. And I think doing the other projects Weir is involved in keeps Ratdog fresh when they do play. This last night at the Beacon Theatre had electricity. The music fit the band like a glove. And, like I used to always think, Ratdog just gets better and better every time I see them. They're a great band in their own rite. I look forward to seeing them again next time Bob Weir brings them to New York to make more magic for us. I may be going to Hell In a Bucket, but at least I'm enjoyin' the ride!

Once again I'd like to thank Joe Beacon for taping these shows and uploading them to bt.etree.org. You are a modern day hero! Download the shows here.

Bob Weir Is Scaring The Children In Brooklyn

2009-10-16T11:10:00.010-04:00

Last week I had the opportunity to go see Bob Weir's Scaring The Children in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Bowl. Unfortunately I had to pass it up. But I did download the show at bt.etree.org and since today is Weir's birthday - Happy 62nd Bobby - I popped it in for a listen. Well, just like anytime I skip a show and listen to it later, I regret not going. After speaking to some friends that were there and reading a bit on Brooklyn Bowl's website I figured I'd write a bit on it.

Doors opened at 6PM and the show was supposed to start at 9. But since game 3 of the Yankee's Divisional Series was on, the show didn't start till after 10. This gave people plenty of time to Bowl, Eat, Drink, and be merry. And I heard that BB (owned by the previous owners of Wetlands where I saw many awesome shows) played lots of great old Grateful Dead while all this bowling etc took place. The alleys have screens above the pins for a good view of the stage from all lanes. It sounded like a cool scene to me so I visited BB's website and it turns out that they're the first totally "Green" Bowling alley ever! Very cool, and definitely carries on the tradition of Wetlands as New York Deadheads know. Seems like they like to put on some good music and I'll be checking them out sometime in the near future to see what's going on there.

Listening to the recording of this show makes me wish I went. Sounds nice to hear Bobby with his old buddy Rob Wasserman on Bass and Ratdog's Jay Lane on Drums. A nice trio of players who are very comfortable playing this stuff with each other. Bobby played mostly electric guitar, switching to acoustic on a few numbers. Wasserman playing his usual melodic Bass lines and Jay -no pin intended- Lane holding down the rhythm admirably, Scaring The Children has a nice intimate kind of sound that differs from the bigger band sound of Bob Weir and Ratdog, which sounds nice for a change.

Here's the setlist for you:
Scaring The Children 10/9/09 Brooklyn Bowl

Maggies Farm
Easy Answer
Loose Lucy
Black Bird*
Victim Or The Crime*
Desolation Row*
When I Paint My Masterpiece*
Even So
The Deep End
The Other One
Stuff W/ Joe Russo
Dear Prudence
Goin Down The Road Feeling Bad

*Bobby On Acoustic

Download The Show Here

Buy Bob Weir and Ratdog Tickets Here

Once again a Happy Birthday to Bob Weir! See ya at the Beacon for Ratdog.

The Dead MSG 4/25/09 Return To Garden

2009-05-10T20:20:00.043-04:00

The Dead's Spring Tour carnival rolled in to New York City at The Garden on April 25th, the site of so many incredible Grateful Dead shows in the past, as well as so many other incredible events and home of the Knicks and Rangers. As I already said, Nassau Coliseum was a good show, but the Madison Square Garden show was a notch above Nassau. The energy inside The Garden was apparent even before the show started, as I was seated behind a group of college age kids from upstate New York who were obvious tripsters complete with court jester hats and tye-dyes. As we talked they told me they had never seen Jerry Garcia with the Grateful Dead and this was their first time seeing the Core Four of Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart together. I thought this was cool - the fact that the scene is being kept alive by this kind of stuff, and that there are still young kids being turned on to it. And the MSG show was a big mix of kids like that with older hippie Deadheads and NYC Yuppie types and their spouses, all abuzz with anticipation of the new Dead to this classic venue in the city that never sleeps.

Photo By Dave The Dead at MSG

The Dead opened the show with Cosmic Charlie, a nice surprise that I really didn't expect. Phil sang the lead with Warren playing slide and making the song sound like The Grateful Dead meets The Allman Brothers Band, finishing up belting the harmony behind Phil on the "Come on home your mama's callin' you line. Next up was China Cat Sunflower. The band was right on for the China Cat, unlike earlier in the tour at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA, where they didn't quite mesh on the China > Rider. This time around it was very tight and they hit the nail on the head with Warren playing quick bursts of notes that were Jerry-like and sweet, going into a China > Rider like bridge, but they didn't go into I Know You Rider, as they did in Worcester. Instead they took a sharp right turn into the pulsing Shakedown Street, which got the Garden rockin' as it always did for the Grateful Dead in years past, only now Warren Haynes wailed the vocals with Phil and Bobby behind him. Warren and The Dead create their own jam with a uniquely new yet somehow familiar sound to it, going into the new twist "Shake it down, Shake it down, down" chorus of this Dead configuration (similar to Ratdog's arrangement and the past Dead tour arrangement of 2004). That was followed by a great jam which touched on a common Warren Haynes guitar theme remeniscent of Eleanor Rigby. The pace then slows down and the band slides into Ship Of Fools, sung by Warren, which has a very interesting almost calypso/reggae feel to it. This featured a sweet piano solo by Jeff Chimenti, and Weir on some nice twangy rythm guitar set against Haynes' lead riffs. At the end of Ship they stop briefly and yield to He's Gone (Bobby on lead vocals), an unneeded reminder of Jerry's absense, yet potent proof that this band can still play without him...."He's gone and nothin's gonna bring him back". The first set ends with strong versions of crowd pleasers Cassidy and Sugaree (sung by Warren) which has some nice playing on the jam in the middle. On the line "I'll meet you at the jubilee" Warren instead inserts "I'll meet you at MSG" and the crowd explodes with cheers. Great first set!

Photo By Dave The Dead at MSG

The second set starts with an unusually placed long Drums >Space > Jam segment which leads to Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Born Cross-Eyed > St. Stephen > The Eleven (all ala 1969 Grateful Dead). The opening Drums sequence ran the gamut from Rainforest sounds to Mickey Hart on "The Beam", to the African or Indian Chanting they've been using on this tour. It's almost remeniscent of Pink Floyd at times (as the Drums have been on alot of the spring tour). The Cryptical and the jam leading up to it were long and spacey, with Phil singing the lead with some eerie playing behind him. Cryptical bubbling and finally erupting into The Other One. Very unique. This whole portion of the show was a great piece of music which rivals anything else played on the whole spring tour and might have been the turning point of the tour, where the band really hits their stride. It's almost as if they're saying "Here we are! We have arrived! And we're gonna be a force to be reckoned with from here on in!" Just some real strong medicine; I know it was the potion for my pain. They briefly stop at the end of The Other One and then just go into Born Crossed Eyed, which was really tight, almost sounding like Anthem Of The Sun. This is followed by a hot St. Stephen > The Eleven combo. Great Stuff! The rest of the set they just don't let up - with a sweet Uncle John's Band to slow things down, followed by Phil's epic Unbroken Chain to bring the energy level right back up. Warren plays Unbroken Chain with an authority, due to his familiarity with it from his Phil Lesh and Friends days, when it was a regular in the rotation. That goes into a surprise rockin' Gimme Shelter sung by Warren, who plays Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on this one, and really smokes it up! Bobby throws in his One More Saturday Night; fitting for the occasion. And they wrap it up with Bobby barking on the encore Brokedown Palace, with Warren fixing it with his sweet vocals and guitar. All in all another great night at Madison Square Garden with The Dead, and hopefully these guys do this thing again real soon. It's been a long wait since the last time, but certainly worth it.

Here's the complete setlist from 4/25/09 The Dead at MSG

Set 1: Cosmic Charlie, China Cat Sunflower> Shakedown Street > Ship Of Fools > He's Gone, Cassidy, Sugaree

Set 2: Drums> Space> Cryptical Envelopment > Other One> Born Cross-Eyed > St. Stephen> The Eleven, Uncle John's Band, Unbroken Chain> Gimme Shelter > One More Saturday Night, E: Brokedown Palace

What did you think of this show? This Tour? Let me know with a comment!

Download The Dead shows Here

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Live Webcast

2009-05-02T11:21:00.012-04:00

I wish I was at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this weekend (not to mention last weekend). I went five years in a row between 1996 and 2000. It's the biggest music and food orgie in the country, held every year on the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May. Everyone who's anyone in music is there and all the great restaurants in New Orleans sell their food there for the tasting. What a party! If you wish you were there eating gumbo and fried green tomatoes, drinking a Hurricane and listening to Dr John and the Neville Brothers funky music then you can do the next best thing. Go to New Orleans Jazzfest Webcast, install the media player and fry up some not so ripe tomatoes (for the gumbo and Hurricanes you're on your own). They'll be Webcasting the sets this whole weekend. Todays features will be Sonny Landreth at 12:45 PM, BeauSoleil at 1:00 PM, Joe Cocker at 2:50 PM, and The Dave Matthews Band at 6:00 PM amongst others. Tomorrows features will be Allen Toussaint at 1:00 PM, Better Than Ezra at 2:30 PM, Irma Thomas (a personal favorite of mine) at 3:15 PM, Bonnie Raitt at 3:45 PM, James Taylor 4:00 PM, and The Neville Brothers at 5:40 PM. Obviously some of these sets will not be in their entirety, which you can tell from the times listed, but some will be complete sets, especially The Neville Brothers to close the festival on Sunday. So get the hot sauce ready and fire up the grill it's party time with The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this weekend. Enjoy!

If you want to share your own memories of Jazzfest please leave a comment.

The Dead '09 Spring Tour - Enjoyed The Ride

2009-05-01T13:43:00.034-04:00

This Deadhead's Spring Tour with The Dead is over now. Life goes on. But it was a fun ride that I enjoyed and my only regret is not mailordering for a few more shows. Oh well, The Dead '09 Spring Tour is but a sweet memory (and some more downloads) now. Looking back on the spring tour, which is still in progress, it exceeded my expectations both musically and socially. The scene on this tour had the feel of the old Grateful Dead scene of yesteryear, complete with drum circles and veggie egg rolls galore; and the music definitely has come together for the band, culminating for me in two great nights at New Jersey's IZOD Center April 28th and 29th, a venue I saw so many Grateful Dead shows at when it was called Brendan Byrne Arena. These two shows were augmented by the addition of long time friend Branford Marsalis on sax to the lineup, a true treat for The Dead as well as all Deadheads in attendance. Branford always has a way of lifting these guys up to higher peaks, and these shows were no exception. I enjoyed all four shows I saw (April 24th Nassau Coliseum, April 25th MSG, and the two IZOD shows) but the band got better with each show, as they seemed to on this spring tour as a whole.

Photo: MSG By Dave
Nassau Coliseum was a sweet show for me because I had my wife and eight year old daughter with me, something I rarely have a chance to experience together with them, but musically Nassau was just good, not spectacular. It was a nice start to The Dead Spring Tour for me. The next night at Madison Square Garden, on the other hand, was a great night of music, and as I said earlier each show for me got better and better, so you can imagine how good I thought the IZOD Center shows were.... In retrospect listening to the Soundboard recording of Nassau it actually was a strong show, but in light of the following three shows for me (I missed Hartford, Sunday 4/26/09 in between) it pales in comparison. I think I was also a little preoccupied with my family and friends I ran into. My seats were also not so good for Nassau. We were in the 300's on the side of the stage. Nassau featured a nice first set opener Jack Straw and Brown-Eyed Women, followed by Dylan's It's All Over Now Baby Blue (Bobby vocals). Then came the first set high point for me; both the Easy Wind, featuring Warren Haynes on Pigpen's vocal spot and Jerry's guitar spot, and the Death Don't Have No Mercy, with alternating vocals by Weir and Haynes and Warren's tasteful guitar lead. Don't Ease Me In with Weir singing, and Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance, the Grateful Dead '80's combo was nice to hear (I don't think Ratdog does these as a combo, ironically Phil and Friends has recently done it though) but wasn't great. I don't think Warren Haynes has nailed this one down yet, but it was ok.

Photo: Nassau Coliseum By Dave

The second set started with a special acoustic treat of three songs; Dylan's Masterpiece, Peggy-O, and Looks Like Rain. This was only the second time on this tour The Dead played one of these little acoustic sets (the other time was the second show 04/14/09 at Verizon Center - Washington, DC) and was sweet, especially the Peggy-O which I love Phil Lesh's vocals on. The only problem with this added little set is that it breaks up the continuity of the second set due to added set up time after it. The remainder of the second set was electric, and nicely played; Alabama Getaway > Jam > Dark Star > Drums > Space > Knockin On Heavens Door, Goin Down The Road Feelin' Bad (Encore) Touch Of Grey All nice stuff. The Drums > Space segment was pretty intense with some really cool stuff in there resembling the Rhythm Devils Apocalypse Now sessions of long ago. This was about where my daughter fell asleep, it was a long day for her. Goin' Down The Road was really hot and the encore Touch was sweet, ending with the chorus of "We will survive, We will get by" - the old (and not so new) mantra of the Grateful Dead past and the post Jerry Garcia Dead present. To me and many Deadheads this line, like so many others, has taken on a new meaning since Garcia's death in 1995. A sweet ending to a nice concert, the first of my four spring tour shows for me; all in all a good start.

Photo: IZOD Center By Dave

I'll be back to continue my The Dead Spring Tour show reviews as well as other shows on the spring tour soon. Up next - MSG. Did you see any shows on this tour? Let us know about your experiences in the comments.

Download The Dead shows Here

The Dead Rise To Occasion On First Week Of 2009 Spring Tour

2009-04-21T18:18:00.020-04:00

The first few days of The Dead 2009 Spring Tour shows took a little longer than normal to show up on Torrent download sites like bt.etree.org for some reason, but eventually they were there for the taking, and sharing. Each subsequent Dead show seems to take a few days to appear, hence I'm a little backed up with my listening to this point. It takes me a few days to listen to each show and have so far listened to the first three. Everyone seemed to rave about opening night Easter Sunday April 12th at Greensboro Coliseum, NC. The setlist can be found in my last post. I thought it was a good show with a great setlist. The show definitely had it's high-lights and the boys seem to make a statement that they came ready to play; but the second and third shows of The Dead's Spring Tour seem to build momentum, and if that energy continues to build they should be in peak form by the time the circus pulls in to town for me at Nassau!

Music Never Stopped was an apropos first song of the tour at Greensboro. The overall message was that the music never really did stop...Since the last incarnation of The Dead in 2004 Bob Weir and Ratdog, Phil Lesh and Friends, Mickey Hart and Billy Kreutzmann have all been busy with their own gigs...But The Dead, together again, have picked up where they left off with better Karma and a leaner lineup and sound which packs more punch this time around. I had said way back, after the first Barack Obama benefit, that I like this lineup with Warren Haynes on guitar and Jeff Chimenti on keyboards. It's a cleaner more streamlined sound than the last Dead lineup which also included Jimmy Herring on a third guitar, and Rob Barraco on keys as well as Chimenti, and Joan Osborne dragged around for more variation on vocals. It was too much of a mish-mosh of sound compared to the leaner cleaner sound of this current band, which can feature Warren Haynes more. Warren has and will continue to rise to the occasion throughout this tour as he always has in the past, given the opportunity. And the opportunity is there without Herring and Barraco as feature instrumentalists and Osborne as feature vocalist this time around.

Haynes shines on a number of songs in the first show, as well as more and more in the following two shows at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC and John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA. Most of the first set of Greensboro was good but nothing great. The second set opens with a nice but not earth shattering Shakedown Street into a surprise All Along The Watchtower sung by Warren rather than the usual Bobby. This was a change that was not as welcome with me as it might have been by most. I think the familiarity of Weir's voice on this would have made it sound more Grateful Dead-ish, but that decision was the bands and Warren did sound nice belting this Dylan classic ala Hendrix - I just would've rather heard Bobby on this one personally. The rest of the show from that point was hot shit!

> Caution (Do Not Stop On The Tracks) > drums > space > Cosmic Charlie >New Potato Caboose > Help On The Way> Slipknot> Franklin's Tower, E: Samson and Delilah

Warren was great on the Caution jam and layed the Pigpen rap on nice... "I went down to see a gypsy woman..." The Drums > Space segment is one of the points in these shows that sound most like The Grateful Dead...because it mostly is The Grateful Dead, and Mickey and Billy pull out all the old tricks. The group effort on Cosmic Charlie is sweet. Phil's New Potato Caboose in to Help > Slipknot > Franklin's is a high energy way of finishing up the set. Warren is very comfortable on all of this material from the end of the set since all of these songs were staples in the Phil Lesh and Friends - Q - lineup that he was part of. They wrap it up with Sampson, their Sunday bible song.

All and all a strong show to start the tour and I'm sure the energy must have been great for the Deadheads who were there, but the following two Dead shows were even better. I can't possibly cover those shows in the same post (it would take me forever and the tour would be over), so maybe what I'll do is come back soon and post the setlists as the tour continues and I'll comment on some "high"lights. In the meantime if you were at any of these shows and want to share your thoughts please do so in the Comments. Thanks...and I'll see you on tour.

Download The Dead shows Here

The Dead Kickoff Spring Tour - Greensboro Coliseum

2009-04-13T10:59:00.009-04:00

The Dead kicked off their 2009 Spring Tour Easter Night, April 12th, at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC. So far I have not been able to find the show on bt.etree.org but I'm sure it will be up later on for download. At which time I'll be certain to grab it and give it a listen and offer my review for what it's worth. In the mean time here's the setlist:

Set 1:
The Music Never Stopped, Jack Straw, Estimated Prophet > He's Gone, Touch of Grey, I Need A Miracle > Truckin'

Set 2:
Shakedown Street > All Along The Watchtower > Caution (Do Not Stop On The Tracks) > drums > space > Cosmic Charlie >New Potato Caboose > Help On The Way> Slipknot> Franklin's Tower, E: Samson and Delilah

The Dead: Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Warren Haynes, Jeff Chimenti

Pretty nice looking setlist for the opener of The Dead Spring tour. Looks like the Deadheads down South had a very nice Easter show. The only surprise for me was that Phil Lesh didn't do Tom Thumbs Blues, his usual Easter Sunday song with The Grateful Dead. I fully expected that to be on the setlist.

Here's some practice session stuff taken from Dead.net

Video directed by Justin Kreutzmann produced by Jay Blakesberg

If any of you kiddies out there were at this show please leave a comment about your experience. I'd love to hear what you thought. Thanks...Check back throughout the tour for my musings on The Dead 2009 Spring Tour.

Free The Dead Roseland Ballroom

2009-03-31T20:32:00.025-04:00

Photo By Dave
Okay - I know I said in my last post that I didn't win tickets to The Dead at one of the three free shows, billed as "Free The Dead", they played at three different venues (Angel Orensanz Center, Gramercy Theatre, and Roseland Ballroom) throughout NYC on 3/30/09 - but when I got up Monday and read my email I got my confirmation from GDTSTOO early that morning. I won a pair of tix for the 11:00 PM Roseland Ballroom show, the last of four performances (if you count Lesh, Weir, and Warren Haynes' appearance on ABC's The View that morning) by members of the Grateful Dead in one day. These shows were like an extension of the old free Haight Ashbury shows the Grateful Dead put together in the Sixties, fourty some-odd years later, and it was my first time seeing The Dead for free; a wonderful gift from The Boys! I'm Grateful to have won these tix and can't wait to see The Dead on the upcoming Spring Tour after seeing this powerful set of music. Warren Haynes jumped out of the Allman Brothers Band frying pan into the Grateful Dead fire after his fifteen night stint at The Beacon Theatre with the ABB, seeming to switch styles seemlessly, and giving us a glimpse of things to come this Spring Tour.

Tom, Dave (me), Jeanette

I got there on time to pick up my free tickets and meet my friends for a few drinks at the Russian piano bar accross 52nd street. The cherry infused vodka got me in the right frame of mind and I headed in for the show. The Dead started off strong with Garcia's Althea - "this place is gettin' hot" - and really never let up through an hour and fifty minute set ending with Not Fade Away - "You know our love will Not Fade Away"! The full set looked like this:

Althea, Cassidy, Uncle Johns Band> Eyes Of The World> St. Stephen> Dark Star> Sugar Magnolia (E)Not Fade Away

Mickey, Billy, Phil, Bobby, Warren

Most of the Jerry songs were sung by the "singer by commitee" method - that is they swiched off on the lead vocals between Warren, Bobby, and Phil - much the same way they did at the Deadheads For Obama shows. They sounded like they're ready to play on this tour and after some rehearsals back in California they'll kick off strong on April 12th in Greensboro, NC. It's just such a big sound with the rhythm section of Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzman, and Phil Lesh. I've missed that! With the core four and Haynes and Jeff Chimenti it really sounds nice. These are guys who know this music and can play and improvise on it. They should make some magic happen on The Dead Spring Tour. It was great to see The Dead in such a small venue and the sponteneity of this gift show from the band made it even sweeter and remeniscent of my Grateful Dead past. How many times did I do one or two Grateful Dead shows and get the itch to do some more? Here are the setlists from the earlier appearances The Dead made that day:

ABC's The View
Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Warren Haynes Acoustic

Friend Of The Devil

Angel Orensanz Center for the Arts
Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Warren Haynes Acoustic

Dire Wolf, Bird Song, Cumberland Blues, Pride Of Cucumunga, Lazy River Road, Casey Jones, Ripple

Blender Theatre @ Gramercy

Playin' In The Band -> Good Lovin' -> The Wheel -> Franklin's Tower -> encore Touch Of Grey

After listening to Downloads of all of these sets I feel that the Roseland Ballroom set was the best sounding of the three. What do you think? Let me know by commenting.

Download Free The Dead shows Here

The Dead To Make Four Appearances In One Day

2009-03-29T18:24:00.010-04:00

The Dead, in anticipation of their upcoming Spring Tour, will make four appearances tomorrow throughout the day including an early TV stop on ABC's The View with Whoopi, Barbara, Joy, Elisabeth, and Sherri. The other three shows are all free performances throughout the day that can only be attended by winning tickets from The Grateful Dead through their online lottery system, which I DID NOT win! Oh well I guess I'll have to wait till The Dead Spring Tour 2009 kicks off in April. Early in the day Warren Haynes, fresh off The Allman Brothers Band 15 night Beacon Theatre run, Bob Weir, and Phil Lesh will play an acoustic set at Angel Orensanz Center in Lower Manhattan. Later on they'll be joined by the rest of The Dead (Bill Kreutzman, Mickey Hart, and Jeff Chimenti) for sets at The Gramercy Theatre at 5 PM and Roseland Ballroom at 11 PM. This message appeared on Dead.net -

IMPORTANT NOTE: IF YOU ARE NOT A LUCKY WINNER WITH TICKETS DO NOT SHOW UP AT THE VENUE - YOU WILL NOT GET IN. NO TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR IN ANY FASHION. Unless you are one of the lucky winners, you are not getting in or anywhere near the venue. Please respect the wishes of everyone involved with this regard.

I guess I shouldn't try to get in to any of these shows. What do you think?

Bob Weir and Phil Lesh came to town a little early last week to sit in with Warren Haynes and The Allman Brothers Band at their annual Beacon Theatre Run Saturday night 3/28/09. The ABB played with as many special guests as they could on this run to honor founding member Duanne Allman for their 40 year anniversary shows. Weir and Lesh had shared a stage with Duanne a number of times on double bills of The Grateful Dead and ABB at Bill Graham's Fillmore East in the early 1970's as well as some other shared bills by the two bands later on (i.e. Watkins Glen '73). As with most of these Beacon Theatre shows there were multiple guests (besides Weir and Lesh). Here's the setlist from that night -

Little Martha
Done Somebody Wrong
Trouble No More
Rocking Horse (3rd Stone tease>Little Martha tease>Blue Sky tease)
Walk On Guilded Spinters
Who To Believe
Born Under A Bad Sign w/Floyd Miles
Stormy Monday w/ Floyd Miles & Chuck Levell
Come & Go Blues w/ Chuck Levell
Jessica w/ Chuck Levell & Paul Riddle

Set 2 (10:56 > 12:24)

Sugaree w/Bob Weir & Phil Lesh
I Know You Rider w/Bob Weir & Phil Lesh
Franklin's Tower w/Bob Weir & Phil Lesh & Chuck Levell
Black Hearted Woman>
Other One Jam>
Black Hearted Woman
Mountain Jam w/ Chuck Levell

Encore (12:28 > 12:38)

Statesboro Blues

I wasn't at this show (the two shows I were at smoked!) but I have heard mixed reviews of the Grateful Dead members section from friends that were there. So far I haven't been able to find it on Youtube yet to see for myself but I'm sure it still had to be a special moment for Deadhead Allman Fans. If you were there leave a comment and let me know what you thought of it. The Allman Brothers Band were particularly hot on this NYC run. The versatile Warren Haynes will trade in his ABB hat for his Grateful Dead hat as he plays the Jerry Garcia role in the current lineup of The Dead on the upcoming spring tour. See ya there Deadheads...

Allman Brothers Band Rock The Beacon Theatre 3/14/09

2009-03-16T13:56:00.040-04:00

This past Saturday night, 3/14/09, I resumed my annual pilgrimage to the Beacon Theatre in NYC to partake in the Allman Brothers Band's yearly residency there. I've been there every year to see the ABB since they've been playing there annually, I think since 1995 or '96 (missing last year -'08 - due to Greg Allman's recovering from complications due to Hepatitis C, causing the band to cancel the run). The Allman Brothers Band never ceases to amaze me at these March Madness shows and this year is no exception! Saturday night left me longing for more and I'll probably find myself down there at least one more night of this run, risking the wrath of my wife. The whole band played with incredible energy driven by the appearance of some great special guests (Randy Brecker, Robert Randolph, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White from Return To Forever). They also seem to be inspired by the fact that these are their 40 Year Anniversary shows that they've dedicated to their Late Founding Brother Duanne Allman.

In the weeks leading up to the Beacon shows The ABB made it clear that they would be bringing in more musical guests for these shows than ever before. They usually jam with everyone who's anyone in music; but these shows would be extra heavy on the special appearances in honor of Duanne Allman, and they'd like those guests to include as many performers who had played with Papa Duanne as possible. This immediately brought up rumors of lots of musicians most notably the banished Dickey Betts and Duanne's Derek and the Dominoes mate Eric Clapton. Clapton having the double connection to The Allman Brothers Band since he also had Derek Trucks join his band on a tour a few years ago. Clapton's appearance is pretty much set for two days, probably March 27th and 28th, and rumors continue to fly that Betts will play with his old band on March 23rd. The band continues to deny Dickey Betts being on the list of guests but the Allman's fans seem to be willing his appearance to happen. Only time will tell.

So far the guests have included Levon Helm of The Band, Larry Campbell and wife Theresa Williams of Helm's band and Phil Lesh and Friends, Bluesmen Johnny Winter, Taj Mahal and Buddy Guy, Phish members Trey Anastasio and Paige McConell, Boz Scaggs, Randy Brecker, Robert Randolph, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Bruce Willis on Harmonica, and members of Los Lobos. Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead are rumored to be sitting in later in the run as well as other assorted rumors.

The show I caught on March 14th was really hot! A trio of Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, and Oteil Burbridge opened up with Duanne Allman's Little Martha to a backdrop of Duanne Allman images behind them. Sweet touch! Greg Allman and the rest of the band came out to join them on rousing renditions of Ain't Waistin' Time No More, Walk On Guilded Splinters, Rocking Horse, Gambler's Roll, Revival, and Woman Across The River. Then they were joined onstage for the set-closing Dreams by Jazz Session Man Randy Brecker on Trumpet and Return To Forever Drummer Lenny White. This was a great version of the Allman Brothers Classic with great jams by Brecker, Haynes, and Derek Trucks interspersed with Greg belting raspy vocals. Great stuff! The second set opened with the typical Melissa duo of Warren on Slide and Greg on Acoustic Guitar. Then they were joined by the next special guest - Robert Randolph - on Steele Pedal Guitar on Turn On Your Lovelight and One Way Out for a collaboration of world class slide guitar players in Randolph and Trucks that really rocked the Beacon Theatre. Adam Nussbaum, a Jazz Drummer who has played with Brecker, also joined in place of Jaimo on these two songs. Then came the high point in the show for me; Randolph and Nussbaum leave the stage and are replaced by Lenny White and Randy Brecker, again, for a great version of Miles Davis' Jazz Classic In A Silent Way and the Dickey Betts instrumental In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed, which led into it's usual Drum Jam with Lenny White still sitting in for Jaimo and really adding alot of energy to the Drums section of the show. This led into the Bass Solo which wound up being a Bass Duet with the one and only Stanley Clarke joining a gushing Oteil Burbridge onstage for a real thrill for all (especially Oteil). The rest of the band could be seen on the side of the stage watching in awe as the two Bass players jammed with one another. Unfortunately Clarke left the stage at this point rather than staying on and interacting with the rest of the band. This was followed up with the end of Elizabeth Reed to end the second set. The Encore of Mountain Jam followed with Warren inserting Led Zeppelin's Dazed and Confused in the middle. This was a great surprise at the end of a night filled with surprises. The only thing that's not surprising is that The Allman Brothers Band can still Rock and that I'll be Rolling back to the Beacon Theatre for more!

To watch these Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theatre 40th Anniversary Shows on streaming video live and archived through September 30th Go To www.moogis.com

Simon and Garfunkel Reunite at Beacon Theatre Reopening

2009-02-16T11:55:00.007-05:00

Paul Simon brought Art Garfunkel out for the encore of the renovated Beacon Theatre reopening show on February 13, 2009 for a three song Simon and Garfunkel Reunion, for one of only a few times together in the last four years. They sang "The Sounds Of Silence", "The Boxer", and "Old Friends" to a surprised and ecstatic crowd of fans including such celebrities as Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Rosie O'Donnell, and The Jonas Brothers. This was a special moment that was shared by a lucky (and rich) group of people on Friday The 13th, and will probably start new talk of a Simon and Garfunkel reunion tour or at least a few shows for the masses to see (and hear). Hopefully that will happen! It certainly would be a wonderful thing to see. We can only keep our collective fingers crossed on this one and hope it happens. Please Guys, how about Central Park again? What a Scene that would be!

The Dead Add Three Shows To Spring Tour

2009-02-13T15:36:00.007-05:00

The Dead added on three shows to their upcoming Spring Tour Monday, May 4, 2009, All State Arena in Chicago, IL, Thursday, May 14, 2009, Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mt. View, CA, and Sunday, May 16, 2009, The Gorge in Quincy, WA. The Gorge show will be with special guests The Allman Brothers Band and The Doobie Brothers. Pretty interesting. I wish I could go to that, but I'll just be doing the New York area shows: MSG, Nassau Coliseum, East Rutherford.

I mail ordered for those venues and shortly after received an email from The Dead (GDTSTOO) saying that they could only fill one third of the Madison Square Garden requests. I got very edgy about getting shut out of possibly the last time the remaining members of the Grateful Dead would play MSG, so when tickets went on sale through Ticketscum(master) I went on their website and ordered a ticket. The only catch was that I THOUGHT I bought the ticket from TM, but in actuallity I was seamlessly taken to another website, I think owned by TMaster, and bought a previously purchased ticket for a higher price ($200.00) from someone reselling it. In other words I bought a scalped ticket from Ticketmaster! Unbeknownst to me. They even charged me $12.95 for shipping which must have been a prechecked box on the form I rushed through online because if you don't hurry up you lose those tickets in the que. When I got a FedEx notice a few days later I figured out that I paid extra for shipping. When I picked it up guess what was inside? A photocopy of a ticket to the show and a notice to the affect of "Do Not photocopy this ticket and resell. Once this ticket is scanned at the venue this barcode can not be rescanned for admittance". What's with that? I mean why not tell people that they're buying a ticket higher than face value? Why not also send the actual ticket rather than a photocopy? Who would I contact to find out why this happened to me? Big Brother? I heard about the whole Bruce Springsteen thing too. I think bands should make sure their ticket sales are not misshandled like that. If I could pay $200.00 for a ticket why shouldn't that money go to the band, not to an individual reselling it and Live Nation and Ticketscum, who by the way are looking to merge. It's like the greedy merging with the more greedy!

So if I get my MSG ticket for The Dead maybe someone wants to rebuy this ticket from me. Maybe I'll open it up to bid right here. Check back to see what happens if you want a ticket for this show. Hey, ya never know.

Warren Haynes' Govt Mule Angel Orensanz Center, NYC 12/27/08

2009-01-19T14:24:00.028-05:00

Warren Haynes brought his Govt Mule to the Angel Orensanz Center in New York's Greenwich Village, a beautifully ornate venue in a converted Temple dating back to the 1800's. This description of the center was taken from it's website www.orensanz.org:

The Center itself is a neo-gothic building which was designed as a synagogue in 1849 by Berlin architect Alexander Seltzer. He drew inspiration for his design from the cathedral of Cologne and the German romantic movement of Heinrich Heine and Beethoven.

This structure witnessed the birth of the Jewish reform movement in America, but the after the decay of the Yiddish Lower East Side after World War II, dozens of synagogues and other significant structures disappeared.

Angel Orensanz bought this venerable structure in 1986, first for his own studio, and then to make it again a beacon of education and culture in the city of New York. The Foundation produces every year several cultural events such the Heinrich Heine Festival, the West Belfast-New York City Festival, Berlin Transfer (a symposium of philosophers and scientists with the Senate of Berlin), the Installation Art Award and publishes Artscape, a quarterly of the arts.

I got a sense of the history of this building while standing accross the street before the show and gazing at the structure, which seems somewhat out of place in the Village.

This set the scene for a beautiful intimate appearance by a band that usually plays at venues seating ten times this place. Only 300 people were at each of these two shows (they also played 12/28/08). The only way you could aquire tickets to these shows was if you were a ticket holder for the Govt Mule New Year's Eve Hammerstein Ballroom shows. I was lucky enough, once again, to have great friends who were able to provide me with a ticket to this amazing show. Warren started out on sweet solo acoustic on Glory Road and Affair On 8th Avenue before he was joined by Drummer Matt Abts, new bassist Jorgen Carlsson, and Keyboardist Danny Louis in the middle of Broken Promised Land. The rest of the set was electric rockin' Govt Mule. The second set had a similar start with Haynes playing solo acoustic on Hallelujah. The band joined him for the remainder. Here's the complete setlist:

SET 1
Glory Road, Affair On 8th Avenue, Broken Promised Land, Get Behind The Mule, I'll Be The One w/ Blue Sky Jam, Afro Blue, Bus Stop, About A Girl

SET 2
Hallelujah, The Shape Im In, I Believe To My Soul, Don't Let It Bring You Down, It Hurts Me Too, Drums, Child Of The Earth, Sugaree, Thorazine Shuffle
ENCORE:
Forevermore, Where Did You Sleep Last Night

High points for me (no pun intended) were I'll Be The One with a really sweet Blue Sky Jam which hopefully is a sign of things to come with the Allman Brothers Band poised to take the Beacon Theatre over for at least ten nights (on sale already), and promising to have more "special guests" than ever before in celebration of their 40th Anniversary; to some this is code for Dickey Betts - who knows...maybe. Coltrane's Jazz standard Afro Blue was hot. The Hollies Bus Stop was a nice surprise and well done. The second set was great with standouts of Neil Young's Don't Let It Bring You Down suiting Warren just fine, Ellmore James' Blues Classic It Hurts Me Too, an awesome Drum solo by Matt Abts, who's an animal, and a sweet Sugaree, also foreshadowing the upcoming Dead Spring Tour in which Haynes will be on board of course.

All this on top of the venue being one of the most beautiful places, architecturally, that I've ever seen. This was truly a wonderful show in a really incredible setting. Prime Govt Mule.

Download the show from bt.etree.org here.

Note: Photos were taken by me and you can view more pictures at my new Flickr Account Here. Please if you like them let me know.

Still Grateful After Thirty Years On The Bus

2009-01-10T17:26:00.024-05:00

It was thirty years ago today that as a thirteen year old kid from Long Island your's truly went to his first Grateful Dead show at the Nassau Coliseum on Jan 10th 1979. That was the day I hopped on the bus and still haven't gotten off. That show and the thriving scene around it made a huge impression on me. The Grateful Dead seems to be an on going longterm obsession of mine and I can't see it going away any time soon. Hell, it's been a part of my everyday life ever since that first show. Sure I can't go off on tour anymore; I'm a family man and have more responsibilities than when I was younger, but I make it to as many hip scenes as I can. My way of living it is by going to a few shows and then downloading a whole bunch and living it through the live recordings. Thank God for the Tapers and the internet. They bring the music to me so that I can at least have some of the experience of the show.

That Grateful Dead concert thirty years ago turned out to be the first of many I would go to over the next sixteen and a half years until Jerry Garcia's death. This first show wound up being SOME show when looking at it in retrospect. First of all it was my only Dead show with Keith and Donna in the band. By the time I'd see them next (November), Brent Mydland would be the new guy on keyboards. But if you take a look at the setlist or listen to a recording of this show you'll see how lucky I was to catch it. I didn't realize it till I saw the setlist and listened to it on tape maybe eight to ten years later.

Here's the setlist compliments of Deadbase.com: 01-10-79 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y. (Wed)
1: Promised, Dire Wolf, Mama Tried> Mexicali, Tennessee Jed, L. L. Rain, Stagger Lee, El Paso, Row Jimmy, Passenger, Loser, Music
2: Shakedown, Miracle> Bertha> Good Lovin, Dark Star> Drumz> Wharf Rat> St. Stephen> Around E: Johnny B. Goode

As you can see I caught such gems as Dark Star and St Stephen, both rare occurrences in the years to follow. The first set was average but solid featuring some classic tunes like Dire Wolf, Tenn Jed, and Loser and a good sampling of Weir cowboy songs in Mama Tried> Mexicali and El Paso. Passanger would also be a song that dissapears from the repertoire soon after this. The second set was when it got real heavy! Obviously I'm a Dark Star fan (see name of my blog). The opener Shakedown, Miracle> Bertha> Good Lovin is sweet. Then comes a pretty intense spacey Dark Star with a kind of Blues For Allah'ish jam in it...Drumz> Wharf Rat> St. Stephen> R&R E: Johnny B. Goode. Strong second half of the set with a St. Stephen for my FIRST Grateful Dead concert...Wow! And that would prove to be my only St Stephen, but I would catch quite a few more Dark Star's after they broke it back out in '89.

When I look back at this show and think that it was thirty years ago I just can't believe it. I was sold at that point, hook, line, and sinker and continued to go to shows through the end. And now I continue to see any Grateful Dead related activities like Phil Lesh and Friends, Ratdog, The Dead etc. I'll be heading out soon to see at least 4 of The Dead Spring '09 shows, and as I prepare to go to the Nassau Coliseum, once again, I can't help but notice how things have come full circle. What a long strange trip it's been. Hope to see ya there, for a real good time.

Grateful Dead To Tour Spring '09

2009-01-01T15:46:00.016-05:00

Happy New Years Deadheads! It's official. The Grateful Dead will tour in the spring of 2009. The New Year brought confirmation of the rumors with an announcement on their website Dead.net of 19 shows this spring accross the US. Here's the list of dates below. These were taken from the Grateful Deads website and you can get more details by following the link above. Presale begins January 13th so scrounge up all your loose change and get ready for a real good time. The lineup will be the same as the Obama Benefit show at Penn State: the original four members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzman, and Mickey Hart joined by the one and only Warren Haynes on guitar and vocals and Jeff Chimenti on keyboards and vocals. The Obama Bryce Center Benefit was a really tasteful sounding show (read about it here) and should be a great indicator of Grateful things to come. This Deadhead can't wait for spring to come.

Spring Tour (as of now Jan 1, 2009)

April 12 Greensboro NC Greensboro Coliseum
April 14 Washington DC Verizon Center
April 15 Charlottesville VA John Paul Jones Arena
April 17 Albany NY Times Union Center
April 18 Worcester MA DCU Center
April 19 Worcester MA DCU Center
April 21 Buffalo NY HSBC Arena
April 22 Wilkes-Barre PA Wachovia Arena @
Casey Plaza
April 24 Uniondale NY Nassau Coliseum
April 25 New York NY Madison Square Garden
April 26 Hartford CT XL Center
April 28 E. Rutherford NJ IZOD Center
April 29 E. Rutherford NJ IZOD Center
May 1 Philadelphia PA Wachovia Spectrum
May 2 Philadelphia PA Wachovia Spectrum
May 5 Chicago IL All State Arena
May 7 Denver CO Pepsi Center
May 9 Los Angeles CA The Forum
May 10 Mountain View CA Shoreline Amphitheater

ps: I'll be posting soon about the Govt Mule show on 12/27/08 at the Angel Orensanz Center in NYC. This was an incredible show by Warren Haynes and Govt Mule in the most beautiful venue I've seen in New York and serves as my New Years show thanks to my dear friends Jeanette and Terry. Thanks Guys! Please come back and read this post soon. Happy 2009...and stay in touch.

Phil Lesh and Friends Nokia Theatre Philathon 2008

2008-11-21T18:00:00.044-05:00

This past Tuesday concluded the now annual Phil Lesh and Friends Nokia Theatre Philathon, a fourteen night run of wonderful shows on Broadway by the long time Grateful Dead Bass player and his current group of Friends: John Molo on Drums, Steve Molitz from Particle on Keyboards, The Master Larry Campbell on Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle, Steele Pedal Guitar, and other assorted implements of sound, Barry Sless (when available) on Steele Pedal Guitar and Guitar, The Pride of San Fransisco Jackie Greene on Guitar and Keyboards and majority of Vocals, and Theresa Williams (Campbells wife) on Chick Vocals. Lesh's current lineup, together for about a year and a half, settled in to the Times Square Nokia Theatre with Deadheads in tow on Halloween, and stayed for fourteen nights spanning 3 weeks, a unique situation for a band that's been on the road on and off for the past eighteen months or so. According to Lesh in a WNEW FM Radio Interview, playing one venue for a long stretch like this affords the band to get more comfortable and into a groove, which can't be achieved while playing multiple venues night to night. And what better place to get in to a groove than New York City on Broadway at the cozy 2,000 seat Nokia? If you haven't been to the Nokia Theatre get your ass down there. It's just a really nice place to see a show. Clean and new with an organized, friendly staff, great sound system with general admission dance floor and seating behind it. Each seat in the house has a perfect sight-line and there are multiple video screens visible to all.

I was lucky enough to catch three of these shows, all three Sundays, thanks to Mondays off, and my wife's permission...sorta, and Phil for making it happen. Hey, who knows how many more times he'll be able to pull off a run like that? Might as well do it while I can. I wished I could've gone to more, like some of my friends did, but seeing three shows is at least somewhat satisfying for me. All three Sundays were good shows, as well as all of the other stuff I've downloaded and listened to so far. A big thanks goes out to Joe D'Amico (aka Joebeacon) for taping every night and uploading these killer sounding recordings of Phil and Friends to bt.etree.org. Kudos to you Joe! You're a modern day hero man!

Photo:Rachel Papo NY Times

Obviously I can't review 14 shows here...it would be a huge post or multiple posts and I don't have time for that right now, but having listened to, or been there, for about 10 of these shows I can definitely say that this band came a long way since last year. It even came a long way since this past summer. Sadly enough, as usual, Phil will probably tear down another band he built up and developed. Rumor has it that everyone in the band's contract is up soon, except for drummer John Mollo's, and Lesh won't be renewing them. But that's really the idea behind Phil Lesh and Friends anyway; for Phil to play with different configurations and have fun exploring "The Moment", and this particular "moment" is about to come to a close. So, what probably was the second best of the Phil and Friends bands (the best being "The Q";Haynes, Herring, Barraco, Mollo) will come to an end at the close of this year. Leaving all us of Deadheads with nothing but memories, and a whole bunch of live CD's to listen to. What a beautiful world it is that you can go to a show and download it the next day online!

All in all these shows were consistently strong. As usual Phil invited a number of guest musicians to join the band; Warren Haynes joined on the second set of Tuesday 11/3/08 for some great playing, notably a killer Stella Blue at the end of the set, and Joan Osborne joined on Thursday 11/13/08 for a nice treat singing Sugaree in the 2nd set. Some high points for me in listening to these recordings, which takes some time with 14 shows to sift through, were: a pair of Beatles songs "Don't Let Me Down" on Sunday 11/9/08 (as a matter of fact that whole second set was great with a Dark Star, Cryptical, Mountains of the Moon interspersed throughout and a sweet Ripple with Larry on mandolin for the encore) and "I Am The Walrus" on 11/11/08 (also a great second set). Both these songs were played to perfection, and these are just a few highlights that come to mind in a sea of them. Each show has it's own gems, so get on that computer and start downloading...and give thanks to the tapers who give so much back to the community by preserving these moments for all of us. As always, if you were at any of these shows and want to share your thoughts with us please comment.

Download Phil Lesh And Friends at the Nokia Theatre Shows Here

Bob Weir's Ratdog at Westbury, NY 10/30/08

2008-11-07T13:00:00.006-05:00

I caught Bob Weir and Ratdog at the Capital One Theatre in Westbury, NY on October 30th '08 last week. This is the third year in a row Ratdog has played this venue on Halloween and the day before Halloween. This year and last year I decided to just go on the 30th so that I can spend Halloween trick-or-treating with my daughter. Oh well, I guess I have my priorities mixed up. For most people Halloween night would be the preferred night to go, if you were only going one night; and this year New York Deadheads had a tough choice with Phil Lesh and Friends playing right accross the river on Broadway at the Nokia Theatre for three weeks starting October 31st. I'll write about my Phil and Friends experiences in the next post (I went Sunday Nov 2nd and will be going this coming Sunday the 9th).

As for Ratdog I thought the show the night before Halloween was excellent. Bobby and Ratdog played with great energy and seem to be on a roll right now. Weir looked good with his trimmed beard and mustache and familiar shorts, even though it's autumn. For those of you who have never been to this intimate venue the Capital One Theatre is in the round with a revolving stage at the center. Ratdog always keeps the stage stationary, and previous years they placed a curtain accross the theatre making it even more intimate with seating in only about two thirds of the place. This year they removed the curtain and opened the whole venue up to seating. This really didn't make the show lose any intimacy since the place is so small anyway. Maybe it seats 1000 people or so, if I had to guess, at full capacity. If anyone has a picture from this show I'd love you to email it to me so I can place it in this post. I brought my camera but had battery issues and unfortnately couldn't get any photos. If you provide me with a picture or two I'll credit you for it. Here's the setlist and link to download a great audience copy below. Please comment on your thoughts if you've listened to this show or if you were there.

Set 1
Jam ~>
The Music Never Stopped ~>
Minglewood Blues ~>
Queen Jane Approximately
Youngblood
They Love Each Other
Tomorrow Never Knows ~>
Jus' Like Mama Said ~>
Playin in the Band

Set 2
Crowd / Tuning
You Win Again@
Victim or the Crime@
Last Time* ~>
Ashes and Glass* ~>
Stuff* >
Knockin on Heaven's Door ~>
GDTRFB
Encore:
Might as Well

*w/ Chuck MacKinnon on trumpet
''Stuff'' was without Bob
@ Bobby Acoustic

Download Show at http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=519720

Merl Saunders R.I.P.

2008-10-24T19:54:00.006-04:00

Merl Saunders (2/14/34-10/24/08) died this morning at Kaiser Hospital in San Fransisco from complications involving an infection after a long battle with cancer. Merl was known for his incredible Hammond B3 keyboard playing, notably with Jerry Garcia, as well as lots of other big time (and small time) names including Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Butterfield, Phish, Robert Hunter, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler...you name it Merl played with them. He was a musician who somehow transcended any title of performer, player, keyboardist whatever. When you saw Merle playing you felt as though you were up on stage dancing with him, and if you wanted to you probably could. His energy was just contagious. That big smile as he grooved to his funky Hammond. I never got to see him play with Garcia but was blessed to be able to see him many times. I've missed seeing him the last few years and will surely miss him forever. But, just like Jerry, he leaves behind a huge wonderful legacy of music and memories for us to enjoy.

Amazon.com Widgets

So Merle I want to thank you for letting me be myself! Peace Brother!

Deadheads For Obama 10/13/08 Bryce Jordan Center Penn State University

2008-10-18T15:21:00.008-04:00

The Dead For Obama 10/13/08 at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University, along with The Allman Brothers, was the real thing. It took me a few days to download and listen to it. My conclusion is that this Dead or Other Ones (whatever you want to call them) lineup really works. They didn't try to load up the stage with too many musicians like in the past. They stayed true to the long time configuration of two guitarists - Warren Haynes and Bob Weir, two drummers - Kreutzman and Hart (wow), Phil Lesh on Bass, and Jeff Chimenti from Ratdog on Keyboards. On previous Other Ones and Dead tours they dragged too many people along by having two keyboard players and a third guitarist, and sometimes another vocalist. For me this tended to dilute the sound. I think they did that to make up for the missing X-Factor, Jerry Garcia. Really there is no making up for Jerry missing; so rather than try to make up for his absence (in body not spirit) I think they should do what was done at this Concert for Obama at The Bryce Center; just put together a good six man group and play. This concert for Obama, billed as the Change Rocks Barack Obama Benefit, was really the perfect lineup and hopefully isn't the only time this lineup gets to play together. There's lots of talk of a Grateful Dead tour coming in the summer of '09. I for one hope this is the lineup, maybe substituting Rob Barraco on keys for Jeff Chimenti (not that I have a problem with Chimenti but Barraco is great and can really sing). I was happy that Jackie Greene was left out of this show because I don't feel he belongs playing with the big boys when billed as The Dead. That said here's the setlist:
Barack Obama Speech
Truckin'~>
U. S. Blues
Help On The Way~>
Slipknot!~>
Franklin's Tower
Playin' In The Band~>
Dark Star
St. Stephen
Unbroken Chain~>
The Other One~>
Throwin' Stones~>
Jam~>
Playin' In The Band
Encore:
Phil Donor Rap
Bob's Political Statement
Touch Of Gray~>
Not Fade Away

Nice selection of opener Truckin'~> US Blues. Really heavy Help~> Slipknot~> Franklin's. Nice jamming on the Playin'~> Dark Star. Dark Star featured all three vocalists; Phil, Bobby, and Warren switching off on the verses alla Other Ones style and had some great playing in it. The St Stephen ending abrubtly and going into Unbroken Chain, soon after, was a nice surprise with a great version of both. The Other One~> Throwin' Stones was quite reminiscent of the Grateful Deads 80's versions with Warren Haynes playing sweeter than his usual bluesy style with the Allmans and Govt Mule. As a matter of fact I think Warren's playing at this Obama Benefit really caught the essence of Jerry's guitar. I don't think he tried to mimic Jerry, but there really was a certain sweetness applied to his guitar work on these songs that he usually does not exhibit with the other bands he's played with, including Phil Lesh and Friends. No matter what, whenever Warren Haynes is involved, you know you're in for some great playing, and this show was no exception. The rest of the set was icing on the cake: Jam~> Playin' Reprise, Touch Of Gray~> Not Fade Away. NFA is always great at any Grateful Dead type show; ending with the Deadheads rapturous clapping and chanting of "You know our Love will Not Fade Away" sends chills up the spine. What Mickey Hart says at the end is really beautiful; "Take this feeling and bring it home and do something with it". Heavy Man. You gotta love this stuff. Hopefully this is the beginning of a new chapter in the post Jerry Garcia Dead experience. We all love to see Phil, Ratdog, Mickey, Billy in all their conglomerations, but when you put the four of them together and throw in some other great musicians who love to work magic, the sum adds up to more than the parts. If anyone was there and would like to tell us about the Allman Brothers set please leave a comment. Peace, Love, and Obama.

Grateful Dead Historic MSG Run Sept 1987

2008-09-21T21:01:00.045-04:00

Last week marked the 21 year anniversary of The Grateful Dead's now historic 5 night Madison Square Garden run of 1987. Imagine that! Twenty-One years Man! Un-Real! These were magical shows to say the least. I was lucky enough to make it to all of these shows, which would prove to be one of the high points in my Grateful Dead obsession of eight years at that point in time; and the first time I went to that many shows (7) on one tour. I was fresh off two shows at The Providence Civic Center on 09/07/87 and 09/08/87, and then caught these shows on 09/15,16,18,19,20/87 at The Garden. There were lots of high points at these shows and I'll just touch on a few. The whole year of '87 really was a high point in the Grateful Dead's history, musically, and commercially, and these 5 shows were no exception. The Fall tour was very strong coming off a hot summer tour with Bob Dylan to sold out stadiums accross the country. Brent Mydland seemed to really get powerful around this time, becoming a force to reckon with. They just seemed to continue to pick up steam down the track of 1987, riding their Tons Of Steele into Penn Station for this carnival at MSG. You thought Ringling Brother's was a freak show?...Think again. There's nothing like Madison Square Garden filled with Deadheads dancing, twirling, and celebrating with our extended family of freaks and side shows. I remember that guy who used to glow with electric lights of some sort travelling around the arena freely, seen by all that were there. You could spot him from anywhere you were..."If you get confused, just listen to the music play"....and find that guy for a point of reference to reality. Ha, that was my point of reference to reality! Pretty warped! And how about the Sticker Dude? It wouldn't be a New York City show without him sticking you.

The run, like I said, had lots of high points musically. This can be confirmed by listening to the "Tapes". I was lucky enough, also, to have gotten access to these tapes within a few weeks of the Fall Tour ending. These days you can download stuff within a few days of the show. Back then aquiring tapes as soon as I did was pretty good. I mean sometimes you'd have to wait years to find some recordings. Anyway I knew someone, who knew someone who was supposedly a cousin of Bob Weir (who knows?) and he was a taper and gave my friend audience copies that were very good quality. I have since aquired the Soundboards on CD from here and there. Over the years I've listened to these shows quite a bit. They've been some of my "Ol' reliable" tapes for years. I usually try to revisit them around this time of year for a kind of reunion of those shows and they bring back great memories, however hazed by time and other things they may be.

Every night really was special from the opening nights Sept 15th smokin' opener "Hey Pocky Way" all the way through to the closing night double encore "Touch of Gray" into a sweet "Brokedown Palace". When listening to the soundboards of this whole run it's glaringly evident the Boys were really on a roll. Garcia sounds great...hey what's to complain about when Jerry's sounding great? It drives the whole band, and these Grateful Dead shows were evidence of it. Very powerful! As Weir would say "Just like a Swiss Watch". There are too many highlights to cover them all but some of mine (if I leave your favorite out feel free to comment below) are:

Tuesday 9/15/87 2nd set China>Rider,Estimated>Eyes>Drums>Space>Wheel>Gimme Some Lovin'>Black Peter>Sugar Magnolia Encore: Baby Blue. Need I say more. Get this set if you don't have it. Wednesday 9/16/87 opened with a nice surprise. Baba Olatunji and his Drums of Passion opened with a 35 minute incredible set. Introduced by Mickey Hart they came out and really lit the Deadheads at the Garden up. Incredible energy! This left the place buzzing for a short but sweet 1st set featuring "Touch of Gray" into a rare 1st set "Scarlet Begonias". Also rare for those days was a Scarlet without "Fire on the Mountain" following. There are some but they're rare. This whole show was a gem. Great "Let it Grow" towards the end of the 1st set. Second set was great with an oddity the Dead only played a few times; Brent sang a Devil with a Blue Dress>Good Golly Miss Molly>Blue Dress Medley. This was especially hot, followed by the rest of a great 2nd set He's Gone>Drums>Space>Truckin'>Wharf Rat>Throwin' Stones>NFA Encore: NFA>We Bid You Goodnight>Black Muddy River! Great show! Friday 9/18/87 dubbed "Fabulous Friday" by my friend Terry, and Fabulous it was. Bobby declares "watch me levitate Garcia" before the first set. This is a reference to Weir and Jerry's appearance the night before on David Letterman in which Bob attempted to levitate Garcia as a parlor trick. Silly! This whole show is hot stuff. The Boys seem to really rock this whole weekend, picking up steam and never cooling off through the rest of the run. The second set opened with a New York "Shakedown Street", a song that really opitimizes The Dead playing MSG, changing the name on 7th Ave. It makes me think of that giant King Kong in a tye-dye they used to put up in front of the Garden entrance. The rest of the set was strong stuff: Women R Smarter>Terrapin>Drums>Space>Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad>Watchtower>Morning Dew>Good Lovin'>La Bamba!>Good Lovin' Encore: Knockin On Heaven's Door. Really Hot! They only played "La Bamba", with Jerry singing in spanish, three times. This was the second of two of these I got to see live. Every time I listen to this show it really brings a big smile to my face remembering Jerry sing this short but memorable classic inserted into the middle of "Good Lovin'" Truly magical Grateful Dead! Saturday 9/19/87 features a great 1st set (I tend to focus more on the 2nd sets in my writing but don't under estimate any of these 1st sets. They're all great; featuring allot of the In The Dark songs and Dylan songs typical of '87 1st sets. Very tight. Leaving the more Jam filled material for the 2nd sets as usual.) Great "Miss Halfstep" opener "It's All Over Now" "High Time" "Mexicalli B's"> "Big River" "Push Comes To Shove" "Box Of Rain" "Dough Knees". This nice 1st set is followed by another great 2nd set that's one of my favorites. Crazy>Uncle John's>Playin'>Drums>Space>Miracle>Maggies Farm>Black Peter>Round and Round>Lovelight Encore: "Black Muddy River". Boy I miss "Black Muddy River". The "Maggies Farm", a recent addition to the repertoir following the Dylan shows that summer, was broadcast live from MSG to Farm Aid, which was going on at the same time. Hence the odd placement of this song here in the set. At this point Jerry and Bobby switched off on the vocals. In years to come Phil would join in with a verse as well as Vince Welnick and or Bruce Hornsby. Always a fun song to hear the Dead do no matter what the configuration. Once again I'll recommend getting this show if you don't have it already. Closing night Sunday 9/20/87 was another magical night. I was a little sad this was the last night but also Grateful (I was pretty tired and sick with the tour bug at this point, and needed to get back to school and be a good boy(not) and hit the books...crazy man!). This show, especially the 2nd set, had lots of repeat songs from earlier in the run; but what do you expect, it was a five night run and they did want to play the In The Dark material as much as they could each night. We complained about that back then...who knew. In retrospect this stuff stands the test of time; super tight yet great improvisational jams throughout. 1st set: "Jack Straw"> "W.LA Fadeaway" "Brother Esau" (what happened to this song?) "Far From Me" "Must've Been The Roses" (which they should have played more often) "Desolation Row" "Might As Well" "Promised Land". Nice set. Sweet "Roses" which has some really great subtle sound effects in the instrumental break...sounds like chains smashing against each other or something. Cool stuff. "Might As Well" "Promised Land" at the end of the set was high energy, to say the least, leaving us ready for a break before the final set of the run. "Hell In A Bucket"> "Aiko Aiko" "Looks Like Rain" "He's Gone">Drums>Space>Other One>Wharf Rat>Throwin' Stones>NFA Double Encore: "Touch of Gray"> "Brokedown Palace"....tears in our eyes..."Fare you well, Fare you well, I love you more than words can tell, listen to the river sing sweet songs to Rock my Soul!" Hunter/Garcia

These were such amazing shows at a time in the Grateful Dead's history that they were really peaking. If you saw the Dead around this time, or listen to the recordings, you know what I mean. If you want to share any memories about these times (or any other) please comment below. Thanks...and leave it on!

Founding Pink Floyd Member Richard Wright Dead at 65

2008-09-16T17:27:00.012-04:00

Richard Wright, the keyboard player and founding member of Pink Floyd, died yesterday at his home in Britain. He had cancer and was 65 years old. Wright was one of four original 1965 members of Pink Floyd along with Roger Waters, the late Syd Barrett, and Nick Mason. Barrett was later replaced by David Gilmour. Wright played with this Pink Floyd configuration through 1982's Pink Floyd "The Wall" Album and tour. There were lots of tensions between bandmates at this time and Roger Waters wanted Wright to be fired. Wright wound up playing as a "session player" on this tour and was not on "The Final Cut" Album, which was heavily influenced, and obviously creatively controlled by Roger Waters. Wright later resurfaced with the reformed Pink Floyd in their post-Waters incarnation on both "The Division Bell" and "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" albums and tours. He also released his own solo albums "Wet Dream"(1978) (which I've heard and is very good) and Broken China(1996). What comes to my mind when thinking of Wrights playing is Pink Floyd's "Animals". His playing is incredible on this album. "Sheep" in particular is running through my head.

Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away...

Wright, Waters, Gilmour, and Mason did reunite for one show in July '05 for the Live 8 charity concert in London. This sparked some speculation as to whether they would tour again, and I for one was very hopeful at the time. I had only seen Pink Floyd once on the "Momentary.." tour at Giant's Stadium. It was an incredibly spectacular event musically and visually. I also saw Gilmour two or three times on his solo tours in the 80's at Jones Beach and the Beacon Theatre in NYC. I thought these were great shows. I also saw Roger Waters twice on his "Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" Tours, once with Eric Clapton on guitar and once without him (Andy Fairweather Low played at Radio City Music Hall), on his "Radio KAOS" tour, and on his recent tours in the past 10 years or so. Once recently at Madison Square Garden playing "Dark Side of The Moon" and other great Pink Floyd material. Too bad the Pink Floyd didn't tour together as the quartet before Wright passed away. I would have loved to have seen it happen.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond...Your at that Great Gig In The Sky...

Grateful Dead To Play Obama Benefit Oct 13th Tour In '09

2008-09-14T20:43:00.007-04:00

Supposedly the four remaining members of the Grateful Dead will play a Benefit Concert for Barack Obama on Oct 13th 2008 at Bryce Jordan Center at the Penn State campus in State College, PA. This concert marks the first time that Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart will have performed together in four years. Weir, Lesh, and Hart had played a Benefit for Obama billed as "Deadheads for Obama" in Feb '08. The four have not performed together since "The Dead" played in the summer of '03. The lineup will most likely be Weir, Lesh, Kreutzman, and Hart, joined by Warren Haynes on Guitar and Vocals and either Jeff Chimenti from Ratdog or Steve Molitz of Phil Lesh and Friends and Particle on Keyboards. Hopefully the tour in 2009 comes to fruition. We can only hope! This would be a welcome treat by all Deadheads. I think when all four members play together it creates a bigger energy and scene. The previous tours of The Dead and The Other Ones of the Furthur Festivals had a great energy about them and I'm looking forward to that feeling again...of seeing the four remaining members of the Grateful Dead jam together again as well as Warren Haynes adding his special sweet edge to the groove.

Old men sing about their dreams
Women Laugh and Children scream
And The Band keeps playin' on!

Barlow

Hot Tuna Westbury, NY 8/30/08

2008-09-06T05:55:00.013-04:00

I didn't plan on going to Hot Tuna at Westbury's Capital One Bank Theatre in New York on 8/30/08. When I got home from work my buddy Tom Thumb called and said he had an extra ticket for me if I wanted it. No Brainer! "I'm there", I said. Westbury is a hop, skip, and jump from where I live so It's nice and easy for me. A pleasant surprise was that David Lindley opened up. Wow! I've never seen him and I'm not familiar with his solo stuff, but am aware of his studio work with the likes of Jackson Browne, Crosby Stills and Nash, James Taylor, Linda Rondstadt, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Ry Cooder, and a slew of other big names. He really impressed me! Don't under estimate this guys talent. What a great act for an opener. I'll definitely look for some of his recordings. He's an amazing acoustic guitar, dobro, pedal steele, etc. player, as well as a great vocalist with a very unique earthy quality to his voice. If you get a chance to see this living legend don't pass it up!

Hot Tuna was in top form. I always love to see Jack and Jorma in any configuration and the Trio with Barry Mitterhoff has really developed into quite a potent mix for any Hot Tuna fan (or any fan of Blues, Old Time Music, Folk, or Bluegrass). I've seen this lineup a number of times over the last few years and I'm enjoying them more and more each time. At first I felt that Mitterhoff's mandolin solos took away from the quantity of Jorma's solos. For me less Jorma equals less satisfaction. But now either I've gotten used to the mandolin being a part of Hot Tuna's sound or Barry just kind of fits in better over time. He really can play! And he sounds like he fits Tuna's sound like a glove now. I never really caught on to Michael Falzarano's guitar playing with Hot Tuna (or The Memphis Pilgrims, or The New Riders). I felt he really took away from the Hot Tuna sound. But Barry Mitterhoff really lends that "Old Time Sound" to the music and has proven to be a valuable member of the band. I do miss Pete Sears keyboards though. I think it would be nice if Jorma and Jack Casady would do a little duet section like they did in Jefferson Airplane and the Electric Hot Tuna lineups, but you can't always get what you want. Just be happy we still have these incredible musicians to hear after 50 years playing together. That boggles my mind Man!

Thanks to Tom Thumb: Peace Brother

Here's the setlist:

1. True Religion
2. Parchman Farm
3. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning
4. The Terrible Operation
5. Nashville Blues
6. Sea Child
7. Serpent Of Dreams
8. More Than My Old Guitar
9. Hesitation Blues
10. Bread Line Blues
11. Come Back Baby
12. Good Shepherd
13. Full Go Round
14. Nine Pound Hammer
15. Encore: Embryonic Journey

Note: Setlist taken from Jorma Kaukonens Blog

Ratdog And Allman Brothers Girls Eye View

2008-08-28T17:44:00.012-04:00

I said in the last post I was thinking about having my seven year old daughter Guest Blog on her opinion of Ratdog and The Allman Brothers at Jones Beach Theatre 8/13/08, her first big time show (see previous post) with Daddy. What I decided to do was just have her write her opinion directly into Notepad, and I'll show you what she wrote, unadulterated, then I'll give an explanation after. Here it is.....

I went to a concert with my dad.I was up front. The bands were Ratdog and the Allman brothers.I can't believe I actually saw bobby from the grateful dead. Before I did all that I had a picnic dinner on the beach. I had a sandwich with ham tomatoes and mayo. Back to the concert it was so loud I put cotton in my ears. I caught a balloon. on a break I went a little closer up to visit my aunt my uncle and my cousins.I switched seats with one of my cousins then we switched back. They played a song that they usually show's Jerry Garcia but they did not.next there was a song called Mellisa thats the name of my cousin so I went over to my other aunt who was there I danced with her cause the songs name was the name of her daughter.I had a lot of fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.....Definitely Sweet!!
I left what she wrote, pretty much, being the anal purist I am. But here's an explanation since I discused it with her. What she's talking about when she says "They played a song that they usually show's Jerry Garcia but they did not" is that I told her during The Allman's "No One Left To Run With" they sometimes flash a picture of Garcia on screen along with departed Allman Brothers Duane Allman and Allen Woody. She was looking for Jerry, but they didn't show him. After the show I mentioned this to my friend and he said he had heard that they stopped showing the picture of Jerry because The Allmans didn't like the fact that he got a bigger response from the audience than Duane or Allen did. If that's true I have no problem with that. I can understand Greg, especially, feeling sensitive to that. I mean Duane Allman deserves HUGE respect, especially at an Allman Brothers show. But Jerry Garcia is such an icon that you can't help people responding the way they do, ALSO especially at an Allman Bros show; a majority of Allman's fans are Deadheads too. Deadheads kind of boost the Allmans crowd since Jerry died.

Anyway that was what she meant. It's interesting that that stuck with her after the show. And it reminded me of a story. When she was about two years old I was doing what every good Deadhead Dad does; I was turning her on to The Dead and looking at Grateful Dead pictures. While looking on with me she says, out of the clear blue "Daddy, Jerry's so cute!". I actually couldn't believe that my daughter said that at two years old. At that point I knew eventually she'd be going to shows with me. And here we are at that point already. Time flies Man. Summer time does come and go, my oh my.

Ratdog Allman Brothers at Jones Beach with My Girl

2008-08-17T13:49:00.007-04:00

On Wednesday August 13th I brought my seven year old daughter to her first real concert, Ratdog and The Allman Brothers at Jones Beach Theatre, a classic lineup and a wonderful introduction to Live Rock and Roll! Sure she's been to other live music before; she's seen The Zen Tricksters a number of times, but she's never been to anything close to this scale. I debated back and forth whether to take her or not. It's a big responsibility on allot of different levels. My wife was lobbying for me to take her. I kept thinking "what if she doesn't like it", "what if it's too loud" (I had 5th row center tickets), "what if it rains" (it didn't), "what happens when she or I have to go to the bathroom" (my sister also came so she brought her). I also know that bringing anyone new to something like that means you're partially responsible for their experience as well as your own. This in itself distracts you to some extent, and dilutes YOUR overall experience. Even so, I was able to enjoy this show immensely because of her presence (and the presence of my sister, brother-in-law, nephews, niece, brother, sister-in-law, and numerous friends). It proved to be a very emotional experience for me and one in which I'll cherish for many years to come (God willing).

My final decision was made about a week before the show when I simply asked her if she wanted to go. Her answer was a definitive YES! I explained to her that it would be LOUD, Crowded, and LONG! She wasn't fazed. So I put some live Allman Brothers on when we were driving in my car and turned the volume up high. I asked her if it was too loud. "No" she replied. "It'll be ten times louder" I told her. "Okay Daddy" she said. Decision final. I did put cotton in her ears at the show to protect her though.

All in all it was a success. She says she enjoyed it. I might have her write about her experience for a future post as a guest blogger. It's hard for me to tell what her true feelings are about the show. My first concert was Crosby, Stills, and Nash at the Nassau Colliseum at the age of 12. I went with my older sister, who took me because I loved the music and chose to go (I think I begged my parents for weeks for permission and funds to go, as was usual for the following 6 years or so). This, on the other hand, was different; as a seven year old she didn't choose to go to this, I chose to take her. I wanted her to experience this before it's too late. Let's face it, The Icon Greg Allman is no spring chicken. Neither is Bob Weir. God knows how long this kind of scene will be going on. I want her to have some kind of understanding of what the scene is all about, and nothing can compare to this kind of match up. Maybe next year we'll go to The Gathering Of The Vibes if we can swing it. What an experience that would be for her and me (and potentially my wife). I think that she was somewhat impressed by the fact that I know so many people at these shows. She asked a few times "who was that?" I had to respond that I know the person, but I don't know their name. This is a result of following The Grateful Dead around for so many years. People you know come out of the woodwork.

It was a real strong show for Ratdog, and average for The Allman's. Maybe I'll write a seperate post about the music soon. For now I'll say that the musician swapping, for me, were the high points. Notably Warren Haynes joining Ratdog on two songs, New Speedway Boogie and Mississippi Halfstep. And Ratdog members joining The Allman Bros on their home stretch down the line. Notably Mark Karan on Good Morning Little Schoolgirl played a very soulful and tasteful solo (only to be eclipsed by the Immortal Derek Trucks slide solo following, in which Karan acted out fanning him with an invisible fan; putting out the fire). Oddly enough almost all of Ratdog came out to jam with the Allmans EXCEPT for Bobby Weir. Strange! My explanation, not to knock Bobby, is that the other members of Ratdog have more to offer in spotlights than Bob himself. That said, he most certainly could have come out and played or sung on Schoolgirl or some other blues song. Whatever. I just wonder who's decision it was, or whether an invitation was extended to him at all, as well as how much interfacing, back stage, goes on between the two bands all together.

If you have an experience you'd like to share about bringing your child, or anyone else to a show please feel free to share it with me in a comment. Thanks! See Ya at the next show.

Download the Ratdog set here.

Happy Fourth Of July

2008-07-04T13:02:00.009-04:00

Hey Now all you Deadheads. I'm just thinking about all those great shows on or around July 4th that I went to. Nothing like a Grateful Dead Concert to ring in the summer. In particular 7/4/86 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park (Buffalo), NY with Bob Dylan and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 7/4/87 Sullivan Stadium (Boo Patriots) Foxboro, Mass with Bob Dylan, and 7/2,3/88 Oxford Plains, Maine (too many whipits man). Wow what shows! That Buffalo show was my first time seeing Dylan, as well as my first significant Road Trip (7 Hours facing backwards in a station wagon with six other people and a sign on the back that said "Nomads Of The Deep"). The Dead opened the show with a mammoth set and Dylan and Tom Petty followed. Dylan really wowed me. But it wasn't until the following year that I caught the Dead/Dylan combo shows that I really was sold on Bob Dylan. I've probably seen him close to every year once or twice since then. What a writer and performer. There really hasn't been anything like that combo since then. Imagine....Jerry Garcia AND Dylan on the same stage. What Shows...

Summer time does come and go my oh my!

Hunter

Phil Lesh and Friends at The Warfield Theatre Part 2 Coming Soon

Phil Lesh and Friends Play Grateful Dead Discography to close Warfield Part 1

2008-06-17T18:12:00.023-04:00

Deadheads consider it a big deal that Phil Lesh and Friends, along with Bob Weir and members of Ratdog, and other assorted guests, played a portion of the Grateful Dead discography in chronological order of release, and in track order, over 5 nights at the Warfield Theatre in San Fransisco. This all done for the closing of the theatre, a venue the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia Band, and assorted Grateful Dead side projects and Post GD bands had performed. The Warfield was a Mecca of sorts for me personally, where I was lucky enough to catch one Jerry Garcia Band show on Jan. 30th 1993 while out on the West Coast for the Chinese New Year shows at The Oakland Coliseum a week before. This was a great way to cap off an awesome run of shows. Ah those were the days. Very Grateful I caught all those shows on that Trip...

It took me a long time to sift through these recordings due to the shear scope of them. I downloaded them from bt.etree.org and will provide links below. Rather than review each show, which would be quite lengthy, I'll just give my overall impression of them and some highlights for me. I'll break it down to a series of posts, since one post would be too long (besides, I can't write that fast). If you'd like to see pictures from, and read a comprehensive review of these wonderful shows check out Dead.net. There are lots of interesting things about these shows; not the least of which is just the fact that Phil (and Bobby) even thought of this concept. The Dead never bothered doing anything like that. It was almost counter to their concept of random, spontaneous, unplanned chaos. This almost seems too premeditated, in theory, but actually works on allot of levels. It's interesting to think of how long it must have taken for people in the audience to realize that Phil and Friends were taking a journey down a road never travelled by a Grateful Dead member before. Maybe by the third song of San Fransisco's Grateful Dead; Good morning Little Schoolgirl (sung by Jackie Greene) people started to catch on. The special guests from Ratdog including Bobby, Mark Karan, and Jeff Chimenti, and others including Dave Nelson, Henry Kaiser, Sikiru Adepoju, and Teresa Williams (Larry Campbell's wife) really added to the great energy of these shows and comes through in the recordings. The people that witnessed these shows are quite lucky.

The first night, 5/13/08, they played The Grateful Dead for the first set and Anthem Of The Sun for the second set. Weir joins them on the Cream Puff War and stays with the band for the rest of the show. Interesting that he didn't come out for his own songs like Beat It On Down The Line and Pigpen's Good Morning Little Schoolgirl sung by Campbell and Greene respectively. I love Larry's earthy vocals on BIODTL, but sometimes have trouble stomaching Jackie Greene's vocals on some songs; this being one of them. I prefer Bobby's barking on this one and wish he would have come out for it. Maybe he couldn't come out that early in the show due to Union Rules, who knows? That said, I can still deal with whatever Phil decides, just sometimes I would be happier with different choices for the lead vocals. Jackie's playing is just fine. He's a huge talent. I just tend to like him on his own material better than on some of the Jerry and Pigpen Dead stuff Phil has him do. Phil could have Larry Campbell do anything. Everything he touches is gold! Bobby sounded great playing and singing in Phil's band, adding a little more of that magical mix of the Dead's sound to the mix. He comes through strong on The Other One (and an added surprise Nobody's Faul But Mine in the middle of it), which is sandwiched between Phil's familiar versions of Cryptical. The Other One/Cryptical Suite is also highlighted by some nifty keyboard playing by Steve Molitz and Greene. Molitz adds his Techno sound while Greene contributes some Pigpenish 60's sounds. I can do without Jackie's Caution, which worked for me somewhat the first time I heard him sing it, but now comes off sounding kinda canned. It's a cutsie way to introduce the band; but he should leave that to Phil and his rap at the end. All in all I found that Anthem works for me, in this format, better than the First Album does. Maybe because the album itself has a flow to it, with one song fading in to the next anyway. Let's not forget that Anthem actually was recorded live over a run of shows and pieced together in layers on the record (remember records?). It really was a live album in disguise.

Have an opinion of these shows. I'd Love to hear it. Post a reply now! Thanks!

To Be Continued

Phil and Friends at The Warfield Theatre 5/13/08

More Phil Shows on bt.etree.org

Jerry Garcia Band, Lunt-Fontanne Theater,New York, NY 1987-10-15

2008-05-12T15:44:00.010-04:00

I recently downloaded The Jerry Garcia Band at The Lunt-Fontanne Theater,New York, NY 10-15-87 from bt.etree.org This was a most magical night for me! I had bought a ticket for this night when they went on sale. I didn't want to buy for more than one night, not that I could have afforded to anyway, being a college student and just having attended SEVEN other Fall of 87 shows between Two nights in Providence and Five at MSG. But I really didn't know what to expect from these shows. Jerry was playing Fifteen shows over 13 Days (two Sundays had 2 perfomances, Matinee and Evening) on Broadway. Each show he would play a set with The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, a new configuration with old New Riders pal David Nelson on guitar, The Ever Present John Kahn on Stand Up Bass, Sandy Rothman on Mandolin and Dobro, and Dave Kemper, from Jerry's Electric Band, on Drums . Then he'd play a set with the Electric JGB. Sounded nice for a change. A chance to see Garcia play acoustic. That really hadn't happened much since the Dead had played Acoustic sets at Radio City Music Hall and The Warfield Theatre in 80' for their 15 year anniversary. I got shut out of those shows back then, trying to get in Halloween Night with no luck (finally opting to go see Frank Zappa at The Ritz instead, for the third night in a row!). So I went with a bit of anticipation and wonder. It wound up being a pretty amazing scene though. Bill Graham was present out in front of the theatre keeping order, as well as inside; telling people to put out their cigarettes and other burning products and to be careful with their drinks on the carpet. Their was also a special surprise for Jerry on this opening night. Graham's crew handed out plastic Top Hats to everyone in the audience and we were instructed to stand up before the Encore and tip our hats to Jerry in a spoof of the poster for these shows of Jerry in a Cape and levitating a guitar from a Top Hat. I still have that Top Hat by the way. These shows were also marked by Egg Creams, a favorite of Jerry's, being served in the lobby. Anyway, The Acoustic Band wound up being amazing, to say the least, and the JGB was in rare form Rocking the place with their awesome repertoire of Gospel, Blues, Rockabilly, Reggae, Dead, JGB, and Dylan songs. This recording being evidence of this. Although, as usual with these shows, the audience recordings leave a bit to be desired since they're all stealth recordings due to the strict no recording policy at these shows. This particular recording sounds okay; the Electric set is much better sounding than the Acoustic. The vocals on the Acoustic set get kind of lost. All in all, worth the download and the listen though. Great energy throughout.

Acoustic Set-Bright Morning Stars02-Blue Yodel #903-Spike Driver04-Short Life Of Trouble05-Two Soldiers06-I'm Troubled07-Ain't No Lie08-Rosalie Mcfall09-Long Long Way10-band intros11-Ragged But Right

Electric Set-How Sweet It Is02-Forever Young03-Stop That Train04-Think05-Mission In The Rain06-Evangeline07-Sisters & Brothers08-Lucky Old Sun09-Stoned Me

As for me personally, I wound up coming back for Six More Shows all together. I couldn't keep away. The second night, 10/16, I went back with my friend Mike. We didn't have tickets, but drove down from Bridgeport looking to get in. We're outside the theatre about an hour before showtime and some lady pokes her head out one of the doors and says "who needs tickets?" We flew over there. She tells us to go across the street for a few minutes and wait for her to signal us back over. Sure enough, a few minutes later she comes back out with a fan full of tickets in her hand and calls us over. We paid price for them and jumped up and down and kissed her "We're In". The tickets were in Row G Orchestra (G for Garcia). We later found out she was Eileen Law. I think she was the Stage Manager or Road Manager for these shows. We came back the next night and she hooked us up again, same deal. Wow, what a godsend. What amazing shows. The toughest part was driving back and forth to Connecticut and making it to classes the following days, and scrounging up the money to keep going. I just thank God I went to all those shows. 7 Glorious nights with Jerry and Friends on Broadway. Thanks Bill! For puttin' on the good stuff! And, can I have another Egg Cream please.

Wolfgang's Vault: Bill Graham's Legacy

2008-04-27T14:58:00.008-04:00

At the expense of outright "plugging" something I'd like to tell you guys about a really great site I've been going to to stream live music and to check out some cool stuff that I wish I could afford to buy. Check out Wolfgang's Vault Home page for all types of hip memorabilia from The 60's and 70's. You'll find stuff like Vintage Tickets from cool shows, Poster Art, and Photography from really cool sources. You can Stream (for free) lots of Live Shows; from Santana to Frank Zappa to The Beach Boys, and of course The Dead. The more I check out this site the more I find. You can also Download live shows for a small fee, usually under Ten Dollars for a complete show. I've been streaming some Band shows from 1976 and 74' that sound great. Bill Graham knew how to put on the good stuff, and Wolfgang's Vault carries on this tradittion in a really cool way in his name. Check it out. You're gonna keep going back for more.

Mickey Hart Summer Tour

2008-04-16T16:44:00.004-04:00

Mickey Hart recently announced a whole bunch of shows with George Porter Jr and Steve Kimock. Sounds pretty intriguing to me. They'll be playing at The Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza, the new Live Nation aquisition. These are my local shows but they'll be coming to a theatre near you too. Go HERE for more info where the tour will go.

Search Here for tickets if you'd like.
Concert Tickets

Ratdog at the Beacon Theatre Setlists

2008-04-07T23:06:00.004-04:00

Here are the setlists from the three Beacon Theatre Ratdog shows. They're taken from http://www.ratdog.org/ the official site of Ratdog. If you were at any of the shows let us know what you thought. Read my review of Saturday nights show in the previous post. I downloaded the first night at bt.etree.org and it's definately a keeper.

4/3/08

1st Set: Jam > Shakedown Street > Minglewood Blues > Queen Jane Approximately > Loser > Money for Gasoline, Bird Song* > Tuesday Blues* > Iko Iko*
2nd Set: Catfish John@, Franklin's Tower@, I Need a Miracle > Uncle John's Band* > He's Gone > Stuff+# > Sugaree# > Bird Song (reprise)# > Turn On Your Lovelight+#%$
E: Touch of Grey+
*-with Jimmy Herring (Guitar); +-with Tom Pope (Drums); #-with Warren Haynes (Guitar/Vocals); %-with Steve Molitz (Keyboards); $-with Dana Fuchs (Vocals/Tambourine); Jay on percussion box for "Franklin's"; Stuff - Jay/Tom > Jay/Tom/Kenny/Jeff/Jay/Robin > all/Warren

4/4/08

1st Set: Jam > Playin in the Band > Tomorrow Never Knows > Tennessee Jed, Sitting in Limbo > West L.A. Fadeaway, Even So > October Queen > The Deep End > Big Railroad Blues
2nd Set: K.C. Moan@4, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, The Weight@*, Eyes of the World+#, The River Song*+#%$^ > Stuff > Dear Prudence* > China Cat Sunflower% > I Know You Rider%
E: Casey Jones%
*-with Dana Fuchs (Vocals/Tambourine); +-with George Garzone (Saxophone); #-with Doug Yates (Saxophone); %-with Dred Scott (Keys); $-with Chris Burger (Vocals); ^-with Zacariah Mose (Vocals); Jay on percussion box for "KC Moan"
Only ''The River Song''; Previous ''Sitting in Limbo'' 3/19/2007 [61 shows]
(Kenny Brooks's 550th Show)

4/5/08

1st Set: Jam > Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Maggie's Farm, Row Jimmy, Dark Star > Weather Report Suite Prelude/Part 1 > Let It Grow
2nd Set: You Win Again@5, City Girls@, Victim or the Crime@, Lazy River Road > Jack Straw > Dark Star > Stuff, Days Between > Two Djinn > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower
E: One More Saturday Night
Bob before ''City Girls'': "This one's dedicated to a bunch of you out there and you know who you are."; "River Song" choruses during "Franklin's"; Stuff - Jeff/Jay/Kenny/Robin > Jeff/Jay(keys)/Kenny/Robin/MK(drums) > Jeff/Jay/Kenny/Robin > Jay/Mark(drums) > Jeff/Jay/Kenny/Robin/MK > all
(Jeff Chimenti's 700th Show)

Download 4/4/08 at ratdog, the beacon theater, new york, ny 2008-04-04

Ratdog At The Beacon Theatre

2008-04-06T17:28:00.012-04:00

I went Saturday night 4/5/08. I thought it was a great show. Other people who saw multiple shows were not as impressed as me. I guess it's all relative. I made the most of it since I could only go to one show. It helped to be in the first row where there's a different kinda energy coming off the stage up close. Thought the opener Help-Slipknot was strong. The segway into Maggies Farm was a letdown although Maggies Farm was still good. The rest of the First set was strong to say the least; Row Jimmy, Dark Star > Weather Report Suite Prelude/Part 1 > Let It Grow. No complaints there.

The second set started with the usual acoustic endevour. You Win Again was nice to hear Bobby sing (some others would beg to differ, oh well; their problem) and well done. I always enjoy the sleazy City Girls, this version going into a really hot jam!!! Victim or the Crime was real hot too. Bobby trades in his acoustic for an electric and they play a laid back Lazy River Road. I also don't mind Bobby's voice on this Jerry ballad, but some people complain they can't deal with his edge on certain songs of Jerry's. I have no problem here. Just brings a different emotion or angle to these great songs he's keeping alive. Mark Karan's playing on Lazy River was really sweet and remeniscent of Jerry, and for me struck a cord. It's the first time I saw Mark since his return and felt his playing was impressive, even poignant at times, this being one of them. Great to see him back. The rest of the second set (just like the end of the first set) was strong -> Jack Straw > Dark Star > Stuff, Days Between > Two Djinn > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower. Encore: One More Saturday Night. Jack straw was a nice second set surprise. The rest of the set was really hot. Once again I loved the Days Between but some have problems with it. I thought Bobby's delivery of it was suiting to Hunters lyrics. Almost haunting. It's that kind of a song though. Phil's interpretation, I always felt, was haunting too (not to mention Jerry's).

All in all a good strong show. Wish I coulda done all three, but happy and Grateful I could make it to at least one. Hope ya like the photos I shot. Rare that I bring a camera in. A little blurry, but I never said I was a concert photographer.

As for Bobby "Thanks, for a real good time!"

70's Popular Music Quiz

2008-04-04T19:21:00.005-04:00

A friend emailed this neat 70's Music Quiz link to me. I thought it was fun. It brought back lots of cool memories for me. Follow the link and take the quiz yourself. There are also other music era's by decade available there. Check it out.

I scored a Dynomite
95% on the

Spring Tour In The Air

2008-04-02T21:51:00.004-04:00

It was wierd. The first couple of years after Jerry died I felt like each change of season should have been accompanied by a tour. I hadn't really noticed that that was how I'd been marking time; Spring Tour, Summer Tour, Fall Tour. I was too busy having such a real good time to realize. Once the party was over it was so heavy around the change of seasons without having a tour to plan. Spring time always kinda felt and smelled like the Carnival we called The Dead were on their way. We were on auto-pilot so long that even not doing mailorder at certain times in the year seemed strange. I still always think about that this time of year. Although I am Grateful we still have Ratdog and Phil and Friends shows to look forward to (usually at regular times in the year) it's not quite the same. Kinda sad about the Allman's having to cancel the Beacon shows too (they'll probably reschedule for September I hear). I just hope Greg gets better soon. Just goes to show; enjoy the ride while you can. Have a nice trip, see ya next Fall.

Growing Up Dead But Grateful

2008-03-29T18:34:00.008-04:00

When I was growing up my friends used to ask me why all I listened to was the Grateful Dead. My response always was something like "Hey Man, I listen to lots of other music! I LOVE the Jerry Garcia Band, and I just went to go see Bobby & The Midnights last night". That's how I was ever since I was bit by the bug. And that's the way I remain to this day. But, ironically, the very thing that seemed to limit my musical horizons, at the time, was what ultimately turned me on to so many other musical styles (and continues to). There was no way you could listen to Jerry and the Boys without some Bluegrass, Jazz, Blues, Reggae, Country, Folk, RnB etc. rubbin' off on you. And it did. Why else would a 17 year old kid go out looking for Etta James records or some Bill Monroe? It definitely had a huge influence on what I listened to; and also where I travelled, later on. If it weren't for the Dead I never would have gone to some of the cities I went to all across the U.S. My parents thought I was at college in Connecticut and meanwhile I was in Rhode Island or Massachusetts seeing a show.

I'll continue with my ramblings on the Dead and other musical adventures as often as I can. If you have any inclination to expand on my posts or just reflect on your own experiences with the Dead, Jambands, or any other music scene (or life scene) on your mind, feel free. Talk to ya soon...and stay in touch.