"Sugar Magnolia" at the final Warfield show. Photo: Bob Minkin/minkindesign.com © 2008
Gather ’round all you young’uns and I’ll tell you a crazy story about the old days. See, when I was comin’ up as a Dead Head, back in the fall of ’69, all we had were vinyl albums to listen to. Sure, I learned much later that there were tapers here and there back then, but I sure as hell didn’t know any of ’em; neither did any of my friends. (I seem to recall getting my first Dead tapes in ’71, when the band generously decided to broadcast a number of their shows. I also bought my first Dead bootleg album outside Gaelic Park in the Bronx in August 1971. Wow, was I happy!) Anyway, I played my Grateful Dead albums constantly, much to the annoyance of my high school and then college mates. I knew every microsecond of each one of their albums. Of course they were completely different from the way the band played live, but I loved the albums for being weird and wonderful in their own ways. As the years went by and I began to accumulate more and more (and more!) tapes, I listened to the commercial recordings less, but I never abandoned ’em; I always thought they were pretty damn good and had merit.
Now flash forward a few decades (man, I am old) and Phil Lesh & Friends are booked to play five nights at the intimate and homey 2,200-seat Warfield Theatre in San Francisco for what may well be the last time: The venerable venue is closing for major renovations of some sort and then will reopen under the auspices of the entertainment/sports promoter AEG, whereas P&F and others in the Dead camp have for eons been comfortably associated with Bill Graham Presents and the behemoths that absorbed that company following Bill’s death.
The band comes out the first night and opens with “The Golden Road (to Unlimited Devotion),” not an unusual opener for the group. “Beat It on Down the Line” is next, with Larry Campbell on lead vocals, followed by the Jackie Greene rearrangement of “Good Mornin’ Little Schoolgirl.” Nice. But all of a sudden, it starts to dawn on some of the people there: “Hmm, that’s the first three songs from the first Dead album. I wonder…” And, indeed, the next tune is a fantastic version of “Cold Rain and Snow.” Yep, for the first time ever, a member of the Dead was playing a complete album live onstage! How cool is that! Bob Weir came out for a raucous version of Garcia’s “Cream Puff War” (accompanied by sultry go-go dancers onstage and in the side balconies) and then stayed on for the closing numbers, “Morning Dew,” “Minglewood” and a very jammed-out “Viola Lee Blues.” Can I hear you say, “wah-hooooo!”?
Go-go dancers do their thing during "Cream Puff War" at the 5/13 show. That's Bob Weir in the middle, of course. Photo: Bob Minkin/minkindesign.com © 2008
Now, this was not just an exercise in nostalgia—the group wasn’t trying to sound like the albums. Instead they used the structure of the album sequence as a form within which to re-explore those songs in the group’s current context. There were no doubt many (most?) in attendance who probably had no idea what the sequence of tunes on that album was, so as it unfolded it still had some mystery. For others it became a game of anticipation and expectation, which some might argue runs contrary to the Grateful Dead experience, but hey, at least it was something different, special and fun, and I think you’ll find few complaints among those lucky enough to attend any of the “album” shows.
When Set Two of Night One began, with Bobby still part of the band as they glided into Anthem of the Sun’s opening track, “Cryptical Envelopment,” the next piece of the puzzle was revealed: They seemed to be playing complete albums, in order, no less. Again, with the exception of “Born Cross-Eyed,” these are all songs that are or have been part of the P&F repertoire, but it was still tremendously exciting to hear it presented in that way, with long connecting jams. (It would’ve been nice to hear Bob sing “New Potato Caboose,” as he does on the album, but it’s Phil’s tune and he sings it with P&F, so I suppose it was one less “new” arrangement to work out.) Bob sounded tremendous in the instrumental mix and he and Phil both seemed to be having fun re-visiting old places in a new way. There was one twist, too: Bob tucked a short version of the Blind Willie Johnson blues "Nobody's Fault But Mine" into the middle of "The Other One."
Mark Karan (left) played fantastically at a couple of the Warfield shows. Here he's shown with John Molo, Phil and Jackie Greene. Photo: David W. Clark/daveclarklive.net © 2008
Needless to say, word spread fast about the “concept” of the first show, and by Night Two there was a tremendous buzz in the old place. Sure enough, there was “St. Stephen”—track one of the Dead’s third album, Aoxomoxoa—opening the show. Jackie handled “Dupree’s Diamond Blues” with his characteristic swagger, but the little-performed “Rosemary” is worth a special mention here: Singer Teresa Williams (wife of P&F guitar ace Larry Campbell) materialized in one of the boxes above the left side of the stage and, illuminated by golden light that made her look like a fairy princess, sang the song so beautifully, with spare accompaniment from Larry on bouzouki and from the others; very classy! Of course, if they’re playing Aoxomoxoa that meant that the incomparably strange “What’s Become of the Baby” would have to be played. Yikes! Run for your lives! It ended up being pretty cool, too, with Williams again up in her perch, trading off verses with Phil, who was onstage but directing all his energy towards her, like a long distance duet. Unfortunately, the crowd was so noisy (I chalked it up to nervous excitement after the destructo "China Cat") it was very difficult to hear the subtleties of the arrangement, but I thought I heard sort of an electronic tamboura drone in the background, and other assorted dreamy weirdness. (We’ll have to hear the soundboard version, I suppose, to get the full effect.) “Mountains of the Moon” has been a cornerstone of P&F from the beginning and it continues to evolve in a fascinating ways. There were parts of it that sort of reminded me of In a Silent Way-era Miles, others that had an early '70s Pink Floyd vibe; both very good places to go. An ultra-sproingy “Cosmic Charlie” was the perfect capper for the set—as it is to the album.
The Vegas handicappers were busy between sets Night Two trying to figure out if the band would next tackle Live/Dead (which followed Aoxomoxoa chronologically), or skip it because they’d already played “St. Stephen” in the first set, and maybe they were only going to cover the studio albums. (Life is so complicated, isn’t it?) Well, Live/Dead it was, and it smoked! It opened, as it must, with “Dark Star”—RatDog guitarist Mark Karan sat in for the entire set, and added tremendously to every song. He and Larry Campbell seem to have a great musical rapport—both are such assertive and melodically inventive players, they feed off each other’s ideas easily and naturally, and you already know that Phil is going to be right in the thick of things with his bass. This “Dark Star” went in many fascinating directions over the course of about 45 minutes (!), and when it eventually gave way to “St. Stephen,” it didn’t feel like some repeat from the first set—in the new context, and with Karan in the mix and Jackie now playing electric instead of acoustic guitar, this was the kind of big bopping “St. Stephen” that gets that Warfield balcony a-shakin’! For some reason, the band elected not to sing the “William Tell” bridge (Unforgivable! Five points from Griffindor!), but instead they launched into some completely different, but still compelling, jam which eventually led to “The Eleven,” “Lovelight” (first verse by Jackie, the rest, including a minor Pigpenesque “pocket-pool” rap, by Mark K), and then Jackie did a bang-up job on “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” one of the highlights of the night. He was also strong on the encore, a slithering “King Bee,” more Slim Harpo than Pigpen, but just right.
So if we’re going through the recorded canon in order, that must make Friday’s show Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, right? Correctemundo! Talk about your can’t-miss setlist! Most of these tunes are cherished by nearly all Dead Heads, and many of them turn up frequently in sets by this version of Phil & Friends—Jackie and Larry seem to have a special affinity to a lot of this folkier, more country-oriented material. Helping out this time was good ol’ David Nelson (who played a little on each of the original albums)—as warm and comfortable as a favorite pair of shoes (or Birkenstocks); always nice to see (and hear) him! Besides pickin’ some nice gee-tar, he sang the plaintive lead on “High Time,” handled "Friend of the Devil," and shared vocals with Jackie on “Easy Wind.” This repertoire also gave Larry the chance to break out the fiddle, pedal steel and mandolin (all of which he plays with great skill and impeccable taste), and once again Teresa Williams brought her golden pipes to the affair, adding luster to both “Till the Morning Comes” and a truly haunting and majestic “Attics of My Life,” which had a lone guitar as accompaniment. A Jackie-sung “Truckin’” then sent the crowd home dancin’.
Saturday night, and the question hangs in the air like the smell of fine sinsemilla…oh, wait, that was the smell of fine sinsemilla. Anyway…will it be Wake of the Flood and Mars Hotel, or will they play “Skull & Roses” and/or Europe ’72? Again, the answer comes quickly: They charge out of the gate with a dynamite “Bertha”; “Skull & Roses” it is! Right away we knew we were in for an interesting set because that (double-) album is a stylistically varied collection of cover tunes and just a few Dead songs. One of the neat things about this particular version of P&F is that Jackie and Larry don’t necessarily refer back to the way the Dead played their covers, so what we get is usually something a little different, maybe a little fresher. F’rinstance, their version of “Mama Tried” was clearly based directly on the Merl Haggard version (with that distinctive guitar riff that opens and closes it), rather than Weir’s take. “Big Boss Man” was closer to Jimmy Reed than Pigpen. And “Me and Bobby McGee” was considerably faster than the Dead’s. Though on “Skull and Roses,” the early version of “Playing in the Band” was only about four and a half minutes, this one was artfully extended and eventually segued into another careening, tire-squealing version of “The Other One” (quite different in feel from Tuesday’s Anthem version—again, context is everything!) Larry handled the lead vocal on a scorching “Johnny B. Goode” (end of disc three of the original album, so an interesting spot in the show for what became a traditional set-ender/encore), and Jackie sang “Wharf Rat,” which was powerful despite a narrow escape from some mid-song quicksand. And to show they were paying attention to the source album, the closing “Not Fade Away> Goin’ Down the Road” ended as the album did—with the instrumental statement of “We Bid You Goodnight,” instead of returning to “Not Fade Away,” as was normally done.
Set Two of Saturday broke the consecutive albums streak by presenting an album I think it’s safe to say no one expected them to perform: the 1981 live album Dead Set. There was some method to this particular madness—the album (along with Reckoning) was largely recorded at the Warfield Theatre during the band’s epic 15-night run in 1980. Though it’s stacked with “first set” tunes one normally wouldn’t expect to hear in a second set, it gave the group the opportunity to play a number of songs they don’t normally perform, such as “Samson & Delilah,” “Loser,” “Little Red Rooster” (which was shorter and peppier, more Stones-style), “Feel Like a Stranger” and “Greatest Story Ever Told,” as well as P&F favorites like “Friend of the Devil,” “Deal” and “Franklin’s Tower,” the last a wild end to the second set. After a short break, they picked up with side four of Dead Set: a drum segment, which had John Molo and talking drum titan Sikiru Adepoju trading rhythms, before avant-guitarist Henry Kaiser came out for an extended “space” that was appropriately out there, his bizarre axe making sounds you just don’t expect to hear out of a guitar. That then led into “Fire on the Mountain,” with Henry, Larry and Jackie all wailing, followed by “Greatest Story” and a lovely “Brokedown” to close. Schweet.
Larry Campbell and Henry Kaiser during "space" on 5/17. Photo: J.C. Juanis © 2008
The final night, Sunday, was a tough, tough ticket to come by—everybody wanted to be there to say good-bye to the Warfield (and to see what the hell the band would pull out of their hats next). Large plastic sacks of balloons arched across the ornate ceiling, so clearly there was going to be a celebration at some point, adding to the excitement and anticipation. Then, around 9:10 (an hour and ten minutes after the supposed starting time), Phil came out and announced that they had no idea what they were going to play that night (OK, so much for the album concept) and that there would be a bunch of different configurations onstage, and that the show was going to go real late (a Phil & Friends specialty since 1999!) Finally around 9:30, the house lights dimmed and a trio consisting of Bobby, Phil and John Molo hit the stage. This was gonna be interesting!
And it was. Opening somewhat tentatively with “Come Together” (the first song not covered by the Dead during the whole run), things began to gel in the jam after the song, as the trio locked in and really started to find their group groove. Surprisingly, the jam segued into “Dark Star” and that evolved into a very cool piece of music, with Bob and Phil darting in and out of each other’s lines, answering and accenting, each driving it forward as Molo continually challenged them with his propulsive rhythm. Without a “lead” instrument in the mix, it was fascinating to listen to the trio do their thing, filling in the spaces with unusual touches and ornamental flourishes. It was certainly one of the highlights of the run for me. However, the “Loose Lucy” that followed sounded a little thin, and when RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti sat down at Steve Molitz’s rig about two-thirds of the way through “West L.A. Fadeaway,” followed moments later by Larry Campbell, the sound filled out nicely, and it was a rockin’ band that took the set into the third “Not Fade Away” of the series. At the set break, Phil explained that playing with Bobby in that sort of configuration had long been a dream of his. It’s always fun to shake it up!
After a very short break, the lights went down again and Jackie and Larry came out together and played an excellent seven-song set of acoustic old-time music that included Jackie’s take on “Sing Me Back Home,” “Deep Elem Blues,” a fiddle romp populariuzed by the Sons of the Pioneers called “Texas Crapshooter,” a lovely, slow “Goodnight Irene” and even an instrumental tune Larry wrote for the occasion: “Warfield Waltz.” The intrepid duo often plays tunes like these on the tour bus and in hotel rooms, so it was a treat to get to see it onstage!
The first true Phil & Friends set of the night was gimmick-free: just a rock-solid collection of tunes performed with an almost unbelievably high level of energy. Personally, I found it liberating not knowing what they were going to play again (though I wouldn’t have traded the earlier “album” concept for anything), and I couldn’t have picked a better set list, from the crashing “Shakedown” opener, to one of the finest “Althea’s” you’ll ever encounter, to two of my favorite Jackie tunes (“Like A Ball and Chain” and “Mexican Girl”), the sublime Larry Campbell pedal steel instrumental version of “Stella Blue,” and yet another awesome “Sugaree.” I thought it was the best- played set I saw; obviously YMMV. Once again, Mark Karan was a stellar attraction on the back half of the set.
Set four was another, shorter acoustic offering, this time featuring the Skinny Singers, a.k.a . Jackie and his friend Tim Bluhm of the Mother Hips. They have their own repertoire apart from their solo and band ventures, and if these songs were typical, it’s good stuff—rich with melody and featuring great harmonies. I’ll definitely make a point of seeing them next time they play around SF.
The next P&F set started after 1:30 a.m. (that’s okay, Phil, none of us has a life, or anything to get to on Monday morning!) with a triumphant “Sugar Magnolia.” I’d totally forgotten about the balloons, so when they started drifting down from the ceiling it was a great surprise, and all of a sudden it was like New Year’s Eve, any year you’d care to name, all over again. This band really kicks ass on that tune; it was sheer jubilation from the pit to the back row of the stately old theater. I could’ve gone home a happy man after that (or into the medical tent for some fluids and new bionic legs), but you know Phil—he never tires! So we were treated to a spectacular version of “Unbroken Chain” (truly one of the best I’ve seen), another spacey “Mountains of the Moon,” one of those hang-onto-your- seats speedy versions of “Terrapin Station” (beginning with “Inspiration…”), an over-the-top “I Know You Rider,” and the last encore: a jam into “Truckin’” and then “We Bid You Goodnight.” I stumbled onto Market Street at about 3:20. Inside, though, a bunch of Warfield/BGP employees, some of whom are losing their jobs, partied and reflected and cried until well past dawn. Bill would’ve loved these shows. His spirit was all over them.
(For lots more photos, check out J.C. Juanis’ excellent work HERE, Bob Minkin's work HERE and Dave Clark's work HERE.)
SET LISTS
05/13/08 Warfield Theatre, SF
The Grateful Dead (first album): Jam> The Golden Road, Beat It On Down the Line, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Cold Rain and Snow, Sitting on Top of the World, Cream Puff War *, Morning Dew *, New Minglewood Blues *, Viola Lee Blues *
Anthem of the Sun: That's It For The Other One> Nobody’s Fault But Mine> New Potato Caboose> Born Cross-Eyed, Alligator> Caution / Not Fade Away,
* and entire second set with Bob Weir.
05/14/08 Warfield Theatre, SF
Aoxomoxoa: St. Stephen> Dupree's Diamond Blues, Rosemary *, Doin’ That Rag, Mountains of the Moon> jam> China Cat Sunflower, What’s Become of the Baby*, Cosmic Charlie
Live/Dead: Dark Star> St. Stephen> jam> The Eleven> Turn on Your Lovelight> Death Don't Have No Mercy> Feedback> We BidYou Goodnight / King Bee
* Teresa Williams on vocals from the side balcony.
Mark Karan on guitar for entire second set.
05/16/08 Warfield Theatre, SF
Workingman’s Dead: Uncle John's Band, High Time*, Dire Wolf *, New Speedway Boogie *, Cumberland Blues *, Black Peter *, Easy Wind *, Casey Jones
American Beauty: Box of Rain *, Friend of the Devil*, Sugar Magnolia, Operator, Candyman, Ripple *, Brokedown Palace, Till the Morning Comes + / Attics of My Life+, Truckin' *
*with David Nelson, ^ with Teresa Williams.
05/17/08 Warfield Theatre, SF
Grateful Dead (“Skull & Roses”):Bertha, Mama Tried, Big Railroad Blues, Playing In The Band> The Other One> Me & My Uncle, Big Boss Man, Me & Bobby McGee, Johnny B. Goode, Wharf Rat> Not Fade Away> Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad
Samson and Delilah, Friend of the Devil, New Minglewood Blues, Deal, Candyman, Little Red Rooster, Loser, Passenger, Feel Like A Stranger> Franklin's Tower
Drums*> space+> Fire on the Mountain+, Greatest Story Ever Told+, Brokedown Palace+
* Sikiru Adepoju on talking drum; + Henry Kaiser on guitar.
05/18/08 Warfield Theatre, SF
#1: Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and John Molo: Come Together> jam> Dark Star> Loose Lucy, West L.A. Fadeaway*, The Wheel*, Not Fade Away*
* Jeff Chimenti on keys, Larry Campbell on guitar
#2: Jackie Greene and Larry Campbell (acoustic): Lorene, Sing Me Back Home, Deep Elem Blues, Texas Crapshooter, Warfield Waltz, Love Please Come Home, Goodnight Irene
#3: P&F Set One: Shakedown Street> Like a Ball and Chain, Big River, Mississippi Half-Step*> jam*> Althea*> Mexican Girl*, Stella Blue*> Sugaree*
*Mark Karan on guitar
#4: The Skinny Singers (Jackie Greene and Tim Bluhm): The Ballad of Spider John, Where the Rain Don’t Go, Squeaky Wheel*
*Nicki Bluhm on backup vocals
#5: P&F Set Two: Sugar Magnolia, Unbroken Chain> jam> Mountains of the Moon> Terrapin Station (“Inspiration”)> I Know You Rider / jam> Truckin', We Bid You Goodnight
And for all you listomaniacs, here are the shows that preceded the Warfield run on the P&F spring tour….
05/08/08 The Fillmore, Denver
Loose Lucy, Like a Ball and Chain, Mississippi Half-Step> Doin' That Rag, Chest Fever, Scarlet Begonias> Fire on the Mountain
Truckin', Gone Wanderin’, Eyes of the World> The Eleven> Caution> Cryptical jam> The Other One, Loser, Help on the Way> Slipknot> Franklin's Tower / Cold Rain and Snow
05/09/08 The Fillmore, Denver
Jam> Brown Eyed Women, Mama Tried, Alligator, Gone Wanderin’, Bird Song, High Time, Casey Jones
Feel Like a Stranger> Sittin’ On Top of the World, Don't Let the Devil Take Your Mind> Playing in the Band> Dark Star> New Potato Caboose> Dark Star> The Golden Road> Uncle John's Band> Sugar Magnolia / Dire Wolf
5/10/08 Branson School Scholarship Benefit, Corte Madera (Calif.) Recreation Center
One More Saturday Night, Me & My Uncle, Bertha, Sittin’ on Top of the World, Friend of the Devil, The Weight, Pride of Cucamonga, So Hard to Find My Way, Deal, Not Fade Away / Sugaree
5/11/08, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles
Shakedown Street> Friend of the Devil, Bertha, Like a Ball and Chain, Beat It on Down the Line, Cumberland Blues, Sugaree
New Speedway Boogie> Don't Let the Devil Take Your Mind, Jack Straw, China Cat Sunflower> I Know You Rider, Unbroken Chain> The Wheel> Franklin’s Tower / Box of Rain