Cumberland . . . Loser . . . I Shall Be Released . . .

Shakedown somewhere in there!

Gonna see a Help/Slipknot/Franklins too!

Enc. Lennon's Cold Turkey

NICE!

Gonna be a good night!!

yes it is!!

shakedown definitely.

is it the Dark Star show (i thought they were going to play it last night before Cryptical), the HelpSlipFrank show, or the Viola Lee show??!!?

or a combination of the 3!!!!!!!!

Anyone have extras for tonight? Was it easy to get tickets last night?

I think there are still tickets available for the 4th tier.

www.njpac.org

I'm going!!

Help>Slipknot>Franklin's DEF!!!

GOnna be great.

I'm going!!

Help>Slipknot>Franklin's DEF!!!

GOnna be great.

Chinacat to close last night's Rider?

Uncle John's Band!

The Wheel?

Eyes?

Box?

China > Box to open, like the Beacon in Dec 2003?
That was truly spectacular, eventually winding to a Rider closer of set 2!!

It's gonna be great.

Dark Star definitely poked it's head out several times, as did The Other One, before TOO kicked off.

Great job by Barry on TOO jam.

without a doubt, he tore it up, and i was sooooo digging the short high pitched shreaks of Larry's violin during TOO as well..

shakedown, cumberland, uncle john's, come together, pride, deal, us. crypt. star. fire. dancin'. midnight hour. ripple.

No More Do I

PLF
NJPAC 11/23/05

Set 1:
Shakedown Street> Jam>
This Wheel's On Fire> Jam>
The Wheel>
Built To Last
Jam> No More Do I>
Turn On Your Lovelight>
Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms>
Lovelight

Sweet. Thanks Rob.

^^what he said!!!^^

~DROOLING~

Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms

Lyrics: Traditional
Music: Traditional

Played during the Dylan/Dead rehearsals, but never performed live by the Dead. Played by the Wildwood Boys (Garcia, Hunter, Nelson and Von Mastricht) in 1963. Also played by Jerry with the Great American String Band and with the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, all with rather different lyrics.

Phil is the master!


Wow. That's all. Just F'n Wow.

this wheels on fire, burnin down the road>>>>>>>>

Chatroom...http://www.philzone.com/portal/index.html

CATS?!?!?!?! never knew that phils bands have played JGB tunes...... chat room said that was in the second set-prob will pop up here soon.


glowing,
Chris

It's working for Bobby.

Just want to once again give my yearly thanks to TaperRob for putting up the music. Listened to last night's show at work today, now I'm listening tonight's; with some good red wine. Makes my day. Many thanks.

from ratdog.org

PLF
NJPAC 11/23/05

Set 1:
Shakedown Street> Jam>
This Wheel's On Fire> Jam>
The Wheel>
Built To Last
Jam> No More Do I>
Turn On Your Lovelight>
Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms>
Lovelight

Set 2:

Sitting on top of the world
Cats under the Stars>>
Jam>>
Birdsong>
You've go to hide your love away>
St Stephen>
EYES

i think i'd probably just die if i heard them play cats under the stars...i think it would just be over. now how about the night they drove old dixie down? or gomorrah? or how about palm sunday? that's another that would simply end it.

PLF
NJPAC 11/23/05

Set 1:
Shakedown Street> Jam>
This Wheel's On Fire> Jam>
The Wheel>
Built To Last
Jam> No More Do I>
Turn On Your Lovelight>
Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms>
Lovelight

Set 2:
Sitting On Top Of The World
Cats Down Under The Stars> Jam>
Birdsong>
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
St Stephen>
Eyes Of The World>
Uncle John's Band>
Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad

Donor Rap

enc:
Dark Star

WOW FUCKIN' WOW!!!!!!!!
What a show, 3 miles from where I used to live...


I cant believe that I am not catching any shows on this tour.....


Seems like Phil's back and better than ever.... *sigh*
Happiness for all those who went to NJPAC, and are going to see a show on this tour....

wow!!!!

I have The Wheel on now! Last night was so awesome. Maybe the best "Bomb" I have seen Phil drop in over thirty four years of seeing him!

Taper Bob...you are the man...thanks to all of my brothers and sisters...Happy Thanksgiving

Dark Star encore????????

Are you kidding me?????????

Has "Dark Star" ever been an encore before? (anywhere?)

yes Dark Star Berkeley 1984 I think June something

is this 1984?

Fuckin' Sick !!!!!!!!!!

"Dark Star" encore 7/13/84 at the Greek. I think it was Friday the 13th during a lunar eclipse. (The band had screens behind the stage showing space scenes).

From DeadBase:

07-13-84 Greek Theatre, U. of California, Berkeley, Ca. (Fri)
1: Bertha> Greatest, Dire Wolf, C. C. Rider, Loser, Cassidy, Dupree's, Bucket> Might As Well
2: Scarlet> Touch> Fire> Woman Smarter> Drumz> Wheel> Miracle> Stella Blue> Sugar Magnolia E: Dark Star

Holy Crap!!!!!!!!!!

It was the first time I heard Dark Star live. I was living in Berkeley and the rumors were flying that the dead were going to play it. It was before the Internet was part of our daily lives.I think that Phil came on stage after the show and said "Please be patient we are going to do something very special". It had been many years since they played it and what a show it was !!!!

show was smoking, teases of Dark Star during Birdsong.

Cats? where did that come from?

Excuse me while I put the remains of my brain back in my head

GO SEE THIS BAND!

I can't wait to read reviews of this - Tuesday night's show was truly first rate - this sure sounds like it was too

Dark Star encore from a dead stop?

the rails are pretty low at NJPAC in the top tiers - I hope nobody fainted.....

jaw dropping....

E Dark Star

lucky fuckers

Just got back from one of the greatest 2 sets of my entire life.

The only way to sum it up is what Merryprankster wrote

Absolutely Jaw Dropping!

Andy

yes tonight was pretty damn great. i was very impressed with larry.amazing how stellar this band was - and also how stellar the band in vegas was - considering barry (and phil) were the only common players.

if you get the chance to see them - do so. i have to believe that they aren't going to be like this every night - but it is worth a shot.

sorry i don't have more but that's all for now.

just got home...

holy crap... i thought nothing could top last night, especially getting caution and TOO in the same set...

but man oh man... from cats on, this show was as good as it gets..

dont know where to begin. I definitely thought they were going to drop into DS before birdsong.

Barry completely took over St. Stephen and Eyes, I mean he owned it, incredible Stephen, very intense energetic, etc.

they finished the 2nd set at like 11, huddled behind the equipment, roadies came out to change lyrics/telepromters, etc, and you knew it was going to be a sick encore, but little did we know...

and out of nowhere bam, phil drops it on us, and man o man o man... he was like a man possessed.

it was like not another soulcould've been onstage for all it mattered, he was on some sort of mission, he completley took charge of DS, incredible jamming before the 1st verse, it was out of this world

playing up and down and in and out, all over the place , he just took off and could not be stopped

after the last two nights, im counting the seconds until AC..

time to pass out, legs like jelly

oh yeah and as the house lights came up and we were all coming down off of an amazing dark star encore - what comes on the p.a.? - a great song called "one kiss before i go" by none other than phil's friend Ryan Adams.

the EYES was REAL big....

as was the Stephen...

yea Barry, just keep doin what your doin

PHIL is the man...

I'm really spent...

The 1/2 hour FULL Dark Star encore was totally tripedelic...

peace and goodnight,
bones

..>>..it was like not another soulcould've been onstage for all it mattered, he was on some sort of mission, he completley took charge of DS

He was like that at The Joint..large chucks of the show he seemed so into his playing and letting all else happen around and thru him..

Phil is just on a completely different level, its just pure insanity really, the guy is simply amazing...

OK, now I'm REALLY gonna go crash...

Eric:

Nicely summed up. The Dark Star was unlike any version you could ever even imagine. In the jams it sounded like they went through three or four major different (in all regards - tempo, style, beat, etc.) themes and yet it all flowed. This whole show was outstanding (other than Chris blowing the timing of the opening lyric on UJB) and that CAUTION blew me away last night, but the overall strength of tonight from start (take a look at these set lists, but NO MORE DO I was the real gem in the first set) to finish and then a nice, long, and absolutely amazing Dark Star (from another universe altogether) as an encore put this one a notch above last night. Oh yea, they straightened out the vocal mix problems (Mookie was still too low).

This show was insane just got back now. both guitar players smoked but barry really stepped up. His tones were so jerry like. Shakedown opener was sick as was the wheel and lovelight. I am left speachless by the second set Cats was unbelievable and then the st stephan eyes UJB and GDTRFB just capped my night off. I knew they were gunna do a long encore because last nights show ended at 1140 and they went off at about 10 after. i was expecting a help slip frank but we got an amazing dark star instead. Chris really rocked my world tn. He sang soulfully and rockin all night. I felt the security was a little looser then last night we were all able to do as we pleased on the second tier as oposed to the flashlight in our face everytime we lit up last nite . All in all a great two nights of music for me, but tonite was just really special . Im off to bed
Happy t-giving to all, Anthony

thank you phil!

>> last nights show ended at 1140 and they went off at about 10 after. i was expecting a help slip frank

I was thinking the same exact thing Anthony. About 25-30 minutes left to play, had to be HelpSlipFrank, even though there was a lot of DS teasing throughout the night, it was a pretty high energy show, not expecting to have this gem dropped upon us :-)

oh yeh and a ryan adams song came as we were leavin, how bout that.

dats dah shizzle fo mizzle. happy turkey day!

i made my way to the front row towards the end of the show, and the dark star was just amazing it was great to be so close to phil

Phil is truly an alchemist.

Good Times
Danced my ass off! If you find it please send it to A.C.

What an incredible night of music. The band sounds like they've been playing together for years. Larry sang a verse in Goin Down the Road Feelin Bad. He played what looked like a bazooki during Bird Song and Hide Your Love Away. That sounded really sweet. The Eyes and St. Stephen were both spectacular and really featured Barry's incredible guitar work. Mookie was a bit louder tonight but could still be turned up. He was doing some great stuff on the keys. Barry was out of this world. Shows like tonight and last night remind me why he's my favorite guitar player.

Phil is the man.

He is the undisputed king of the psychedelic jam/boogie woogie fest. Chris Robinson screwed up the intro to Uncle John's Band and this is the only real imperfection to anotherwise perfect show. Cats Under the Stars! Dark Star encore! That Dark Star was 30 minutes long and it went so many different places. They teased Fire on the Mountain and Deal to name a few. WOW! Imagine what this band will sound like by the time AC rolls around. I can't wait to see this band again. Thanks Phil. See you in AC(or sooner).

Hampton had a Dark Star encore in the mid Eighties

Sorry, no hampton dark star encore. it was second set dark star in '89 as the warlocks.

You know it is possible that I thought so because it was on a tape a friend made from Hampton, my bad.Before the version someone phil/jer says we are gonna come out and do something special...? very birdsongish version.
Of which am I thinking of?

my 2 cents--
thought show was average ,much better the first night,yea setlist looks great but the "it" factor was missing in my book.but FUN regardless and thanks to NJPAC (where else can you leave and go to your car and do whatever the fuck YOU WANT WOOOHOOOOO!!!! and come back in and out, in and out!!!! THANK YOU PHIL

Wow...is right!
I think it was Phil who introduced the Greek Dark Star too...something about "and now one time only a very special event" I think that was the one...?
Thanks for reviews, comments!! Can't *wait* for my couple-a!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. After two nights at NJ PAC I am reminded how much we have to be thankful for, not the least of which is PHIL LESH. No one "gets it" more than he does; all we ask is that as long as you can, please keep bringing this beautiful music to us.

My observation after these two shows, as compared with the 2000 -- 2003 PLQ, is how much more "GD" this bad sounds. Don't get me wrong - I LOVED the "Quintet", but this band is awesome. The music seems to be more layered; eg. the interplay between Barry and Larry is much more reminiscent of Jerry & Bob than was the combo of Jimmy & Warren.

But the main thing is the man driving the bus. Again, Phil, thank you.

Oh yeah. If I'm giving props to those who "get it" I cannot leave out the most underated band out there. Happy Thanksgiving Zen Tricksters!

~LESH IS LOVE~

HI, Don't know it this was posted above yet but it was Foolish Heart, not Built to last.

Sloppy and tons of FUN. They have some very exciting arangements, and some really cool jams. When the band tightens up they are going to be a powerhouse. Right now they were so much fun. The sloppy parts were many but they were not train wrecks and they didn't matter. You could see the band smiliing and laughing, and keep on playing - which is most important.

And there WERE some stellar moments, more than a few actually. Its an amazing lineup, and was worth every cent. Can't wait to see them again later this tour.

07-13-84 Greek Theatre, U. of California, Berkeley, Ca. (Fri)
""1: Bertha> Greatest, Dire Wolf, C. C. Rider, Loser, Cassidy, Dupree's, Bucket> Might As Well
2: Scarlet> Touch> Fire> Woman Smarter> Drumz> Wheel> Miracle> Stella Blue> Sugar Magnolia E: Dark Star"

That Scarlet>Touch>Fire is my favorite piece of Dead-dom!

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------

Foolish Heart was NOT payed last night, it was Built to Last. But I would love a Foolish Heart. One of the best three Phil shows of the 50+ I have seen.

I was at both NJPAC shows and need to post an alternate take on the shows for those who thought the Q was the best live band they ever saw (barring the Dead in their heyday of course). First a little of history so you can understand my perspective. The first Phil show I was at was in 99 at the Meadowlands. The lineup was essentially the Q, only with Derek trucks instead of Jimmy. I was blown away. I could not believe how tight and psychedelic the band was. Musically, it was better than any Dead show I was able to see. Now before everyone get upset at that statement, I only saw 4 Dead shows, and they were all in the nineties. the following summer when Phil toured with the Little Feat guys, I went to 6 shows on the east coast. They were good, but for the most part, a major disappointment to me. I wanted what I heard at the Meadowlands. In 2000, when Allen Woody died, the Q was born at his daughter's benefit show in Roseland Ballroom. I was lucky enough to be able to get tickets for that show, and was blown away. The sound was back! The next few years were musical bliss. Probably the equivalent of being able to see the Dead in '73 (my favorite year, insert your date). There were some amazing, mind melting shows. The first Beacon run in fall of 2000 and Convention Hall 4/29/01 are the ones that resonate for me. I really do not care for Chris in the band and the other members are great musicians, but it just not psychedelic enough for me. Kind of reminds me of the difference between Phil phans and Ratdog fans. Ratdog is good, but their style is just not what I'm into. This new band ranks up there with the other lineups that were not the Q. They're all good, but do not compare to the sound and energy the Q brought. This is not to discourage people from going to the shows. Any Phil show is better than almost anything else out there. I just thought the reviews were far too kind. For those that were blown away by the Q and felt, like me, that was the best band they ever saw, lower your expectations down before you enter.

Jersey Joe must just be cranky; he did not see the same shows I was at. Both shows were huge fun and outstanding. With CAUTION on Tuesday and a DARK STAR encore (almost like a 3rd set) on Wednesday (as well as an absolutely indescribable NO MORE DO I – as my concert going buddy of 35 years said, it is Phil’s best post DEAD tune) place these shows in a special category alone.

Were there imperfections? Absolutely, but a band that goes to the edge of the cliff so often is bound to lose its balance on occasion, but those occasions were rare.

Jersey Joe misplaced his "it" factor, because this band sure had "it" on both evenings. YMMV! Chris is having problems though with the lyrics (at times); he is reading almost every line and I guess whatever he is smoking during his breaks, which sure smells sweet from 15 feet away, is impairing his vision/brain/vocal transferring abilities, but who am I to criticize or complain? His timing on UJB was really unfortunate, but they did laugh about it; he also hung back in singing many of the lines after that to allow Phil to begin each verse, just to be sure he was not going to mess it up again.

Thanks for the water run Dana; sorry you had to leave before the DARK STAR. I bet you must be kicking yourself, but thanks for humping that balloon for fun; it was like having Phil doing the background music for a soft-core flick. It seems to have affected the band’s playing too!

I was front and center and sent this site about 30 photos. Hopefully, they will get placed up for your viewing enjoyment. I regret now only having one AC show (the Friday one) to go to; I want more Phil!

Without admittedly seeing, or hearing these first few shows, I think caution (no pun intended..lol) should be used in declaring this incarnation better than any Phil has put together to date.
It sure seems encouraging....but these guys have only been playin' together for a few weeks, an' have played a whopping 3 shows.
Let's give 'em time to "transcendentally jell", as the finest of the incarnations have before them, before we put 'em in the Hall of Fame.

That bein' said...I'm EAGERLY lookin' forward to my shot at the Oakdale in 12 days!

Jersey Joe should just give his tickets away next time, or don't bother buying any and taking away another head's opportunity to see these guys. I mean CATS DOWN UNDER THE STARS too? This rendition ROCKED! How could you NOT love this show?

I want to hear the whole show again. The segment of NO MORE DO I>LOVELIGHT>Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms>LOVELIGHT was just OUTSTANDING!

The BIRDSONG was another epic segment in this show and the end of 2nd set jam of St.Stephen>Eyes>UJB>GDTRFB? Are you kidding me?

Say it ain't so, Joe!

Mike I appreciate yor perspective; this is so much about personal taste. Personally, I've attended hundresd of GD shows (1974 -- 1995) and probably about 30 P&F shows. My first P&F was also at the Meadowlands in 99 when they opened for Dylan, and I agree with what you said about the different incarnations (actually, in retrospect I think the "Little Feat Line Up" was VERY weak).

But this band has only played three nights; they will be able to get further out there (i.e. more psychedelic) as time goes on. But the replacement of two dueling guitars like Jimmy & Warren with Barry and Larry has more potential to get interesting IMO. I hear more lead AND rhythm with these guys and for ME that's where a lot of the psychedelia comes from.

I am not nominating this line-up for "best" of anything, but they stand up fine in any comparisons. All I am saying is, do not look back on any former line-ups and think that this one is not going to deliver like those did. This one delivers and they only can get better.

>.Jersey Joe should just give his tickets away next time, or don't bother buying any and taking away another head's opportunity to see these guys.

o.k. andy ease up.there were hundreds of empty seats upstairs for those that would have liked to attend.my view was average show at best ,never saw a weaker applause at end of a 2nd set ever as i did last nite,whether it was crowd not seeing gdtrfb as the closer? i don't know?
first night was much better but glad i saw both!

Mike:

I'll jump on Jay's bandwagon. I am probably one of the few here who went to live shows of every single GD line-up all the way back to Pigpen and I loved PLQ and thought it at a different level than all of the other P&F groupings. To me, PLQ was the first of the post-GD line-ups to capture the old magic and I would even rather see that band than either of the post-GD "DEAD" line-ups too. It was simply "more fun". That being said, I could not have enjoyed either NJPAC show any better with anyone else in substitution. While I also have personal preferences that run counter to the present line-up, in all fairness, you cannot find much to fault (Chris messing up UJB was about the only serious fault, but hey this happens to everyone at some point; just recall the train-wreck Bobby created in a second set at PNC with the Dead a few summers back). I defy anyone to listen to most of both these shows and not be happy with what is coming out of their speakers.

OK Joe, I'll ease up; no offense, but I found your assessment harsh, as well as "wrong" (wrong only in the sense that I disagree and I think I have as sound of a frame of reference as anyone - 100 GD shows from 1970 - 1995, probably another 100 shows with other GD members in the same time period, including every Jerry and Bobby incarnation, Keith and Donna, and even Brett's GO AHEAD project that lasted 5 minutes, as well as every P&F line-up that made it to the East Coast). There were probably empty seats upstairs, because a bunch of those folks were down in the first row dancing and line-up along the stage apron, which was all of about 3-4 feet high (with like zero security; what a pleasant change). I know, because I had first row seats for both nights (last night they were mine and my son's and the night before came from a kind friend) and there were at least a dozen folks near me both nights who had tickets all the way upstairs, but managed to hook themselves up to the front row for the duration (and there were no bad vibes among the patrons there for these extra bodies). I still do not know what shows you saw, but they were not the ones I saw or heard.

Thanks for the reviews y'all.

Fwiw, at the first four shows Phil did with CR in ess eph last winter, I also found the constant telempromtr'ing distracting. But then I realized when I wasn't watching the stage, that he sounded pretty damn good; the tapes confirmed it.

my only real critisicm of CR is WHEN he decides to start singing..

I actually enjoy the soulful sound he brings, and I really have no issues with the teleprompter or missing words etc, b/c it happens pretty infrequent, and if anyone saw Bobby during the Dead's summer run in 2004, it aint much different...

But what irked me a little last night was when he would join Phil mid-verse. If you arent sure of the verse, its ok, but wait until the next line... it sounded akward, and a bit distracting to hear phil start singing a line, and then the louder more soulful voice of CR jump in and kind of change the sound abruptly, but I'm sure it will only get better..

how many more days until AC????!?!?!?

Chris missed a lot of cues. On some songs, he waits for Phil to start singing and then sings. That is somethignthat should be worked on in rehearsal.

the 2nd set is cued up to play on the stream.... there may be some drop outs in the 2nd set...

www.live365.com/stations/2012_live

Why does my turkey look like a puddle?

Oh yeah, thanks Phil

Gotta agree with Jerseyjoe.

Average show. CR totally butchered Built to Last. I think Phil told him to sit one out after that. CR could be seen sitting beside Molo taking a couple of puffs on something after taking a seat.

Barry's work on the wheel is stunning!!

They played the intro to Cumberland before "sweet baby's arms" which was a bit of a buzz kill when it never materialised.

Larrys playing at times is remenecent of Jimmy which just makes me miss Jimmy. When it's just Barry playing guitar, it's tough for him to carry the band with his playing.

Stephen>Eyes>UJB were the highlights and were all intense and played very well. The DStar wasn't too shabby an encore either.

Sorry to say that CR is having a tough time with many of these tunes. I sure hope he finds and keeps his groove. One outta two sure aint bad. Phil needs to guide him a bit more to help him focus.

This band is hot, but Chris needs to get with it, He was late on the opening line of the first song and it was all downhill from there. His voice is awesome, but his timing is way off.

BPK:

No question Chris has a timing/familiarity issue to address, but the rest of what you said is way off the mark. AVERAGE? Miss Jimmy? No doubt Jimmy was outstanding while in the mix, but Barry and Larry are not the comedown you make it and Barry certainly can carry this band on his back, no problem. DARK STAR not shabby? It was one for the ages; it was a totally new take, but fresh takes are what makes the music not be just a parody of the past. Get the past out of your head. We are in the NOW!

Clearly the band still is working things out, especially the Chris side.

Nonetheless, the choice of songs was pretty sterling.

Had my kids at the show, they got their first Wheel and Eyes of the World, and the little one got his first Uncle John's Band, so we were real greatful.

SOTOTW was pretty nice, I thought that was almost cued up prior to the Cumberland cue in set 1. I did miss hearing the Cumberland Blues after they got so close.

Phil popped one or two notes of Cold Rain and Snow prior to launching the SOTOTW, that was pretty funny.

After several Dark Star teases on both nights, Phil finally set it off during the Encore. I was a little surprised that they were already at Encore by 11 last night, when the prior night's was at 11:30, but I guess they needed some extra time!

After the Dark Star intro, they went into a nice extended jam, far away from Dark Star for a while, came back with a Fire on the Mountain tease (a nice bracket to Tuesday's Scarlet opener), before heading off into Dark Star proper.

BPK:

BTW, they did not tease CUMBERLAND; the songs just have similar structure and CUMBERLAND is what came to everyone's mind down in front (when Larry switched gears from Lovelight and led them into this segment), because none of us knew they might do Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms (which was a 1st time played tune and had to be the long-shot of long-shots; I doubt that this one made anyone's pre-concert predicted set-list). Buzz kill? Do you practice at complaining? As much as I love CUMBERLAND, I was GLAD it was a different song that they were breaking out (and that I even recognized it too off the opening lyric). You want complaints? I only can offer a few "constructive criticisms". The mix improved, but remains a little off off; Mookie is still mostly inaudible. Chris needs to get the lyrics down and not rely so much on reading them; his timing needs improvement and not having to always concentrate on reading would probably help (he should also watch Phil more; he would not have blown the opening lyric to UJB had he been watching Phil). Lastly, some jams end a little abruptly, but given what they were doing while they were in the flow, I'll live with it (this would be my most hoped for improvement, but probably the least noticeable “issue”). Anything else is nonsense; on balance, these guys were awesome and anyone with doubts needs to see/listen for themselves.

I have to say that Barry does an excellent job, I actually like him a fair bit more than I like Jimmy, and I like Jimmy a lot too.

I think the Barry / Larry combo will surpass the Jimmy / Warren team once Larry is more in the mix. Larry's got great skills, played this weird looking Lute during "Hide Your Love Away".
He's a little too fast on the leads for some songs, but his finger picking work on
"My Sweet Baby's Arms" was really incredible, and would really suit a nice Cumberland as well.

I can't say that the vocal stylings of CR are that impressive, and he really needs to listen to the long so that he knows where he's cues are and what kind of vocal dynamics are possible.

He totally blew the cue to UJB and Phil had to stop him cold so that he did sing the whole song 4 bars ahead of the band.

Phil's singing is doing very well, and Larry took a verse in GDTRFB that I've never heard before and couldn't quite make out. It had "shoes" in it, but didn't sound like the "going where the footing suits my shoes" that I've heard before.

I agree that the keys was way low in the mix, even worse last night than the night before. Couldn't hear his voice in the mix either.

TURN MOOKIE UP!

OH MY GOD!!!!

Much much more thoughts are needed and unfortunately my grey matter is far too scrambled to make any linear sense out of it.

All I know is I woke up with goosebumps.

I completely LOVED the built to last!!

First set was rockin and fun but then that 2nd set was off the damn charts.

CATS?!?!?!?!? are ya kiddin me????

Chris butchered the UJB opener and during eyes they handed Larry a lead torwards the end and he didnt do anything with it and it kinda petered out. Shit happens, its live music. What can ya do?

All in all this show blew my mind. It stalled in the 1st set a lil bit, then closed with a bang. 2nd set was SMOKIN end to end.

And DARK STAR ENCORE BABY!!!!

Not a V1 or V2

But a full blown take ya out there and scramble ya head kinda DS.

Phil and the boys blew the doors off the NJPAC. A venue that I have fallen in love with the last few days! Hats off to the crew there, they were nothin but nice and smiles to us.

What a great night of music!
What a great 2 show run.

Now I gotta see which shows I can squeeze in before AC. Theres no way I cant wait that long to see them again. Looks like I might be truckin up to buffalo!!!!

YEAH PHIL AND THE BAND!!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE MAGIC YOU BRING!!!!

And as always, hangin with a buncha zoners pre and post a few nights was the icing on the cake.

Glad I got to meet a bunch of ya that I have been looking forward to.

{{{PHIL}}}

Andrew

It's all relative and perhaps me going on four hours sleep and battling the flu prevented me from having as much fun as you. The energy level in the place was nowhere near Tuesday IMO. There were severasl songs that ended abruptly. This is a new band but they have already proved to me that they can deliver the goods. I'm looking forward to the next 5 shows I'll see on this tour. I like the idea that they switch it up / do a few tunes w/o CR.

I think the interplay between Barry and Larry is great btw and it's a welcome change in dynamics. There were issues with the mix, but one things for sure - Phil is turned up and I had no problems at all hearing him either night of njpac. That's what its all about anyway. The Jams speak for themselves.

Tuesday A-
Wednsday C+

Built To Last on Zone Radio right now..

I'm beyond heartbroken that I had to miss this show, absolutely can not wait to hear the Cats though


PHIL YOU FUCKIN ROCK DUDE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE LOVE YOU BROUGHT US TUESDAY NIGHT

see you down in my beloved hometown of DC and again up in AC




...:::SLESS WITH LESH IS MORE:::...



yeahhhhhh my momma told me
pappa told me too...

I'm on the West Coast and I'm suddenly jealous of you East Coast folks (for the next few weeks, anyway). May have to consider another trip back to visit family in February, the way things are sounding.

Hope the energy for the New Year's run keeps up with what it sounds like on this tour so far. I was a bit put off when hearing the news about Jimmy, but from the sounds of the reviews of Larry, I'm dying to see this guy. And Barry is always sweet - I'm sure the interplay is a good fit, given Barry's Jerry-like, psychedelic-countrified sound. It sounds like folks are ragging a bit on Chris, but I'm actually sorry he won't be with the group for the New Year's run - I think Joan's a fine singer, but I definitely prefer a male lead vocalist (other than Phil) with Phil.

Man, wish I'd taken my trip back East this month!!

The line of GDTR that Larry sang is "taks a ten dollar shoe to fit my feet". It is a line that Woody Guthrie sang. Phil blew his verse of GDTR. He sang the second verse that Chris already had sung instead of the third.

2hard2handle wrote:
"...I think I have as sound of a frame of reference as anyone - 100 GD shows from 1970 - 1995, probably another 100 shows with other GD members in the same time period, including every Jerry and Bobby incarnation, Keith and Donna, and even Brett's GO AHEAD project that lasted 5 minutes..."

wow. that's a lot of shows.
um, who's brett?

my mistake. it WAS built to last. sorry.

Just read through some of the reviews and have to make a comment about CR. The issue with the cues may be more of positioning of players on the stage.

The band is not playing strictly to the record so CR looks back at Phil - behind his front of stage mic position - for the cue. There were numerous times on both nights where Phil lead the band into the melody and stepped back. Jerry decided when to start the vocal. Chris does not have as many options. Move Phil forward if he is going to lead the band and cue vocals!!! Besides, can anyone honestly complain about a vocal miscue in UJB - at any given moment the Dead arely nailed all the verses.

I disagree w/ the comment that Chris was sent to the bench. I had box seats both nights - courtesy of njpac's website which let you select your seats - and watched the familial interplay behind stage between the members and between songs. Chris only sat out during the long jams where he had nothing to do. Last night, he nailed Cats - my personal highlight from the 2 nights - and the harp part on Sitting on top of the World.

I also agree with turning the keys WAY UP! From m view point, Mookie was wailing on the boards but I was not hearing all of this from the PA. When I did I was impressed and really loved the shimmering Zawinulesque keys in a lot of the spacier jams.

Net-net: A new day has risen and I love the new P&F. May they live as long as they keep it fresh.

It seemed like Chris knew the words to the songs in the december shows/february show. last night his knowledge of the words was questionable at best and read from the teleprompter for nearly every song. Does anyone know if he read from the teleprompter at the other shows he played in?

Seems as though some are looking for a reason to be negative, sure there were some problems, but this constant harping on CR's transgressions is tiresome...

Hey, Shakin', you beat me to it...the GDTRFB verse Larry sang stood out immediately, seems to be in keeping with the "themes" the band is running through...Dylan / The Band / Cash / railroads / american roots music / etc....I thought it was fitting for Larry to sing that verse, although of course the Grateful Dead extended family has always travelled those roads...

Here's the complete two verse coupling, I think Larry sang only the first...don't believe any of the GD related shows I show ever included these...

It takes a ten-dollar shoe to fit my feet,
It takes a ten-dollar shoe to fit my feet,
It takes a ten-dollar shoe to fit my feet, Lord, Lord,
An' I ain't a-gonna be treated this way.

Your a-two-dollar shoe hurts my feet,
Your two-dollar shoe hurts my feet,
Yes, your two-dollar shoe hurts my feet, Lord, Lord,
An' I ain't a-gonna be treated this way

I dug the Built to Last also but Chris did butcher it. You know who didn't though? Good old 6th man of the year LARRY CAMPELL. Brother laid down a gorgeous perfect (meaning NOT ONE BAD NOTE) fiddle solo. HE definitley did his homework and it showed over the last 2 days.

Don't get me wrong about Chris. I've been a big fan since he joined out crazy Phil world. He brings some intagibles to the table like the ability to REALLY rock out on tunes like HURRICANE, Give me Shelter, CAUTION, etc., but I felt dissappointed in him during Built to Last. I don't mind his blatant abuse of the teleprompter but DUDE, do A LITTLE homework. It will GO A LONG WAY. The guy IS a good vocalist, but part of that is having a little handle on the lyrics. I felt like during Built to Last he was doing a 1/2 decent "Karyoke" type version of a song he "kind of knew". And then LARRY CAMPBELL steps up and plays a PERFECT fiddle solo. He's a pro, and I think Chirs is too but sometimes he forgets that PROFESSIONALISM is sometimes a VERY important quality, even for a "rock star".

Highlights for me was the whole

Cats Down Under The Stars> Jam>
Birdsong>
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
St Stephen>
Eyes Of The World>
Uncle John's Band>

Birdsong was gorgeous. My girlfriend even turned to at one point and said "I like the way Phil SINGS this song...". The jams were QUITE tasty as well...

By the time they broke into St. Stephen the band was firing on all cylinders and the place was crackling with energy.

"What would be the answer to the answer maaaan?"

boom. straight into EYES (if I had to pick ONE highlight it was the EYES). Kind of an uptempo (think Boston Garden 77) type feel. Phil thumpin and bumpin away on the bass and singing beautifully. Typical raw emotion Phil vocals with atypical yet sonically "correct" intonations and approach. Best Eyes I've seen from Phil since the FROST. LC played a very good solo after the first verse. After the 2nd verse BARRY "the second comming" Sless totally FLEXED and just blew the roof off the place. Insane jamming, TOTAL peakage utter bliss… .

After that the band was running on pure fumes. UJB was well done. GDTRFB smoked.

And the ½ hour FULL blown psychedelic masterpiece Dark Star encore tore my brain into 1000 pieces, brought it all back together and sent me off into the cold winter night simply blown away….

All in all 2 awesome Phil shows. The new band smokes, rocks, jams, just as good as any other band I’ve seen anywhere. Q who ?

GIVE ME SLESS OR GIVE ME DEATH!!!

IN PHIL I TRUST. If he’s drivin the bus I WANT ON IT!!!!!!

FIRST show I thought had more sustained power and energy from start to finish. THE ENTIRE second set the first night was super high energy and just insane. Seeing that FOUR string get busted out was one of the musical highlights of MY LIFE.

Last nights show was excellent as well but different. Not as focused, certainly not as LOUD or HEAVY as the first night, but a couple of HUGE peaks with EYES and St. Stephen….

BRING ON AC WHEN PHIL RETURNS TO NJ TO ONCE AGAIN….

BRING THE THUNDER~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~

He read from the prompter in December as well.

Great show
lov this band
Sless is a blast-Larry Campbell is outfuknstanding
CR is a kool hippie soul singer-but he is too skinny!
grand moments-saw the dead do it a million times but this was my first PL&F- eyes
Just super
And what a great place
Sound was kind of dinny at times and too loud-but I'm gettin old
thank ya Phil

Sless is more
Lesh is best
Campbell shines
A Molo fest
Good vibe Mookie
Robinson ARREST!

regarding "Bird Song"...the last few time I've heard this played, I've noticed the "she" changing to "he" in the second half of the song...Phil sang it this way on Friday...I first noticed this at the 8/9/03 Jones Beach show...which was the 8th (?) anniversary of Garcia's death...I took it as a nod to Jerry "he sang a while and then flew away"...simple question that's probably been discussed countless times, but anyone else think the same?

thanks

PS

Albany is GA?

I had to chime in here. I went to the show on Tues. but not Wed.
My first GDead show was Englishtown 1978 and I stopped counting after my 300th show. I've seen every incarnation of P&F since 1998 and I have to say that this present line up is the best incarnation I've seen yet! Its the closet sounding to the real "GD" sound. There were alot of "It Factor" moments during the Tues. night show - especially "Caution". BTW, did Phil breakout Big Brown on Wed. at all? As far as Chris Robinson goes, I love him with the Crowes and he has his good & bad moments with Phil. But I still would rather see CR sing instead of Phil anytime. (Except for Phil's own tunes) Overall, this is my favortite version of P&F so far. I think the only thing that might actually be a better band is if all the original surviving members of GD got back together and they brought in the lead guitar player from the Dark Star Orchestra.
Peace

Spike I appreciate your view of why YOU like this band so much. I like this band as well....one of the better line ups BUT.....I like the P$F incarnations that DO NOT sound like the Dead or try to mimick that sound.. P$F at there best is when they push the envelope away from traditional sounding Dead tunes and add there own distinct and unique "finger print" .....and this is WHY I like this band.

Our views are two sides of the same coin!!!!


Good stuff in my opinion!

Albany is New York..

Just got to say that I love reading all these different view points and reviews. It is in my opinion what the Zone is all about and at its best.

good one Gdad!

"Albany is New York.."

GA = General Admission

I'm from New York ; )

Dubstar, Phil's been singing Birdsong that way for as long as I remember. The first show where I caught P&F do it was Roseland in 2000; I had a copy but don't anymore. I suspect that that is the way he sang it back then. Another of his direct nods to Jerry is in IKYR; the band brings down the tempo and volume way low on the "I'll shine my light through the cool Colorado rain" line. Jerry would rip that and Phil wants us to know it by contrasting it so much.

I thought last night's second set was a tribute to Jerry and us. Of course it's probably in my head but just look at the set list. For Jer: Cats, Birdsong, UJB, GDTRFB, Dark Star. For us: SOTOTW, St Stephen, Eyes, GDTRFB. Every 2nd set song was a song Jerry sang (with the obvious exception in "Hide Your Love Away"). Maybe it's my imagination, but it works for me.

By the way, I also thought there was something to the trio of Wheel's on Fire > The Wheel > Built to Last. Maybe I'm just thinking too much (or too little).

cool, thanks! then I probably heard it back at the beacon in 2000 or somewhere else along the line (can't remember if it was played at the beacon fall run)

wheel theme goes hand in hand with railroads...which were built to last : )

at one point during one of the jams, I thought they might be headed for another late 60's / early 70's stones number...and into something similar like the beatles songs every night in fall 2000...always keeps you guessing

LOL..GA..I get it..Far out dude..

a.j. (Fishman) (81.65.9.47) on Thursday, November 24, 2005 - 07:07 pm

good catch on the typo....obviously you never saw the unknown member, BRETT....LOL

anyone else here recall Brent's GO AHEAD side band (late 80's, I think)?

snuck into the last row-top tier for a smoke break and heard sototw up there- it was highly appropriate up there! made it all the way to the front of the stage by GDTRFB and dark star

I have to add that if all Phil played was old GD it would actually be less, not more, exciting. It would be like a lounge act cover band (well, hardly, but you get the idea). Don't get me wrong, Feedback>Caution was my personal highlight of highlights from these 2 shows (and Chris did justice in his own style to the Caution vocal, even when nobody can be Pigpen; I already listened to the recording twice since the show and it still floors me), but hearing Phil arrange songs like Cowboy Movie and Gimme Shelter into a GD style song keeps this journey interesting and ever changing. I still want my Alligator, Mason's Children, Viola Lee, Dark Star, St. Stephen, Caution, 11, etc., but keep the rotation fresh with new stuff too. I LOVE IT ALL! Keep pushing the envelop Phil and don't mind the critics. F-em if they can't take a joke.

I have to add that if all Phil played was old GD it would actually be less, not more, exciting. It would be like a lounge act cover band (well, hardly, but you get the idea). Don't get me wrong, Feedback>Caution was my personal highlight of highlights from these 2 shows (and Chris did justice in his own style to the Caution vocal, even when nobody can be Pigpen; I already listened to the recording twice since the show and it still floors me), but hearing Phil arrange songs like Cowboy Movie and Gimme Shelter into a GD style song keeps this journey interesting and ever changing. I still want my Alligator, Mason's Children, Viola Lee, Dark Star, St. Stephen, Caution, 11, etc., but keep the rotation fresh with new stuff too. I LOVE IT ALL! Keep pushing the envelop Phil and don't mind the critics. F-em if they can't take a joke.

a.j. (Fishman) (81.65.9.47) on Thursday, November 24, 2005 - 07:07 pm

good catch on the typo....obviously you never saw the unknown member, BRETT....LOL

anyone else here recall Brent's GO AHEAD side band (late 80's, I think)?

We did Go Ahead San Diego and Anaheim shows..

I remember Go Ahead. I got an east coast fix in Washington DC, I'd guess in '86.

I miss Brent.

I heard that Stones sound, I thought it was Last Time...heard Fire and Across The Universe in the Star. Phil's Star was beautiful...he played some Baroque sounding piece in the middle and the second coming of the riff was so slow...like a Terrapin swimming.
I also thought of Cumberland then I figured it was gonna be Maggie's...I bet that comes out soon. Cats sounded so authentic and true to the JGB form especially the vocal harmonies...I think they mighta missed a verse though. Funny how Phil played the Jerry riff during the "I don't wanna fight" part. Cats is a challenging tune.
The St-Steven jam had a great harmonic progression going on and they really drew it out. I couldn't help but sing along with the moving harmony. The rest of the set was great and once again Phil took control of the Jerry riff on GDTRFB. The band missed the ending into the half-time slow BidYG sounding riffs the first time around but picked it up on the second time around. That part needs work.
What a great two days of music, reallignment and healing. It was good to dance again.
Phil thanked us both nights for letting him "indulge" and he also thanked us by playing the Dark Star encore. You're welcome Phil, and thank-you and the universal life force for having us all here and there.
Happy Thanksgiving all year 'round.

..>>,,Phil played the Jerry riff ...

Yeah..how bout that..!!..

Now that ya mention it..rob..

In Vegas..The Joint show..certain songs - the riffs that Phil played which coulda been licked by others..he grabbed them..

Cool...

Man dont know how to thank Phil Lesh.

Newark is my home, man!.. Its been a home for 13 years!...these two shows were a lost dream come true for me. And i cant thank Phil Lesh enough for playing the NJPAC. And ill speak for the local contingent here too thats not so tech. savoy, we all are in deep graditude today. Both nights were nothing short of spectacular and this band is coming together sooooo nicely. A Long history i have with that town phil!...newark was the place i left for many garden and grateful dead show and had returned....changed. Sharing beers with a few friends that i use to ride with back in those days, and the newer friends i ride with today. I cant really piece it together and express my love and graditude for it all. I feel blessed today.

THANK YOU PHIL WITH ALL OF MY HEART AND LOVE FOR PLAYING MY HOME!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{PHIL LESH}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Get on this tour!..do it now. This band is coming together soooo nicely and when it hits... be prepared to get steam rolled. They're THAT good.

OH!...And a Dark Star encore! DARK STAR!...
Man, i cant, dont know how...THANK YOU PHIL!..thanks for the years, thanks for the love, joy and tears. THANK YOU!!!!

WoW! This show sounds like it was awsome!! the stream is choppy, can some one post a link to a torrent.

Thanks to TR for the setlists and pics.

Dark Star had flavors of Wharf Rat and China Cat

It was long and sung well.

That was a really fun show, full of surprises (cats Under The Stars!!).

They did seem to start Cumberland and was kind of disappointed when they got off of it but Roll In My Sweey Baby's Arms was cool.

There were vey few clunker moments. There were more moments where they were hitting on all cylinders.

I thought Larry's playing was pretty basic for most of the show. There were times when he wasn't doing much at all and letting the rest of the band cook which I think worked.

All in all a fun show in an awesome venue.

Oh and the Shakedown was one of the better ones I've seen with Phil & Friends.

I think I heard Happy Birthday in Dark Star...

right on Greg! those were two of the finest musical performances ive seen in years. And NJPAC is a stellar place, cant say enough about it, phil wooped my ass tues, so i came back wed for more,so then he just kicked the crap out of me!

there was no Cumberland tease, nor were the first two notes of SOTOTW 'from' Cold Rain And Snow.

CR is blowing shit but Phil has a hand in it. Either cue...or don't. But make a choice and stick with it. Unless he chooses to trade CR for Joan before AC

I won't bitch about 'false advertising'.

CR doesnt bother me too much. While I don't think he's the greatest singer, he has an okay voice and will most likely learn the lyrics better if he sticks around. I'm there for the band and the jams, and the band delivers that. Larry Campbell is really tasteful with his wide arsenal of instruments. He lays down lovely, melodic solos that fit in with this music so well. Sless is simply incredible, psychedelic to the max, and clearly knows these songs by heart. While I loved the Q, I really enjoy Sless and Campbells tones and playing more at this point. Phil was off the charts for both shows, playing incredible bass runs and carpeting bombing the PAC. Don't know how the guy does it at his age, he's on fire. These guys bring it. They will only continue to improve.

Where are the torrents for this show? The rest of the tour is already up!

Oh, I wanted to say after listening to GDTRFB from 11/23 I think LC should play violin on this one; he would shine. I also thought his E7+9 chord he strummed through a couple of measures sounded reminiscent of Born To Be Wild.
I also think they'll play a Beatles, Dylan or JGB tune every show...and what about some reggae??? Jammin'...Soul Shakedown...Harder They Come...Limbo...Stir it Up. That'd be different.

Mike Baldwin said: "Where are the torrents for this show?"

Anyone know why these are not avaiable yet for 11/23/05, from anybody, at any site?

It is up now and it is a feeding frenzy!

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=20261

i'm sure it was said on this thread already, but the darkstar encore was unfuckingbelievable! one of the best darkstars i've ever heard.

Whats kind of funy is the Wheels on fire song.
Thats the theme for the bbc show Absolutely fabulous. The song sounded good but sitcom songs,
Phil whats next theme from the Jefferson's

Huh? It's a Bob Dylan / Band song.