Gonna be a helluva show!!

4.5 hours until show time y'all!!! beautiful day in NYC, SOBs is gonna rock. PHIL!

I'm insanely jealous of you all. At the same time, I'm so excited that Phil is out there making music again. Lucky bastards are in for one hell of a rollercoaster ride tonight

YAY !

there WILL be updates....

Anything, Whos the friends, Song?

?????????

Phil Lesh & Friends @ SOB's, NYC


Birdsong

/image{2}


/image{3}


/image{4}

Birdsong

THANKS ROB! Love the pics bro!

no trey?

song updates????

how big is that place?? Looks great!!!!!!

>> no trey?

Thank ever loving god!

Althea





Big River

Durfee, Molitz, Lesh, Campbell, McCray, Saywer

funky jam->birdsong->althea->big river->built to last

SO FUCKIN GREAT

ROB I LOVE U MAN...HAPPY BDAY...THANKS

Thanks Rob, enjoy!

Althea





Big River

Yes, Happy Birthday TRob! Appreciate your hard work to keep us connected @ home.

Tanks, Rob! Happy B-day!!!
Oh, I'm getting that show-y feeling!!!
C'mon Summer Tour!!

built to last...heavy

Durfee, Molitz, Lesh, Campbell, McCray, Saywer

funky jam->birdsong->althea->big river->built to last->jam->let it ride (ryan adams tune, no ryan adams)

taper rob for president!
pass the popcorn

- taper rob for president!
pass the popcorn


100% agree....thank you so much rob...a happy bday to u...and keep it coming

Holy fucking shiiiit!!!!!!

thanks rob and jerry!!!
cant wait to be there tomorrow

Phil Lesh & Friends
SOB's, NYC 4/9/07

Set 1:
Funky Jam>
Birdsong>
Althea
Big River
Built To Last
Jam>
Let It Ride

Hey Taperrob, some of your stuff aint gettin'loaded right, Good luck and thanks, from the top o my heart and down to the bones!~

Who's the chick?
Is she decent?

Molitz, AKA "Particle Dude"?

Christina Durfee is the "chick" She's one of Trey's backup singers. I think she has a nice voice.

HOLY PHIL!!!


Thanks, and Happy Birthday, TRob!

anyword on the sound?? Esp. McCray

Nice, nice, nice!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks, and hippy bday, taperrob! almost, cough, cough, like being there!!!
Gratefully yours,
Dashiki Joe
~ 9 mile skid on a 10 mile ride! Woohoo!

Thanks for the updates, and happy birthday Taper Rob...

Interesting lineup... I'll bet the Larrys sound great together. Jaz has chops, from what I've heard, but I thought Molo would be a better fit with these guitarists... I don't know about Christina. I've only really heard her singing backup, not sure how good her pipes really are. Molitz I just don't get... He did nothing interesting at the Warfield shows a couple years back. Tons of other much more worthy players that should've gotten the nod IMO...

Can't wait to hear some tapes though. Maybe Particle Dude will win me over...

Nice

Birdsong was POWERFULL..even via cellphone..man..Phil was crooning..

>>>He did nothing interesting at the Warfield shows a couple years back

Holy shit, I thought those shows were great! I gotta stand up for Molitz, the guy sure can get out there, and he's got impressive chops. Maybe they'll play the Particle song Elevator? again, Phil tore that song up.

so i didnt get tickets to this show was just too busy slavin away but i have two meetings in the city tomarrow and well im wonderin if anyone thinks its worth stayin around for this cause well we all know how speacil it will be

>>>He did nothing interesting at the Warfield shows a couple years back

>>>>>Holy shit, I thought those shows were great! I gotta stand up for Molitz, the guy sure can get out there, and he's got impressive chops. Maybe they'll play the Particle song Elevator? again, Phil tore that song up.

I thought those shows were fun... I just thought Molitz was a weak link. To be fair, most of the time I just couldn't hear him very well at all, there was so much else going on in the mix. What I did hear did not impress much. Maybe he'll have more space to shine in this more stripped down band...

Phil has two brothas playing with him. OKAY PHILLY

TOOBoard post this
Set 2
Shakedown Street, Deal, Loser

Set 2
Shakedown Street, Deal, Loser, McCray Intro's band, Tumblin' Dice, Gentlemen Start Your Engines!

what time did phil go on rob?

F*** yeah Phil

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Gentlemen Start Your Engines}}}}}}}}}}

Molitz? Mccray? Sawyer? im sorry, could someone give me info on these guys?

Christina Durfee is the "chick" She's one of Trey's backup singers. I think she has a nice voice.


Caught her with Trey in December. I thought she was pretty good, and fun to watch...

yeah i caught her at vegoose!

Molitz plays keyboards in the the electro-jamband Particle (and in Hydra with Mickey Hart), and played with Phil at the Warfield run with Chris Robinson, Gloria and Jackie, Molo, Sless, RRE guys, horns a couple of years back.

McCray is a contemporary hard-rocking blues guy in the tradition if BB King, SRV etc... First time playing with Phil, not sure how they hooked up...

Sawyer is a young jazz guy who played with Phil and Sco last year, and has a wide ranging resumé including gigs with George Benson, Bobby Hutcherson, Santana, lots of others...

Molitz was Dec 04 Warfield run..Acts I..II..III..

Saturday night I believe was the crazy Elevator Jam tune of his...he did good with Phil those shows..

http://www.live365.com/profiles/2012_live

McCray is a contemporary hard-rocking blues guy in the tradition if BB King, SRV etc... First time playing with Phil, not sure how they hooked up...



He opened for Dickey Betts on his first solo tour, and he might have introduced them. Pure speculation though.

St. Stephen

Thanks to DS for keeping the updates coming to The Weight (theweightonline.com)

WeightStaff

Loser




St Stephen

Not Fade Away

Nice Hair Cut Phil....We love you!

>>>>>>>Phil was crooning..

Talk about an oxymoron.........
ROTFLMAO..........

It's not like Pavarotti was singing Birdsong, ya know..........

Boy, I'm glad I was going from Fall '99 to Fall 2003 (Except 'The Dead' '03).

How the MIGHTY have fallen.

Oh well, we're all getting older I guess.
Just a part of life..........

Be well, folks; maybe I'll see you somewhere if Phil gets some good players & plays some good sets this summer, but it doesn't look good now from what I heard judging from last year's shows - with the exception of maybe 2 Scofield shows..............

Not even the the one they were going to put out on DVD is that good until TOO > DSvII > TOO > Box & they cut that off the DVD.

Phil Lesh & Friends
SOB's, NYC 4/9/07

Set 1:
Funky Jam>
Birdsong>
Althea
Big River
Built To Last
Jam>
Let It Ride

Set 2:
Shakedown Street
Deal
Loser
Tumbling Dice
McCray intros the band
Gentleman Start Your Engines>
Spacy Jam>
7 Minutes to Radio Darkness>
Elevator
St Stephen>
Not Fade Away

Intros/Donor Rap

enc: Turn On Your Lovelight

Donor Rap, Lovelight

Thanks to DS inside SOBs!

theweightonline.com

seems like a fun night

Elevator makes a stop at SOB's!

Gentlemen,...?

Holy shit.

Here's a Q:

Could you hear anything from the street?

Holy second set!! Right on, you lucky people!!! See you tomorrow night!!

FUN !

phil mentioned that molo had food poisoning and they had to call jazz sawyer 2 hours before the gig. he did a really good job given the situation, although you could def. tell he was the leakest link in the band, phil and molitz had to give him directions quite often and he was pretty off on some of the more complicated fare like st. stephen.

overall, who can complain seeing phil in a 400 person club? mccray is such a great addition to the band, really brings a wide catalogue to the song book with his amazing voice and soulful guitar. i think most of the people in attendance were really impressed.

highlights were def. althea, loser, and that TECHNO jam that lasted for like 20 minutes after space. good times

gentlemen start your engines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Croon

1. To sing in a low tone, as if to one's self; to hum.

2. To soothe by singing softly

I did fee "soothed" listening to Birdsong...

Another example loosly applied would be certain versions of Black Peter..

We that have been around here for a while know why Bucky goes to shows..

Eargasms..I believe he and his associates are after..

And there ain't nuthin wrong with that...

Ha..

His knowledge of material is extensive a memory like none other someone who I would like to see post here more often..

My review, which admittedly differs greatly from the glowing praise I'm seeing on this site, is here:

http://ferdmania.blogspot.com

Groovy 1967..Did you read this thread..??..

I only see like one review of show by attendee..

damn. Doesn't sound good according to Brian

Phil Lesh 4-9-07 or Waiting For Godot

Phil Lesh & Friends
SOB's - New York, NY 4/9/07

(seltist from very generous annotators on Philzone.com)

Set 1:
Funky Jam>
Birdsong>
Althea
Big River
Built To Last
Jam>
Let It Ride

Set 2:
Shakedown Street
Deal
Loser
Tumbling Dice
McCray intros the band
Gentleman Start Your Engines>
Spacey Jam>
7 Minutes to Radio Darkness>
Elevator St Stephen>
Not Fade Away

Intros/Donor Rap

enc: Turn On Your Lovelight


Estragon: Charming spot. Inspiring prospects. Let's go.
Vladimir: We can't.
Estragon: Why not?
Vladimir: We're waiting for Godot.


It was hard to ignore the impending sense of dread many felt walking into this show. On one hand, I thought that I may have just been acting like an unappreciative, jaded New Yorker. After all, I was one of the lucky 400 people who had clicked fast enough to get this impossible ticket (which was inexplicably being sold for $500 on Craigslist and went for $300 cash in front of the club). But on the other hand, I couldn't forget the fact that Phil's shows in the past year have been missing more than hitting, and the band's success has become more and more reliant on high profile guest sit-ins. Phil has moved from the stellar lineup of the PLQ to a downward spiral of B-list and C-list supporting players, and it's been kind of sad to watch, especially since rumor has it that such personnel decisions are more financial than artistic. That being said, this was Phil Lesh I was going to see, and the man is always risky, so anything could happen.

The real wildcard in this lineup was Larry McCray, and I had no idea what a bluesman might bring to the table, so that was appealing. Plus, John Molo was going to be toting the rock behind the kit, and he’s always a bonus. It was enough to make me forget that the forgettable Larry Campbell and Steve Molitz were also on board.

After an approximate 8:20 start, it was evident that Molo was not there, and his chair would be filled by Jaz Sawyer.


Boy: (in a rush). Mr. Godot told me to tell you he won't come this evening but surely tomorrow.


Later, we would learn that Molo had a bad bout of food poisoning and was incapacitated for the night, so this guy with an obvious jazz background stepped in two hours before the show. It’s never good when the evening begins with an ominous sign like food poisioning.

The opening jam was your typical mush that doesn't go anywhere, but it was okay because they were warming up. “Birdsong” continued to signify that something didn’t sound right, although Phil’s vocals were surprisingly decent. When "Althea" began, McCray sang, and people appreciated hearing a genuine, bonafide singer in this outfit. He was also sounding rather ballsy in his playing, and it seemed as though he was being asked to take the lead. This was a good thing because Larry Campbell plays with all the aggressiveness and ferocity of a neutered manatee. Listen, I'm not a Campbell hater because I loved what he did with Dylan. I just really haven't heard him do a damn thing with Phil. I keep waiting for him to do something noteworthy, but each milquetoast solo continually reinforces the fact that he can't seem to rise above the role of sideman.

At this point, I realized that the drum situation was going to be a problem. It's not that the drummer was bad because he wasn’t bad at all. It's just that he didn't jell with the freewheeling jam-friendly demands of this music. He also didn't seem too familiar with the Grateful Dead repertoire, and after he succeeded in laying a funkier beat on "Althea," his ideas didn't seem to mesh well. The drummer needs to be the metronome in Phil's band, but when the drummer doesn't know what's coming next, there is a problem.


Vladimir: What are we doing here, that is the question.


“Big River” was uneventful, aside from the fact that Campbell’s square vocals made this the first time that anyone actually sang the words “Saint Lewis” (instead of “Saint Louie”) in this tune. In truth, everything was rather uneventful at this point, but now it was going to start getting quite eventful, although these were not the kind of events you look forward to experiencing.

“Built to Last” was an odd choice for McCray to sing. It was evident that he was not at all familiar with the song, and he botched the vocals badly. He was trying to follow the sheet music, but he was visibly confused and frustrated. He was nowhere near the mark, and it showed. Like a sheep crying out in the night, this song was baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.


Vladimir: A—. What are you insinuating? That we've come to the wrong place?


Why McCray was asked to sing a very obscure work from the Dead’s least prolific era, a song that he clearly did not know, was beyond me. Flustered, his playing and confidence began to suffer for the remainder of the show, despite the crowd and Phil’s good-natured efforts to pump him up. The show had gone from flat to bad, and the “Let It Ride” that followed did not redeem the abbreviated and tremendously unfulfilling set.

Setbreak is when shellshock set in. I had seen frustrating Phil shows before, but I had never seen anything like this. The band was not together, there were no transitions at all, and McCray and Sawyer were being asked to play tunes that were almost entirely unfamiliar to them. Instead of letting the rookie quarterbacks shake off their rocky start with some easy dumpoffs (standard covers) or screen passes (bluesy Pigpen numbers), Coach Phil kept attempting gadget plays (Built to Friggin’ Last?) and deep routes (a Ryan Adams song?). This was not a good gameplan.

We were in bar watching a bar band trudge through covers that leaned heavily on the Grateful Dead songbook. All of of this was heard for a mere $50 cover charge. Yes, this was the most expensive bar band in New York City.

Those around me quickly agreed that we were witnessing an unprecedented display of mediocrity from Phil Lesh and Friends. One guy decided to buy a t-shirt as a souvenir of the band’s newfound low point. Of course, this being a Dead alumni show, the lemmings were out in full force, tickled pink to hear a song they could sing along with (no matter how badly the vocals were being shanked). Oblivious to what was being played, their sentiment seemed to be “Would it be better to sit and sulk at home over the fact that Jerry’s been dead for 12 years?” I find such bizarre logic to be depressing because this music was not good.


Vladmir: The air is full of our cries. But habit is a great deadener. At me too someone is looking, of me too someone is saying, He is sleeping, he knows nothing, let him sleep on.


Set Two began and I held out hope for improvement.


Estragon: Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful.


“Shakedown Street” started funky, and Sawyer felt comfortable. McCray seemed like he was doing okay for a few minutes, but then he got completely lost with the vocal lines, and he had no idea where to go before the song abruptly ended with a thud. The same held true for “Loser.” It was not pretty.


Vladimir: What do you do when you fall far from help?
Pozzo: We wait till we can get up. Then we go on. On!


Suddenly, redemption seemingly arrived in the form of a familiar Stones riff. “Tumbling Dice” began, and it was evident that everyone felt comfy. McCray was especially in the groove, relishing the vocals and guitar lines. It was here that I learned that Christina Durfree was singing backup vocals in the band. All night long, she had been stationed behind a support pillar, so I couldn’t see her. Up until this point, I couldn’t hear her either, but when she sang “You got to roll me,” that was her first and only contribution of the night. I am not kidding. Those five words were the only time her vocals were audible throughout the evening. Speaking of, the sound was embarrassingly bad, with a very weak P.A. that featured no backup vocals, no keyboards, and not enough bass. On the plus, side drinks cost 10 bucks and bottles of water were $4, so it was a great venue for a show!

“Tumbling Dice” was the first adequate number of the night. It really was adequate and not much more. People will say it was awesome because it was unexpected, and it was the first time the band sounded like a band, but it was still nothing special. It only looked awesome in comparison to the crap that had preceded it.


Vladimir: That passed the time.
Estragon: It would have passed in any case.
Vladimir: Yes, but not so rapidly.


After the song ended, McCray took an impromptu moment to introduce the band. A bandmember jumping on the mic to start talking was definitely out-of-character for Phil Lesh and Friends, but McCray’s candor and attitude was refreshing. Then he genuinely thanked Phil and the crowd for the opportunity to play this music. He also admitted that he was "hanging on by the seat of (his) pants" and he didn't "really know what (he was) doing up here." I am not kidding when I say this, but this thank you was the highlight of the night, which is both a testament to McCray’s heartfelt sincerity and the crowd’s appreciation, as well as the overwhelming mediocrity of the evening’s music.

“Gentlemen Start Your Engines” and the spacey jam that followed were a return to the blahs. I had noticed that almost no one was really dancing this evening. Some people were bobbing their head and one dude was obnoxiously clapping, but that was it. This music wasn’t moving us.

That being said, there was some excitement in the air, as someone was apparently outside selling balloons on the sidewalk. How this was happening without the knowledge of the NYPD was beyond me. I never thought I'd see the day when people would walk out of a Phil show for the chance to huff some Argon in 35 degree weather, but it apparently happened.

You know something is fucked up at a Phil show when you’re psyched to hear the Particle tune. “Elevator” was Molitz’ first and only chance to play some audible notes, and he went full bore with weird synth effects. Campbell actually held his own on some decent guitar lines, Sawyer laid down a decent groove, and the band had a credible trance thing happening. Of course, it was a trance, so it was incredibly repetitive and relatively uneventful, but the whole jam was still a welcome escape from the rest of the night’s boredom.

When “St. Stephen” began, two very odd things happened. One, the intro was destroyed and they started over. Two, this was the only time in my life that I heard the opening notes to “St. Stephen” and thought “No, please don’t play this song!” I was deathly afraid of what McCray and Sawyer might do to this classic. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it was very rough. Mike Matlick and I then began debating whether or not they would throw the entire show in the shitter by attempting to tackle “The Eleven,” which would surely be the trainwreck of trainwrecks. (We actually envisioned a worse-case scenario where they would attempt King Solomon’s Marbles>Slipknot!>The Eleven.) Thankfully, it did not come to pass.

However, Phil attempted to transition into “Not Fade Away,” but Sawyer was confused and everyone stopped playing. Molitz then banged out the riff and a slow recovery was made. Again, NFA was quite lackluster and just didn’t have much juice. The wind had already come out of their sails.


Estragon: Nothing to be done.
Vladimir: I'm beginning to come round to that opinion.


Before the encore, Phil made a point to tell everyone that this group had only one day of rehearsal and Sawyer only had two hours to learn the music. (Believe me, it showed on all fronts.) It was almost as if he was admitting, “Yeah, I know this kinda sucks, but we’ll get better tomorrow.”

“Turn On Your Lovelight” was a good choice for McCray, and he handled the vocals well, although the song was very short, and like everything else over the course of the night, lacked real fire or grit.

I’ve seen less-than-stellar Phil shows, and I’ve seen some bad Phil shows (featuring Paul Barrere and Billy Payne or Barry Sless and Campbell), but this was clearly the worst of the lot. It wasn’t so much that the bad parts were horrible, it was more about everything being so damn dull and pointless. Even those lousy shows in the past had some true peaks, but this show had no peaks at all, just a lot of low plateaus and valleys. I can’t fault McCray and Sawyer because they tried hard, but they were both out of their element and were too unfamiliar with the music to succeed in their roles. Phil could have made it easier by tweaking the setlist to play to their strengths, but he went the opposite way, and they couldn’t really handle it.

Perhaps tomorrow will be better, especially if Molo recovers from his encounter with bad sushi. However, I don’t know that one day of rehearsal will cause a miracle here. Of course, rumors abound for Tuesday’s show, citing possible sit-ins from everyone from Warren Haynes to Trey Anastasio to Elijah. (Word has it that all three will be free after sundown.) Truthfully, I don’t know if such prospects will be enough to lure me back for one more night. I just kept waiting for something to happen on Monday, but Godot never arrived.


Vladimir: Well? Shall we go?
Estragon: Yes, let’s go.

They do not move.

that long-winded, this soon, suggests the dude was writing in his head throughout instead of listening, perhaps.

Listen, I'm not a Campbell hater because I loved what he did with Dylan. I just really haven't heard him do a damn thing with Phil<<

confirms he's either not heard much or can't buy a clue.

"
confirms he's either not heard much or can't buy a clue."

dont be so quick to judge...there are plenty of his who think larry c. is a bad choice for Phil

Knowing Brian I respect his OPINION as should y'all, oh wait this is the PZ I forgot ...

dont be so quick to judge...there are plenty of his who think larry c. is a bad choice for Phil<<

SOTM Tour>>winter '06.

That is all that needs to be said about that.

Expectations can be dangerous. With all the hype surrounding this event, let's not forget that this is a new group with little practice. To make things worse, the drummer who knows the music as well as Phil, gets sick. Hopefully we'll see an improvement tonight, and this group will gell for summer tour.

Sam L.

>>>>>>>> I’ve seen some bad Phil shows (featuring Paul Barrere and Billy Payne or Barry Sless and Campbell)

Are you kidding? Listen to the Eyes from 11/23/05 at NJPAC and tell me it's not sick as hell... Barry and Larry absolutely tear it up...

hmmmmmmmmmmmm..................

Entertaining review. Sorry you did not like the show.

>>With all the hype surrounding this event, let's not forget that this is a new group with little practice

I don't think this is a valid point. This is a two show run (perhaps some more in SF) and if the band were not together to a degree that ended up sounding bad for half the run, it is a small consolation for those who dropped everything and flew here for the shows.

Worst. Show. Ever. Period.

I still love you Phil.

Phil practically apologized, when he explained more than once that the band had only one day of practice.

The tentative start was plunged into chaos when McCray flubbed the lyrics of Built to Last; the band covered easily (thanks LC) but McCray STOPPED PLAYING!?! NEVER STOP PLAYING!!! The band basically limped to the end of the set from there.

Shakedown started with power and ended with a fizzle - I mean it literally died in its tracks. The second set quickly disolved into a first set. Neither McCray nor Larry were versed enough in "dead-style" to let the band go cosmic. At one point LC Phil & Molitz delivered a solid space worthy of any Dark Star, but that was the only musical peak. Like a previous poster I found myself wish for the band NOT to play Terrapin or Eyes for fear of a trainwreck. Prophecy fulfilled! A mulligan on St.Stephen!


So to end this review on a positive note, a few words about Larry Campbell. This show can be called "Larry Campbell to the rescue".

Larry Campbell is the most natural and fluid guitarist I have ever heard besides The Old Man himself. Time and again he bridged the gap between Phil's weird and the rest of the band. McCray looked to LC many times to get his bearings straight. I don't think many fans realize just what we have in Larry, but they should consider themselves very lucky. Just seeing Phil and LC standing together like brothers, playing so perfectly together - it was worth the trip just for that.

(BTW - SOBs was my girlfriend's first show. She didn't understand etiquette and walked straight up to Larry Campbell after the second set and asked him for an autograph. God bless him but Larry stopped and gladly stopped and signed his name. He seems like a really nice guy.)

bluesnote: Shut the fu=k up dude. Brian did nothing but give his review and you attack him. Were you at the show? then shut the fu=k up you just sound so stupid. Phil has done a lot of questionable shows in the past year or so. He is not god he is a musician and not perfect so get off it sometimes PHIL and his band suck. Most times they don't. But don't attack the reviewer for his opinion we all have em. And how do you know it didn't suck last night.

i just refer to the analytic part of the review by "i want more," because it sums up pretty well the musical state of affairs on the surface at this show.

i have a totally different take, though, on the show overall:

> phil continues to try to push the music into new places and take risks. i wish the same maverick, probing spirit for all of us. his choice of McCray is inspired in my view. we've seen past fusion of the psychedelic and country/blues/jazz/rock tones, but where is the integration of hard core urban/true funk/r&b and psychedelia? i think that's what phil had in mind with this choice, and moments like althea and certain spots in a few jams hinted at what could come in time with this prodigious talent. was it rough as hell? absolutely. did mccrary bring respect and love to the music, and a genuine desire to understand it? yes. like campbell, who in my view has really matured and grown as a player, i think this guy would REALLY surprise everyone. i say let the guy study the songbook, spend a few weeks listening to various eras of the GD with copious supply of spiritual utensils available, and let's see what happens in the summer. meanwhile, phil isn't resting on laurels or just delivering anything close to same-old-same old.
> i've heard no comments on phil's playing and how he kept it all together last night. one way to look at it was that it was a 'train wreck.' another way to look at it is that you have 6 people who, together, had played together for possibly a total of an hour - tops - before the gig. 5 of the 6 had maybe played a total of 5 hours or so spread over two days. yet even in the midst of that, there were moments of inspiration and a group still dedicated to finding the group mind - coming from vastly different places of musical reference. phil kept the whole thing together, always with a smile on his face, and always on the knife edge between disaster and inspiration. i'm GLAD they avoided the simple, straightforward things they could have done to keep the show safe and 'average.' for that, i will go see a true bar band. what we saw last night was far from that. namaste, phil and friends!

bluesnote: Shut the fu=k up dude. Brian did nothing but give his review and you attack him. Were you at the show? then shut the fu=k up you just sound so stupid. Phil has done a lot of questionable shows in the past year or so. He is not god he is a musician and not perfect so get off it sometimes PHIL and his band suck. Most times they don't. But don't attack the reviewer for his opinion we all have em. And how do you know it didn't suck last night.<<

listen, asshat: if you think my post constitutes an "attack", you're a fucking moron.

I don't know, and don't claim to, anything about last night's show, asshole, and nowhere do I opine on it.

But Campbell "milquetoast'?

assinine

fuck you very much

so fuck you, take another look at who sounds 'so stupid'

it wasnt the best show and it wasnt the worst but phil and company tried there best. Lack of the loose play is due to the drummer (being molo) getting food poisoning and phil having to fill the spot with jaz sawyer who definitley doesnt know the material. phil had to step back and basically teach the song and the speed of the song to him which takes alot of energy away from letting it ride. But at times there were some pretty crazy tribal dark grooves happening which were pretty heavy and the light show magnificent for such a small venue. Yeah and phils band is definitley better then my band which defintley doesnt even exist.

if you take $$$ you should show up prepared to deliver the goods...

ES

(and I say that in the context of the "they didn't have time to practice" comments - if you don't have time to practice don't schedule and sell tickets to the shows)

if you take $$$ you should show up prepared to deliver the goods... <<<

hysterical coming from one of Bobby's fleas, doncha think?


Better work on your knee-drop, Phil

false starts, missed lyrics - it's all good. THANKS PHIL!
These guys did their best, and there was no need to apologize for anything. Larry McCray was gracious and worked his ass off, the drummer may have been in over his head, but shit happens, and particle man really stepped it up in the second set. Add Molo to the mix to free up Phil and tonight will be stellar in every way... Larry Campbell was incredible last night as well, he really stepped it out and drew some shit out of McCray...
see you all tonight!

By MA (Silentmark) (65.123.112.186) on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 08:07 am: Edit Post
Knowing Brian I respect his OPINION as should y'all, oh wait this is the PZ I forgot ...

==========================

yup, you got that right. expect a personal attack unless you fawn 100% of the time...

ES

"funky jam" sounded like papa was a rolling stone to me. (listen to the live version Zero does of that song)

great show. thanks phil

I definitely enjoyed the show last night! It was great to see Phil healthy and back on stage, and he looked so happy to be there. McCray was an AMAZING addition to the band, he took Dead songs to a plane on which I never imagined them. He really proved himself on Althea, and I'd love to see him perform with Phil again. I was surprised that he didn't put that same sound into the encore performance of Turn On Your Lovelight, although that's neither here nor there -- it sounded more like a Dead version, rather than a McCray-infused version. Larry Campbell meshed well with the band and had several shining moments, although McCray definitely outshined him. Molitz shined during space, and he looked like he was psyched to be performing with Phil. As for Sawyer, you can't fault the guy. He practiced with them for only two hours, and although stronger drumming would have helped, I think he did what he needed to do under the circumstancees. Oh, and it was nice to see Durfee when she was on stage for a couple of minutes ;)

Highlights -- Althea, Loser, Space

bluestnote is and always will be an itch on ya dick just how he operates

Interesting shiow, but I really, really noticed how much Phil had to use the in-the-ear mic to guide everyone. He had to, new drummer and all. And it seemed like it was being heard through the PA as well at times, very distracting...
I knew it was an ominous sign when I heard from a tech guy side stage, that Molo was sick and would be replaced by Jaz Sawyer.
All in all he did ok, but yes, the peaks were not really there.
Maybe a bit more rehearsal is necessary Phil.
Than being said, Larry McCray ROCKS!! So talented and full of great energy, and he CAN SING!
Tonight will rock I am sure, w/Moloman's return!

By simpson (Samsen) (71.61.215.22) on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 11:53 am: Edit Post
bluestnote is and always will be an itch on ya dick just how he operates

===========================

no worries, thx. it's easy for guys like that to talk big in a forum like this...

...they don't usually have much to say in person.

cheers.

ES

PS...I was not there last night but if Molo is back tonight it should make a huge difference, he's almost worth the price of admission himself. I was lucky enough to once catch Kimock and Molo at 12 Galaxies, what a treat it was to see/hear Molo from so close (and Kimock too!).

My friend got the drummers setlist and it had little descriptions of the songs, and the tempos next to it.
Big River-cowboy tempo, stuff like that

any word on lineup for tonight???????????

space--hippy tempo?

this is a stealth show.. the band hasnt rehearshed, its all in the spirit of fun!!!!!! your negative reviews comparing it to sold out summer tour shows are in vain. Phil as of late has been all about improptu playing ( what the grateful dead always wanted to do, but because of such a harsh and whiney fan base werent able to do ) all week ive been listening to you people whine about EVERYTHING..

Phil is playing for fun, to think that he is SELLING OUT in any way is absurd, the grateful dead have never been about " hitting all the notes" and phil especially has expressed his love and desire for improvisational shows, and playing with people that neither have an extensive knowledge of the songs and havent played them for very long.. its how the songs will evolve. if you dont like that, go see a ratdog show

exactly chris!

stealth show = chance music

exactly chris!

stealth show = chance music

Phil has lowered our expectations over the last few years. Time together is no excuse, the Avalon All-Stars were tight even though they had played together very little. I haven't seen Phil since I walked out on that awful Stela Blue at Jones Beach last summer. I think he would make better music playing with deadheads who are not pros but know the music. Experimenting is fine, that's what this music is all about.

i am glad folks had a good time

Very entertaining review. good stuff. "they do not move" - mmmmmmmm paralysis.

if you're a glass half empty kind of person much of the "negative" descriptive stuff here is accurate, i.e. it was raw and ragged...if you are a glass half full type, there were many,imo,brief improvisations that were interesting and good to very good......the lack of INTENSITY was what i missed most but that takes more time together.....i think the last of the 6 concerts will be a lot better......

Did anyone notice how Phil didn't know Christina's name at the end of the show? He just wanted to thank the girl who had been singing with them all night

yeah, phil said thanks to christina, im forgetting her last name, on backup vocals.

Nail
----
The Head

this is a stealth show.. the band hasnt rehearshed, its all in the spirit of fun!!!!!! your negative reviews comparing it to sold out summer tour shows are in vain. Phil as of late has been all about improptu playing ( what the grateful dead always wanted to do, but because of such a harsh and whiney fan base werent able to do ) all week ive been listening to you people whine about EVERYTHING..

Phil is playing for fun, to think that he is SELLING OUT in any way is absurd, the grateful dead have never been about " hitting all the notes" and phil especially has expressed his love and desire for improvisational shows, and playing with people that neither have an extensive knowledge of the songs and havent played them for very long.. its how the songs will evolve. if you dont like that, go see a ratdog show

<<<this is a stealth show.. the band hasnt rehearshed, its all in the spirit of fun!!!!!! your negative reviews comparing it to sold out summer tour shows are in vain. Phil as of late has been all about improptu playing ( what the grateful dead always wanted to do, but because of such a harsh and whiney fan base werent able to do ) all week ive been listening to you people whine about EVERYTHING..

Phil is playing for fun, to think that he is SELLING OUT in any way is absurd, the grateful dead have never been about " hitting all the notes" and phil especially has expressed his love and desire for improvisational shows, and playing with people that neither have an extensive knowledge of the songs and havent played them for very long.. its how the songs will evolve. if you dont like that, go see a ratdog show>>>


here here man


"Phil is the band member that most loudly demanded that the band dance as closely as possible to the nearest available precipice"

-McNally


I wish I could have been there to cheer for my main man more than anything

The image of him singing Rider the last time I saw him at PLU was one that I'll never forget.. a connection between him and the crowd that went beyond indeed

Couldn't be happier about the fact that Phil is healthy and happy AND trying new things in the revolutionary spirit of his roots



and here's to a dripped out grateful cosmic style summer tour



dream

night

winds

to you all

whats up skins? too bad you weren't there man!

Regarding the complains of sloppyness, it's true, the band would have been more cohesive if they had practiced for more than a day. Some of their problems would have been solved if they had their original drummer on stage, but I think the sloppyness was mostly a result of different playing styles coming together with a small amount of practice prior to the show. McCray took a new, interesting approach to the songs, but I'm not so sure the other band members were on the same page just yet. Because McCray is a loud, power guitarist, his sound dominated but didn't have the necessary back-up to create energy and fluidity.

Overall, the hype surrounding the show was created by the fans -- not Phil and his band -- and I was personally happy to see Phil back on stage, playing Dead songs with a solid group behind him and an energized audience.

I saw a group of professionals last night playing their asses off to put on the best show possible when only half of the band knew how the songs went. When Phil asks the lead guitar player if he remembers the opening riff - no shit. I heard it myself - to St Stephen, how memorable a version can he/we expect?

Anyone can jam out of a twisted lyric or bad chord, but Phil put Larry Carter up in front of the band before the gentleman had had a chance to know how the tunes went. Carter had a nice approach to the vocal lines and played some funky rhythm and a few strong leads.

I hope that the band is rehearsing all day, because I'm going back tonight. Phil has got a lot in the vibe bank. It will be interesting to see how he responds to a number of very shaky moments on opening night. Molo, we missed you brotha. Get well soon.

Nothin left to do but smile, smile, smile... I'd rather be at SOB's with Zoners than home

hey man.. I know you were flowing the love in a proper fashion

I wanted to make it up there real real bad but the ratrace trampled my wish.. mostly just wanted to cheer for Lesh getting better

for now I'm working my ass off and hoping to see y'all for a stomp down of a P&F tour this summer

Phil has lowered our expectations over the last few years. Time together is no excuse, the Avalon All-Stars were tight even though they had played together very little. I haven't seen Phil since I walked out on that awful Stela Blue at Jones Beach last summer. I think he would make better music playing with deadheads who are not pros but know the music. Experimenting is fine, that's what this music is all about.


im sorry brother, but maybe Phils bands arent for you. Phil has stressed and stressed again his desire to have people play with him who may not be familuar with dead tunes to add new perspective to them. i mean this is a guy who has been playing some of the same songs for 40 years he needs them to be fresh and he is exposing them to new fresh ears as well, thats where its at. you dont have to go for it, but thats where its at.

i happen to love it! some of the tapes i hear people whining about the most happen to be some of my favorites, opinions are like assholes i suppose..

I'd pay 50 bucks to see last nights show again. Call me crazy, but its better than watching law and order, or listening to venetta oregon 1972 again....actually...hmmmm...well, its definitely better than sitting home and watching law and order!!

Who the fuck are all these critics, ??????????????
I'm all for tellin it like it is but the only person that looks familiar is Hail Skins...

I thought it was pretty cool how Phil sold the tickets on here and it was a tiny venue.I just don't get all the demanding perfection bullshit.
Whatever people, flame away.

Lookin' forward to tonights show already!!
Keep it positive y'all!! Give out some love and good vibes and get some back!
The show will be alot better tonight, give my man Phil a break...gotta take the good with the bad as always, yin/yang!!
Molo food-poisoning, a 67 y/o (about) Phil getting over cancer...
Nohing wrong with an honest review, but dont need to be negative towards each other here..

anyone who had anything but fun last night isn't coming at it the way I am. the early dead, and at times even later dead, was all about improv. you want scripted, rehearsed dead cover band, go see DSO

Who the fuck are all these critics, ??????????????
I'm all for tellin it like it is but the only person that looks familiar is Hail Skins...

I thought it was pretty cool how Phil sold the tickets on here and it was a tiny venue.I just don't get all the demanding perfection bullshit.
Whatever people, flame away.






Amen brother.

Ah, I love this forum and the apologists who call it home! Always a fun read over here, sort of like watching animals smile as they are euthenized.

I just have a couple of things to add, and then I'll leave you to your regularly scheduled apologizing.

If someone liked the show last night, good for you. I wish I could have enjoyed it like you did, but I guess my standards are too high. I do hold professional musicians to a high standard. That standard raises with the ticket price. I hold Phil Lesh to a high standard because he has long been my favorite musician to see live, and he is very bold with his choices. I want to see him take risks. I want to see him play with different musicians who can bring something unique to the music.

But for Godssake, please rehearse so the new guys have some idea what they're doing! The situation with the drummer was unavoidable, but there was no excuse for only giving Larry McCray one day of rehearsal. That was neither fair to McCray nor the band nor the audience. Phil put the guy in a terrible position, and then he made it even worse by asking him to lead songs that were not only unfamiliar but also outside of his comfort zone. This tact had disasterous results and visibly shattered McCray's confidence. It was really sad, especially since McCray seems like such a nice and talented guy.

The bottom line is that if you expect people to pay top dollar, you need to present a professional, rehearsed product. This did not happen. If people couldn't make rehearsals, they should have been replaced. Or if they wanted to go with minimal rehearsal, they could have just jammed on some standards, and it would have been cool. Just don't ask people to lead technically complex charts that they've only seen once or twice before. That's a bad choice, and only an audience with a serious thirst for schadenfraude would enjoy that.

For the record, I am aware that everyone tried hard. I wasn't close enough to the stage to put gold stars on their foreheads, but I wanted to. Unfortunately, this is not Little League; this is the Major Leagues. When people pay a sizeable amount of cash for a product, merely trying hard isn't good enough. If you don't believe me, ask anyone who has had the misfortune of being a Philadelphia Phillies fan.

I don't know why you guys were talking about there being too much hype surrounding the show because that was not the case for me. In fact, I opened the review talking about the impending sense of dread I felt. Perhaps there was a lot of hype here in Happy Fun Rainbow Land, but not in my world.

Sidenote: If last night's lousy show had been performed in San Francisco, would it be called "magical"? The Magic 8 Ball says, "All signs point to yes."

And anyone out there who sees Larry Campbell consistently dishing out great moments with Phil should please get in touch. We need to attend a show together. Obviously, I'm going to the wrong gigs, and you are catching all of the right ones.

Finally, my favorite comment comes from Sam F (Strat13) who responds to my quote "I’ve seen some bad Phil shows (featuring Paul Barrere and Billy Payne or Barry Sless and Campbell)" by saying "Are you kidding? Listen to the Eyes from 11/23/05 at NJPAC and tell me it's not sick as hell." Sam, who would I be to doubt the sickness of that Eyes? Granted, I wasn't there, and I've never heard it, but I'll take your word for it. Regardless, I'm talking about some clunkers from Jones Beach and the Beacon, so if you don't know exactly what show I'm referring to, how can you tell me it wasn't bad?

Oh, that's right. You know I'm wrong because everything Phil does is magical and we should all be grateful all the time.

Sorry. I forgot.

oh, and by the way, Don Kerr is an angel...

...The 1st set was train wreck, I was front row on larry side and heard Phil say as he was pulling off a long sleeve shirt that was hung up in his wiring, "I can't do anything right tonight" a chick next to me shouted "sure you can" and he smiled....second set was great, I really enjoyed it.

some people around here need to just get a grip. let others alone. if they are happy so be it, dont rain on their parade.

And anyone out there who sees Larry Campbell consistently dishing out great moments with Phil should please get in touch. We need to attend a show together. Obviously, I'm going to the wrong gigs, and you are catching all of the right ones.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thats the most accurate thing you said.
You're catching all the wrong shows I guess, too bad for you.

Simpson: fuck you. who the fuck are you? If you have an itch on your dick talk to your GF about it. Again, fuck you.

no worries, thx. it's easy for guys like that to talk big in a forum like this...

...they don't usually have much to say in person. <<<


what does this even mean?
1. Who's "talking big"? Specifically, please.

2. You think there's anything I post that I wouldn't say in person? Think again.

By (Hittin' The) (Bluestnote) (69.206.254.158) on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 05:29 pm: Edit Post
Simpson: fuck you. who the fuck are you? If you have an itch on your dick talk to your GF about it. Again, fuck you.

no worries, thx. it's easy for guys like that to talk big in a forum like this...

...they don't usually have much to say in person. <<<


what does this even mean?
1. Who's "talking big"? Specifically, please.

2. You think there's anything I post that I wouldn't say in person? Think again.

=====================

took you a while, but I think you figured it out...

pat yourself on the back.

ciao.

ES

"I Want More"'s review of the show is pretty spot-on. The highlights weren't very high, but the 3 tunes I enjoyed the most were Tumbling Dice and the 2 Particle jams. This sort of surprised me, since they're the 3 songs least related to the Dead. But those 3 are the tunes during which the 5 (and sometimes 6....when Christina "whats-her-name" joined in in her under-amplified fashion) people on stage actually sounded like a band. Other tunes had some very nice moments of interplay (there were a few nice Campell/Mccray guitar exchanges that were reminiscent of Jimmy/Warren duels) but these moments were tucked in the middle of flub-filled songs.

The "Space" was cool too but only Phil and Molitiz really let loose. Everyone else just seemed to look for cues out of the corner of theirs eyes.
I only heard Molitz when he played the keyboards that were facing the side of the stage. The ones facing the front were nearly inaudible. So I only heard the pitch-bending mini-moog(?) and something else that were only utitlized for the weirder "space-porn" sounds that Particle is known for. Christina (last name "Durfee", Phil!) was nearly inaudible during the few moments when she was in front of the mic. But she was really cute and seemed about my age (mid/late 20s?) And despite not having much of an opportunity to shine, she did exuded positive energy with a continual smile. Though I don't go to Phil shows for pretty-looking people.

By the way, what's the deal with "Gentlemen Start Your Engines."? This was the old Dead tune played 3 times in '88 and an outtake from th Built to Last sessions, right? I've actually never heard it before. Did Brent sing it? Was this the first Phil version of it. For folks who are familiar with the GD versions, how'd the 4/9 version compare?

I didn't feel the urge to let loose and dance much during the show. I only went at it during the two Particle tunes because those were really the only 2 high energy songs with a propulsive steady beat. I missed the mix of spacey-ness and driving (Molo) beats of previous PnF incarnations. Jaz Sawyer did make a really good effort on 2 hours of practice but he failed to save the night. If Molo returns in good health tonight, I think the band will be a lot tighter and will also feel more comfortable stretching out between songs. And Molo's familiarity with the material will allow for more real transitions between songs instead of Phil gesturing, trying to guide the band and then everyone just getting confused and collapsing into silence (as often happened on the 9th)

Also, I think tonight will be better if Phil has McCray stick to guitar and takes him off lead vocals. LM has an adequate, soulful voice but as was evident in B2L and Shakedown, he can't handle playing and singing together especially when he isn't sure of the vocal rhythms. His mumbling delivery, half off-mic reminded me of late period Jerry. Though Jerry, had less of an excuse...

Well, it was great seeing Phil up so close with only 4 feet and a thigh-high barrier-free stage between us. I was right in front of him just behind a middle-aged guy in a wheelchair. (I was the ponytailed kid with the Joy Division t shirt. and later stripped down to my Candlemass T [I always wear non-jamband shirts to jam shows]) So I got to see Phil's facial expressions and band cues with complete clarity. Also Phil and I made eye contact a few times and I enjoyed the goofy grins and mischieviou eyes he gave me.

So was it worth the $60? That's a moot point now. I do think at that price, Phil had a responsibility to provide a quality "product" for the audience. Molo's last-minute absence was beyond anyone's control and probably adversely affected the quality of that "product." . But by only practicing with the band for a day I think Phil let the fans down. If this had been a free show or Phil sitting in unannounced with some local bar band, I would've honestly had no expectations. But by making the Reddy game on his website as a convoluted way to get tickets and charging $50 for tickets, he made it a hyped event. I never expect perfection with Phil. The risks are what make PnF and jambands in general so much fun, but this show had too many flubs and too little inspiration for my comfort.
I have no regrets for going. But I'm also glad I'm not one of the people who paid a scalper above face to get in.

By the way, I grabbed Phil's copy of the setlist off the stage after the show. It included some handwritten notations in sharpie for segues and the keys of jams. It also shows Althea as coming second to last in the 1st set, segueing into "Let It Ride."
The balding stage manager guy replaced another set list with this one just before lights went down. The other set list was the same except without the handwritten stuff.

"I Want More"'s review of the show is pretty spot-on. The highlights weren't very high, but the 3 tunes I enjoyed the most were Tumbling Dice and the 2 Particle jams. This sort of surprised me, since they're the 3 songs least related to the Dead. But those 3 are the tunes during which the 5 (and sometimes 6....when Christina "whats-her-name" joined in in her under-amplified fashion) people on stage actually sounded like a band. Other tunes had some very nice moments of interplay (there were a few nice Campell/Mccray guitar exchanges that were reminiscent of Jimmy/Warren duels) but these moments were tucked in the middle of flub-filled songs.

The "Space" was cool too but only Phil and Molitiz really let loose. Everyone else just seemed to look for cues out of the corner of theirs eyes.
I only heard Molitz when he played the keyboards that were facing the side of the stage. The ones facing the front were nearly inaudible. So I only heard the pitch-bending mini-moog(?) and something else that were only utitlized for the weirder "space-porn" sounds that Particle is known for. Christina (last name "Durfee", Phil!) was nearly inaudible during the few moments when she was in front of the mic. But she was really cute and seemed about my age (mid/late 20s?) And despite not having much of an opportunity to shine, she did exuded positive energy with a continual smile. Though I don't go to Phil shows for pretty-looking people.

By the way, what's the deal with "Gentlemen Start Your Engines."? This was the old Dead tune played 3 times in '88 and an outtake from th Built to Last sessions, right? I've actually never heard it before. Did Brent sing it? Was this the first Phil version of it. For folks who are familiar with the GD versions, how'd the 4/9 version compare?

I didn't feel the urge to let loose and dance much during the show. I only went at it during the two Particle tunes because those were really the only 2 high energy songs with a propulsive steady beat. I missed the mix of spacey-ness and driving (Molo) beats of previous PnF incarnations. Jaz Sawyer did make a really good effort on 2 hours of practice but he failed to save the night. If Molo returns in good health tonight, I think the band will be a lot tighter and will also feel more comfortable stretching out between songs. And Molo's familiarity with the material will allow for more real transitions between songs instead of Phil gesturing, trying to guide the band and then everyone just getting confused and collapsing into silence (as often happened on the 9th)

Also, I think tonight will be better if Phil has McCray stick to guitar and takes him off lead vocals. LM has an adequate, soulful voice but as was evident in B2L and Shakedown, he can't handle playing and singing together especially when he isn't sure of the vocal rhythms. His mumbling delivery, half off-mic reminded me of late period Jerry. Though Jerry, had less of an excuse...

Well, it was great seeing Phil up so close with only 4 feet and a thigh-high barrier-free stage between us. I was right in front of him just behind a middle-aged guy in a wheelchair. (I was the ponytailed kid with the Joy Division t shirt. and later stripped down to my Candlemass T [I always wear non-jamband shirts to jam shows]) So I got to see Phil's facial expressions and band cues with complete clarity. Also Phil and I made eye contact a few times and I enjoyed the goofy grins and mischieviou eyes he gave me.

So was it worth the $60? That's a moot point now. I do think at that price, Phil had a responsibility to provide a quality "product" for the audience. Molo's last-minute absence was beyond anyone's control and probably adversely affected the quality of that "product." . But by only practicing with the band for a day I think Phil let the fans down. If this had been a free show or Phil sitting in unannounced with some local bar band, I would've honestly had no expectations. But by making the Reddy game on his website as a convoluted way to get tickets and charging $50 for tickets, he made it a hyped event. I never expect perfection with Phil. The risks are what make PnF and jambands in general so much fun, but this show had too many flubs and too little inspiration for my comfort.
I have no regrets for going. But I'm also glad I'm not one of the people who paid a scalper above face to get in.

By the way, I grabbed Phil's copy of the setlist off the stage after the show. It included some handwritten notations in sharpie for segues and the keys of jams. It also shows Althea as coming second to last in the 1st set, segueing into "Let It Ride."
The balding stage manager guy replaced another set list with this one just before lights went down. The other set list was the same except without the handwritten stuff.

folks, a call to mindfulness and civility. no need for hateful words here to grow from music intended to inspire cultivation of collective consciousness. please remember that using hateful speech harms your own karma, while provoking fear and anger in others that may generate similarly harmful words/actions/karma. take a breather and listen to your favorite PHIL if you're provoked!

took you a while, but I think you figured it out...

pat yourself on the back. <<

no, dude. tell me what constitutes "talking big". because I don't know WTF you're talking about.

I simply think a Ratdoggie talking about how anyone charging $$$ should be prepared to "deliver the goods" is fucking hysterical.

There is no excuse for not reheasing the band enough to make a show sound good. I feel for the people who flew cross country and paid $300 plus per ticket to see these shows. In my opinion Phil should not have scheduled these shows in such a small venue. Why not play the Beacon or hammerstein or any of the venues in NYC that can accomadate and hold all his east coast fan?

hey sorry for the double post of the review. the text is the same in both. i just got the image code wrong in the first. the board rules won't let me delete it now, but if a moderator is out there please feel free to zap the 1st one.

paid $300 plus per ticket<<<

zero sympathy for those inflating the market for tix. sorry. well, no. not really.

>>>>>> Finally, my favorite comment comes from Sam F (Strat13) who responds to my quote "I’ve seen some bad Phil shows (featuring Paul Barrere and Billy Payne or Barry Sless and Campbell)" by saying "Are you kidding? Listen to the Eyes from 11/23/05 at NJPAC and tell me it's not sick as hell." Sam, who would I be to doubt the sickness of that Eyes? Granted, I wasn't there, and I've never heard it, but I'll take your word for it. Regardless, I'm talking about some clunkers from Jones Beach and the Beacon, so if you don't know exactly what show I'm referring to, how can you tell me it wasn't bad?

I'm not saying the shows you saw weren't bad, I just find it hard to believe that those guys failed to satisfy, when they've done great through multiple tours... not saying you're wrong, I'm just in disbelief... just the way I read your original comment made it sound like those guys were typically unexciting and mediocre, which I don't think is the case... I'm not gonna go all "everyone has bad days", but I think maybe you just got unlucky, because lineups with those two together and also with them apart (Vegoose 05 comes to mind) have absolutely smoked...

Of course I still miss Jimmy Herring to death but that's just me...

Do check out the Eyes though, it's definitely worth a listen...

http://www.archive.org/details/paf2005-11-23_dsbd. philleshnet.31792.sbeok.flac16

Im a big Phil fan, Ive been inspired by him in many ways, but I gotta agree with the folks that are being critical of there not being enough rehearsel time for these shows...Its one thing for Molo to get sick, that cant be helped, and to Phils credit alot of other bands probably would have canceled the show...Its another thing entirely though to schedule shows with musicians who really arent that familiar with the music, and than to only allow a minimal amount of time for rehearsel is kind of an insult to the people who played that silly game, flew in from out of town etc...

Im happy Phil is playing again and having fun, but I for one would be pretty ticked off to pay $60.00 to watch a band that only had a couple of hours of rehearsel...

In any case, thats the way these things go with these guys...You gotta take the good with the bad...

"Sidenote: If last night's lousy show had been performed in San Francisco, would it be called "magical"? The Magic 8 Ball says, "All signs point to yes." "

typical east coast douche-baggery

typical west coast hyper-sensitivity

c'mon, boys. rainbows and teddy-bears, hmmmmm?

i prefer lightning bolts and skulls

touche, Ferds

I just heard the tape from last nights show. Plain and simply put in my opinion...not very good. But then again when you put together a bunch of people who, not only barely know one another, but have almost no Grateful Dead background to speak of, then thats what your going to get. Im not a fan of this constantly revolving door line-up.

everyone just enjoy the good music and relax!!!

did it start yet?

Yo Foggy

hope to catch up with you and Jerman at a Nats game this summer

we need to burn one and say goodbye to our beloved RFK..

..Sun gonna shine in our backdoor one day man

I am SO FCKING Glad I was too stupid to find Reddy Kilowatt in that game now. Funny how things have a way of working (or not) out.

Fact is - these guys are all PROFESSIONIALS - there is NO EXCUSE for total trainwrecks or lackluster mediocre performances - especially when people pay $$$$ to see the shows.

>>>>>NEVER STOP PLAYING!!

Actually - if your lost, can't hear yourself, or can't find the key - you should IMMEDIATELY stop playing - find your spot - and begin again - rather than causing dissonance and annoying chaos which the other players have to cover - or work around.

Which brings me to the next point - listing FUCKING KEY CHANGES on a set list. WTF??? Are these guys tone deaf?? Phil needs to pick people with ears good enough to HEAR the key and get in it. Im sorry - Ive played in plenty of group situations and the ones which were actual bands all required everybody to recognize WHAT KEY the song or jam was being played in and to BE THERE or at least somewhere compatible.

After hearin some of the show - I must say - yeah - not the best - but Ive seen worse P+F and I'll be first in line to grab tix if more are announced cuz when it does gel - this apparent flub will be a long gone memory and the muse will NOT FORSAKE PHIL LESH for long.

Larry Campbell is an excellent musician and the Phil shows Ive s een with him hes beem solid and usuallly spot on - tasty and non intrusive - far from a neutered mannatee. Hes the kind of player who LISTENS and finds the right spots to play hte right notes - call that a sideman if you will - but to me thats a MUSICIAN.

As far as accmplshing the "group mind" this would require supoer talented jazz pros to pull off with no practice time together. People who can hear and play ANYTHING. It took the Grateful Dead years of massive practice and tons of LSD to achieve this state of being - it took John Coltrane and assorted friends at times about five seconds. Thats just how it is.

All said and done - we all still love Phil most of all - he is THE SURVIVING PATRIARCH of the Grateful Dead legacy and the fact that he is honoring that role and giving some new talent a chance to shine is prettty fcking decent of him.

Larry Campbell is just not aggressive. He needs to be paired with a dominant player (like a Trey or Warren) because he's more of a supporting member. There's nothing wrong with that at all, especially when he plays other instruments.

He was in good form tonight and filled his role well.

not only was this show amazing for me in several ways,
there were many harsh transitions and disconecected moments to get through. overall, I really enjoyed myself and danced my ass off. phil, once again, philled me up for a good while with all the goodness and swirliness i needed. I had a fucking blast with all my phamily and the phil, i was happy to get what I was lucky enugh to get....

but,

I also fell into like with a boy....

(((blush))))

i think larry is a great musician, i don't think his role is really the take over one, like some people above said he fills in gaps and lays down texture, i think the shows that i've really liked with him in the lineup were ones where he was paired with a more take the center stage guitarist like warren or trey...

>>>As far as accmplshing the "group mind" this would require supoer talented jazz pros to pull off with no practice time together. People who can hear and play ANYTHING. It took the Grateful Dead years of massive practice and tons of LSD to achieve this state of being - it took John Coltrane and assorted friends at times about five seconds. Thats just how it is.

Kingo'theAssholes (Tobegone)-- funny stuff (and quite a bit of truth)...in all fairness its tougher when you have actual songs to play with lyrics and whatnot, if they were just free forming who knows what would come out...in fact, wouldnt it be interesting to see phil in a stripped down trio or quartet playing free form jazz?

>>>>>wouldnt it be interesting to see phil in a stripped down trio or quartet playing free form jazz?

Yes - VERY. I think it should happen - psychedelic jazz - I'm sure it would be sick. But the thing is - you hear people talk about these "rough" transitions - and Ive witnessed quite a few - and "trainwrecks" - to avoid this - your gonna have to have a group of egoless uber-musicians - there are plenty of uber-musicians out there - egoless is tougher to come by. I hope it happens though.

As far as being in the right key or playing in a compatible mode at the very least -there is absolutely no reason any professional group player should ever fail in this area - at least not in the arena of "real" music played to open-minded yet highly critical fans who know what theyre hearing - and have faith and a lot of spiritual energy invested in the performance.

Damn - when I go to see Phil and Co.-I expect to be LIFTED. That is my problem if my expectations arent met - but not necessarily my fault. The magic always happens when the skilled musicians let it happen.

>>The magic always happens when the skilled musicians let it happen.

its very distracting when a band isn't well versed in the material and it affects their playing i think...also, anticipating key changes and stuff is something that comes with playing for a long time together, unless youre talking about extremely talented improvised players who have eagle ears (the free form jazz greats discussed above) or the person leading is able to somehow make others anticipate where they are going...the thing with a lot of phil's musicians is that they are not used to playing free form music, they are more in the rock/pop structured arena...it definitely makes for rough spots, but there really is something interesting about watching these people get comfortable (or not) in phil's free form environment.

El Cheapo aka Brian Ferdman said " The bottom line is that if you expect people to pay top dollar, you need to present a professional, rehearsed product. This did not happen. If people couldn't make rehearsals, they should have been replaced. Or if they wanted to go with minimal rehearsal, they could have just jammed on some standards, and it would have been cool. Just don't ask people to lead technically complex charts that they've only seen once or twice before. That's a bad choice, and only an audience with a serious thirst for schadenfraude would enjoy that."

Geez Ferdman the way you so aptly put it ~ it's like Lesh and Friends booked Madison Square Garden and went on with an unrehearsed band. You totally miss the point here. This was a stealth show that was held in a bar. As such it was used for a few evenings to try out new things with new people. That's all it was. You crow on about your fifty dollars like an old hen. It this some inbred cultural thing or something? Because there were many who wish that they could have been in SOB's that night taking in the space that you felt so compelled to take up and then so smuggly tear apart with your words. It's just music dude ~ it's hardly a matter of life and death and while I was not at the show ~ last night I heard a CD of the Monday show. What I heard was a group of musicians getting their sealegs ~ trying to find the music. Larry McCray didn't do all that bad a job at all. The Althea ripped and I loved his soulful voice. It's definately a new feather on an old bird. To say that Larry Campbell just doesn't cut it reveals your own lack of taste. Mr. Campbell ripped it up. Listen to The Elevator in the second set and tell me that his playing is pedestrian. And finally, Phil Lesh. This was Phil's first musical adventure after facing health issues yet again. Like all good journeys there are highs and lows. This show definatley had it's rough spots but to hear you put, there was no redeeming musical qualities ~ this was not the case. Let me suggest that under the circumstances of losing your drummer and having 2 new friends perform ~ a little rough edges were to be expected. I did hear that the second night was a lot better. But that's really not the point Mr. Ferndman. The point is that Phil Lesh is back and he's willing to take musical chances. What you call paying top dollar to see a less than profesional band is just whining and moaning about having that fifty dollar bill escape your pocket. If professionalism is what you're seeking why don't you save your dough for The Police...Oh wait...Fifty bucks won't get you a program.

While I'm at it...Phil Lesh & Friends haven't played in the Bay Area since they filmed the DVD...Don't worry...Brian Ferndman won't be out here when they do...SF prices are too rich for his dirty lowbrow ways.

thats like telling the stones not to play the beacon because all there fans cant get in.its about what they as musicians want to do. you can buy a ticket or not .nobody forced you to.

bucky, you have your head up your A**!!!!phat

and everyone else bitching...FYI Phil has a revolving door of musicians. He has said this several times. The "Q" is done. The shows will be hit & miss, know this before you go. Or even better stop funding scalpers. It's idiots like you who keep scalpers in buisness. With that being said, Phil is a precious resource. We are lucky he is playing at all. The medical issues he has overcome companied w/ his age would have most people turning to a sedantary life. Not Phil. And if I was Phil & read 1/2 of this negative bull, I would think twice about performing for any of you "fair weather fans"

moonday sob's was a blast & 1/2 for me~i had the love of great good phriends and OLD SCHOOL PHAMILY STYLIE that warmed my heart at times to the melting point...

omg the shakedown was the trainwreckest song evah!!! but ya know what?! phil just threw his head back and laughed his teeny li'l ass off~

and larry mc cray is all HEART yo~as a singer he equals jer in the arena of soulful expression

the althea was kill and other songs were profound or well done...birdsong was fab, built to last~YEAH phil is!!, oh and big river for johnny~total fun!!!!!

oh the rave portion was painfully long for me but overall i was grateful to be there on my date with our fearless leader in cosmosity~AND i knew phil would make up for *it* the next night when the white thundercloud rock that breathes would return as the backbone and bringer of the rhythm~

<~>~the rock that breathes~<~>

i saw phil at darien lake last summer and out of the 7 phil and friends i've seen since 01', it was the worst. phil was in top performance and the eyes of the world was hot, even though out of larry campbell and barry sless, phil was playing lead the whole tune. they were definately missing a lead guitarist. i never had a complaint with the quintet and scofield did really well in Buffalo 05',(still being his first show with phil ever) I was hoping Trey would have sat in for one song. i was disappointed with Larry Campbell, he just didn't do it for me either. there is another show that Larry was definately not magical. it was nothing but Phil bombs. Peace, Love, and Phil.

Review of Phil's SOB's stealth shows on jambase.com, posted 4-20

http://www.jambase.com/headsup.asp?storyID=10355