15 minutes till show time !!!!

how was the Greek??

No postings yet?
What happened? You all fall asleep ? :-)

Good show. Kinda strange there was an hour-long break between sets. Setlist with Greene leans towards blues and Dylan stuff. Great Playing and St Stephen and fun to hear Phil bring Why Don't We Do It In The Road back. Sless played pedal steel on a smoking Cumberland and a Greene tune. Mark Karan came out and played on GDTRFB encore.

Phil Lesh and Friends
09/23/07
The Greek Theater
Berkeley, CA

Set 1
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Good Lovin' >
Why Don't We Do It In The Road >
Deal
The Weight
Gone Wandering *
Cumberland Blues *
Supercede You *

Set 2
Jam>
Playing in the Band >
Mexican Girl
Candyman
Fire on the Mountain
(Pee Jam)
St Stephens
A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall
The Wheel >
Eyes of the World
Sugar Magnolia
Doner Rap
Encore: Going Down The Road Feeling Bad #

* with Barry Sless on Pedal Steel
# with Mark Karan on Guitar

Ehh... not so into Jackie Green.... i will post more details later... Joshua

Highlight of the show was Hard Rain's Gonna Fall. And Jackie's version of Sugar Magnolia was hot, eat your heart out Bobby ;)

Mark Karan, coming out for the encore only, looking bald and beautiful took the instrumentals where they needed to go. This band is great, but NEEDS someone like Mark Karan to join them on tour, someone who can tear into the Guitar - It was evident when he took the stage for Going down the road, that the band was missing IT.

Jackie is great as a rhythm guitarist, that leaves Campbell on lead, He's good - but I'd prefer to see him pick up some of those instruments he brought along and never played...of course, that would mean that there would be a lead guitarist void, which there kinda was all night anyway. harsh? maybe...

doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the show, or the experience, it was top notch, I think we're all a bit spoiled from hearing a more intense lead than what we got tonight.

A couple of notes before I turn off for the night. The vantage point from near the sound board with the open stage and my binoculars gave me a good perspective of the comings and goings...

The show was a family night at The Greek. So many kids, it felt great. My 15yo son was totally into his first Dead-family experience. I love the west coast.

Barry was around all night, and it was obvious that he was scheduled, as his pedal steel was barely covered with a blanket. He was out by the soundboard later and looked totally relaxed. I wish he were on for the whole tour.

Mark Karan was side stage for the whole 2nd set, sitting with his guitar, strumming to all of the songs. It was great to see him smiling and joyfully singing to Eyes, and even greater to see him rip up GDTRFB. Class act from Phil to make the space for him.

JC was all over the place, looking fine in his red shirt and black hat. He was organizing the photographers all night and even arranged for a video camera toward the end of the show. He seemed to be on top of the world and dancing for Sugar Magnolia, as was everyone else in the theater.

Phil and folks put on a top-notch show tonight. It's the second night out, and there were some rough spots (Jackie caught the band off guard once or twice and vice-versa), but wow. WOW!

First set was long. Jackie Greene plays hard, and this was a rock show. Sless was a perfect touch to the Jackie Songs, which I thought were very solid- Gone Wanderin' is a new favorite.

Fire on the Mountain? Ah yes, and as they played it the lawn up top was lit by the setting sun and the fire was there, indeed. Hard Rain was a second set highlight. It's great to have a fresh rocker that everybody in the crowd already knows the words to. Eyes was well done but pretty standard arrangement. And the Sugar Mags? I see Jackie's been dipping into the Bobby songbook, and with great results. The house was shaking. Mark Karan coming out at the end was touching- I hope he's doing well.

All in all, the band was full, though I think Molitz was a little low in the stew, and Larry Campbell, though great, didn't really step out. This group has much potential, and it's good to see Phil out again. Strange, his stage/monitor mikes got tripped up a few times and had Phil giving musical directions audible on the PA... gotta fix those little things.

In the end, nobody got hurt... Thanks everybody for such a beautiful day among friends!

I thought it was a really great, high energy show. Larry Cambpell really shined on lead guitar and Jackie brings a great voice and vibe to Phil's band. I was really surprised at some of the song selection, but Cumberland, with Sless on pedal steel was definitely the highlight. It kicked my ass hard!

Brining Mark Karan up for the encore was a class move on Phil's part. Getting back on stage is part of Mark's healing process.

Finally, I thought Jackie traded some nice licks, with Campbell, but seemed a bit hesitant at times. His strengths are more as a singer/songwiter and rhythm guitarist. He played some keyboards on one song too. I'm glad Phil brought him on-board for this tour. These guys sounded very tight, like they'd been playing together a long time...

Bring on Mark Karan or Barry Sless or SOME other aggressive confident crowd-pleasing guitarist, since this music is BUILT for lead guitar breaks, and neither Jackie nor Larry are consistently rewarding crowd-pleasing emotionally paying-off guitarists. They both have their great strengths as guitarists, but Mark Karan INSTANTLY showed what had been missing all night long: confident, aggressive, melodically rewarding LEAD guitar!

Of course, on a lot of songs it doesn't matter so much, but on the Dead songs like St Stephen or Eyes Of The World in particular, no-one was stepping up and playing RIPPING leads as and when required. Sigh. That's why I liked Schoolgirl > Good Lovin' > Do It In The Road > Deal openining brace: the band seemed quite new, quite unlike the many Phil and Friends bands I've known and loved; tight, skanky, focussed, rock and roll. It was kind of cool. But then as the show progressed, it became more like the complex, polyrhythmic Weird that Phil just can't resist, and I love so much... so it was mostly ALL GOOD, but dang, someone's gonna have to get confident on guitar in that strange brew Phil loves to mix. Unless Molitz is going to start filing some of those breaks, which would be cool if we could hear him, which we usually couldn't today...

And I was going to save a serious review till later! So this is just a start. Hey, it was a GREAT show (in places), HARD RAIN alone worth the price of admission. Really!

Later, I gotta set back and patch my bones...

Peter

All good reviews above! This show didn't do it for me like the Independent, but it was still fantastic.

Many rough edges, like some vocal miscues and Phil being heard through the PA during much of the 1st set was weird, but I can't wait to go to NYC. Everyone should just hang on, because this lineup is going to shred on this tour. I agree there is a bit of a missing lead guitar link, but Phil again has a different approach in mind with this band. Good bluesy rock & roll. Molitz was no where to be found in the mix, turn up Particle dude!

Great to see Wavy Gravy there enjoying the show, red nose and all.

Highlights for me, Jackie's no fear approach to Schoolgirl, his vocals on The Weight & A Hard Rain, great to have Why Don't We Do It In The Road back, loved Sless on Cumberland Blues, the HIGHEST point was St. Stephen > A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall which Jackie tore up, dancing up on the hill with my wife & the sun setting to Eyes of the World, and of course great to have Mark Karan there for GDTRFB.

Buckle up there is much yet to come from this lineup. I can't wait for more!

I think as soon as Jackie Green gets a little more comfortable he is going to step up and play with more confidence and be awesome by the end of the tour. He's only 22!!! I love the harmonies that Jackie, Phil and Larry were singing. I think Phil chose Jackie as much for his vocals as his git chops.

thanx 4 reviews...
hoping to see all y'all in Colorado!!!

Yes!For all of us out here "down-under",on the other side of the Pacific, thanks for kind reviews. When I first heard audio of Jackie w/Phil it really sent shivers up my spine....reminded me of way back hearing Jerry singing those early versions of Bertha..fresh and gutsy. Expecting great things from this tour.

NEEDS someone like Mark Karan<<

holy shit. that's funny.

glad he's mending, but puhleeeeeeeeeze.

>>>>lead guitarist void

ssems to me there's pleny of room for Barry on guitar, alternating leads with Larry - it's been done before and worked pretty well. I expect Jackie will step up as the tour goes on too... Plenty of room for all three imo.

Keep those Dylan covers coming, boys!!!

((((((Obviously 5 Believers))))))

Some valid points above, but I thought the show was outstanding.

Sless makes any band better.

Very good to see MK havin fun. Sounded damn good too.

Wish I could afford Denver.

phil needs mark karan or barry sless for the rest of the tour to step in. no offense to the other players, but we need a lead guitar spot bad and i really didn't think larry cambell could do it. i think he would be great with someone like dylan, that is straight forward without a lot of improv, but we're talking phil, we need our spacey improv. jams. i've seen phil carry larry cambell prior, lead bass. sounds like some cool dylan covers being played, i'm down with that. i still can't wait. phil will tear it up, that's a given.

someone hear said that jackie is only 22, not that it really matters, but i read on dead.net that he's 26. FYI.

I am not wild about Campbell as the lead guy.

Yeah, Jackie is 26 but on that stage, he looks about 16!

It was great music when Barry was playing but after that it was just good

I was told the sound @ Greek was excellent..

I don't feel so bad about missing the Colorado shows after reading these reviews. Larry does absolutely nothing for me.

Heads. Give it up for Larry Campbell when you see this tour. He needs the cheers to help turn it on.

He had the best performance of his career at the Greek. Big show for him. He had to hold the fort up and delivered. Nothing bad to say about Jackie, but this combo needed Larry to lay it down, since Jackie is more of color guy than guitar grinder.

Larry has finally reached the plane. Bravo. All the years of experience put him on top. Phil won't forget this performance by Larry. Jackie could not beleive what he was hearing from this band.

hey, wait a minute... I just happen to free 'till mid November... I could share the lead part with Larry... or at least for the New York run... or maybe on Halloween, in costume... can't wait to jam tonight at Hop Devil... gotta keep on rockin' 'cause you never know when that call could come... "hi Rob this is Ph-Billy, wanna move to Hawaii and jam for a few years...

I thought the show was incredible. After being shut out for the Sweetwater and Independant, returning to The Greek was a most satisfying musical experience. I like this lineup and I've been a Jackie Greene fan for about three years. Jackie is the real deal and he did some of my favorite JG songs: Gone Wandering, Mexican Girl and Supercede which made it even more special. Larry Campbell always brings his best game and makes anyone he plays with shine even brighter. The Particle dude even sang a verse during The Weight and was not bad at all. And seeing Mark Karan up there reminded me just how strong the family is. BTW..he sang and played fantastic. I'm really glowing the morning after as I'm sure many are. This version of Phil Lesh and Friends taps into another fabric of Americana music entirely, and, for me at least, is a burst of fresh aire. For you folks attending Red Rocks and beyond, you're in for a tasty musical treat.

simply put the greek was an excellent show ..They are just going to get better .....see you at red rocks

Agreed that Molitz is missing in the mix, and I was right behind the board,so heard what the mixer heard. I don't think we'll get the level of outside, spacy and extended improv from this lineup as has been possible with other Phil bands but, ya know what? This band is fun and we all can look forward to more focus on breaking out gems (why don't we do it, Hard Rain as examples) as opposed to breaking out jams. It's all good! Its ALL good. Thank you Phil! What a fabulous day at the Greek, we can tell you all are diggin' it!

Why don't we do it in the road is a pure throwaway tune imho

Just Gotta say that it is hard not to have a good time at the Greek!

There is a special energy that exists at the Greek. This place definatly qualifies as a power spot. "Schoolgirl" opener was great. Jackie just seems to fit the image of "Little Schoolboy too". Good Lovn' was nice and "Why Don't we do it in the Rd' was a pleasant surprise. I've never heard a "Deal" that I didn't like, so things were off to a good start for me.

Barry Sless was great on pedal steel for the last songs of the first set. The Guy is great. Very modest and unassuming, but he can play "IT" Just like Herring and Haynes, Barry can push this band musically.

Second set was more mellow with a "Playin' opener. Thought Candyman sounded pretty darn good and was one of the highlights of the show. Kept hearing tuning rifts that sounded like "Way You Do the Things you Do" and "That's What Love Will Make You Do.. It was not to be. No doubt in my mind that "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" was the hisghlight of the show. Vocal energy was very good and Jackie delivered with the kind of power this song deserves. "Wheel" was a little disjointed and "Eyes" was just lacking a strong lead guitar. This became evident during the encore when Mark Karan came out and took over the lead guitar role. for "Goin Down the Rd"

I have seen Larry Campbell about 7 time and he just doesn't have "IT". Phil needs someone who can push him musically and Larry isn't that person. As for Molitz on keys, I don't know if he has "IT" or not. He just never seems to be in the mix. I SEE him playing hard, but I do not HEAR him..

I love Phil's music, but I really want to see a "Band" that pushes each other hard and let's the notes fall where they may. That was something the "Q" had in spades.

I like Larry Campbell. It seemed he was dancing around the obvious last night. Many times he could have gone for the tried and true "wheedley, wheedley" up the scale to climax on the cymbal crash just like Jerry or Barry.

Thank God Larry doesn't fall into that trap. When I want those kind of predictable, soaring leads, I'll put on a '73 Dead show. From this band I want something different and that is exactly what I got.

I loved the show.

>>>"As for Molitz on keys, I don't know if he has "IT" or not. He just never seems to be in the mix. I SEE him playing hard, but I do not HEAR him.."

my thoughts exactly.

The sound @ The Greek - The bottom end was VERY muddy through the first 3 songs, way too long to be attributed to getting dialed in. During setbreak, stage crew was working on Phil's amp.

IMHO - The sound crew did a less than professional job last night. It got dialed in, but lingering problems kept recurring and then during the Donor rap, Phil took his wireless mic unit off and I saw him mouth "Piece of crap" to a sound tech that he handed it to. To be fair, the sound by mid-way through 2nd set was fantastic, but how would the sound have been if there was a proper soundcheck ? If there was a proper soundcheck, then somebody came and fucked w/ everything. Also, I pretty much didn't hear Molitz AT ALL.

Redneck I think you were in same vicinity at show as person that told me sound was good..

Thanks for the comments on show people..

>Kinda strange there was an hour-long break between sets.

the first set the sound was all fucked up...either the kick drum was all boombing and then it was phil's bass just one solid thundering boom. it overwhelmed any type of other sounds from anyone where we were sitting.

they took the extra time during set break to fix the problem and did. the second set was the first i heard phil at that show.

Does anyone out here in the Bay Area have a copy of last night's show? Need one asap and would appreciate any help you can provide.

Thanks!

I talked quite a bit to Cotter Michaels, the sound mixer yesterday... complimented him on walking around and checking out the mix from places other than the board. Complained about low-end rumble, and he said he was struggling with it too - this was at half-time. During the second set the bass became much clearer, the low end rumble was reduced and the top-end clarity of the notes was enhanced.

A separate problem is that both guitars, but especially Jackie's, were loud, and in particular were loud in a screechy, scratchy way. Not unpleasant, these were common and recognizable rock-and-roll guitar tones, but in the end, that one band of the audio spectrum between, say, 2k and 5K Hertz, got WAY crowded. So the keys were drowned out, the fiddle sounded thin, and when Jackie played harmonica, forget it, the keys disappeared completely.

Cotter acknowledged what I've known from the past, which is that sound is often problematic at the Greek. Low end rumble is common, but more to the point, there's a lot of midrange compression - which just further accentuates the problems with guitars, keyboards, snare drum and harmonica all competing for prominence in the 2-5K range.

Folks, this is important. That 2-5k range is well known to audiologists, because that's where a lot of people have hearing loss, and in particular, that's where you hear the different consonants. The difference between "sit", "sin", "sip", and "sick" is all between 2K and 5 kHz. When you lose sensitivity in that range, the world appears to be mumbling at you - ever had a cell-phone call where you swear you can hear them, but really you can't? That's because the details aren't coming through around 2 - 5 K.

So when the sound get's cluttered there, it's almost impossible to hear the rich details of the different instruments. I think Cotter did the best he could, and by the second set the sound was about as crisp and clean as it was going to get - but it remained cluttered and compressed, and that's got to be the fault of the Greek Theater's natural sound. Let's see how they sound at Red Rocks, I bet it will be a HUGE improvement.

And if you get a chance to compliment Cotter or wish him a good show before hand, go right ahead, the more fun he's having, the more fun we all get to have! And just for the record, I was sitting about 25 feet behind Cotter and to his right, just behind the Famous Deadhead's Black Chaise Lounge area... so I'm sure I was hearing the same that Cotter was hearing most of the show. I did move all around the entire arena in search of the best sound, both sets, before settling back in my chosen seat...

(Do any of you experts know how long Cotter has been Phil's sound engineer?)

Was Cotter the dude who looked exactly like Patrick Leahy running around the stage? That was a little weird. Dude, shouldn't you be stopping the war?????

Funny...I thought the sound was pretty damn awesome at the Greek and am glad to see Cotter runnin' things FOH again....he had it going on by mid-second-song at the very latest, imo. I could hear every note of Phil with fullness...and thickness...each guitar succinctly...drums were right there...and so on...but to each their own, I guess.

Looking forward to the Nokia and seeing what this is going to sound like at a multi night run in an indoor theater. We're surely in for a HUGE treat.

I don't agree with people's reviews of Larry, HE SMOKED! The Independant was more the Jackie Greene show, but last night Larry ruled on guitar and leads. I think Jackie's presence got lost a little in the size of The Greek. I was also about five rows up from the black couch, and there was the best, most positive vibe in The Greek last night. A family show for all, everyone having a great time and sharing in the great music with their neighbors. Just no bad vibes at all. My friend Mary was complaining they didn't jam like Warren and The "Q", then they played Fire, St. Stephen, Hard Rain, Wheel, Eyes, and Sugar Mag. She kind of apoligized after that. It was pretty full last night, but with plenty of room to move around. I love how Phil plays a lot of Jerry tunes from GD catalog. Just being in the Greek Theater with the coolest audince in the world was worth the price of admission. My first set highlight was Cumberland Blues, and I got some killer Goosebumps for Eyes Of The World. The eucalyptus trees looked great at this old venue, and it was a great day in The Peoples Republic of Berkeley, just as Phil said onstage. Got some killer Thai food afterwards, and I am so glad I went to this show. You people with tickets on this tour are in for a real surprise, great songlist last night Phil, THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU, love Bruce Weber(EDDIEBOY)!

I was seriously underwhelmed by this show. I had high hopes but not much exposure to Jackie Greene. I thought Larry sounded very good and that he has learned to stretch out a lot more but like others have said, he just doesn't take it over the top as much as I would like. I'm not a big Ratdog fan by any stretch of the imagination but you could feel the musical energy of the place go up a notch when Karan started playing. There were a lot of positive vibes in the crowd at that point as well but for me his tone and phrasing really struck home and filled a role which was seriousy lacking in the rest of the show. Same thing happened when Barry came out. Either one of those players or someone else like Herring, Haynes, or Anastasio would have helped this band hit it out of the park which they didn't do.

I didn't think the evening was a total train wreck. It was nice to hear Candyman and Jackie did a good job with the vocals. Same with St. Stephen. Getting two Bobby tunes was a little bit weird but hey, they can play whatever they want. The Jackie songs were a total buzz-kill for me. I walked away with a newfound appreciation for Ryan Adams because at least that guy can write a good lyric. He can also play the guitar if not with dazzling technique at least in a style more suitable for Grateful Dead music. You really couldn't hear Jackie's guitar from where we were very well and when I could he was playing some rather stale bluesy licks. Larry definately was the lead guitar player for this show.

At times these guys reminded me of the Little Feat/Robben Ford band from 2000. Way too much blues, way too little psychedelia and organic flow. It was good to see the tribe assembled dancing together colorfully, good to see old friends, good to sit out in the Greek in the sun but the music was less than impressive.

>> Larry definately was the lead guitar player for this show.

Yes Larry was on lead guitar. You expected Jackie to be on lead? He's a rhythm guitarist.

It was a beautiful day in Berkeley and the vibe at the Greek was great.

Sound definately could have been better. It was really hard to make out Phil's vocals. It was my first exposure to Jackie, who physically reminds me of a young Bob Dylan. One of Jackie's songs however was a complete rip off of Dylan. It was part "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" combined with "Chimes of Freedom" and "Desolation Row". As a matter of fact a few of us in my area started singing "Stuck" in the middle of the song.

Larry was fine. Molo was his usual amazing self. Icould hardly hear the keyboard player. Sless was terrific and should be a regular in any version of P&F. Karan sounded fantastic.

In all, another amazing Phil show. I agree this band is going to really gel and they are going to kick some Big Apple ass!

Does anyone know what the deal was with the guy being filmed by a video camera at the left end of the stage before Phil's donor rap?

Eye on the Bay, a local news magazine show on CBS5, was videotaping for an upcoming episode.

" (Do any of you experts know how long Cotter has been Phil's sound engineer?)"

Probably not too long if he has time to discuss a sound fix with you at set break when he should be concentrating on other things.

Cotter handled the sound on the 2002 summer tour (Dennis "Wiz" Leonard had taken a job doing souond for one of George Lucas's films that summer).

Actually it was John Cutler up to end of '01, then Cotter for most of '02, then The Wiz starting with Dead Reunion Alpine Summer 02 . . . (and boy did The Wiz' sound SUCK that first Fall '02 Other Ones tour . . . )

>>>>Sless was terrific and should be a regular in any version of P&F

from you mouth to phil's ears...

Nick, your comment seemed thoughtless, arrogant and ignorant. You can do better... Cotter was happy to chat for a moment with a careful listener who was able to communicate thoughfully with him. Perhaps you've never considered that approach... Have you ever mixed sound? There's only so much you can do at half-time when no-one is playing, and I carefully picked a quiet time to chat with him, about two-thirds of the way through the break. He appreciated the feedback too.

I'm curious if there was a change in soundmen after the break-up of The Q. Starting with the debut of the Chris Robinson version of the band, in December 2004, it seemed to me that the bass was mixed way louder than before, way louder than necessary, and way too loud to clearly hear the other instruments, all the way though NYE 2005-06. The only shows I've seen since then were the Warfield 2006 shows, I didn't see any of the Summer 2006 shows in person. Do you folks remember a balanced sound like the Q or a bass-heavy sound last summer?

I've never been a big fan of John Cutler's mixes, and he was forever slow to turn up vocal mics after a jam... and he was famous for HATING the tapers, so I may be biased...

Count me as another who thought the first set was marred by the fact that Phil's bass was very muddy throughout. That just made it hard to get into the groove. They got things fixed in the 2nd set and I thought the band delivered a pretty stellar set. Fire, St. Stephen, Hard Rain, Wheel, Eyes, Sugar Mag were all pretty kind... I think Fire and Eyes were the highlights to my ears...

I wasn't expecting the scintillating lead guitar that we got from the Q, but Larry can hold it down pretty good. JAckie's got soul, but certainly there for his singer/songwriter vibe more than his lead guitar. I miss Joan, but you can't go back and ya can't stand still... my friends and I also commented on how that one Jackie tune sounded like a cross between Queen Jane and Memphis Blues...

I think I have seen every show that Phil & Friends have played at the Greek (8/20-21/99, 6/29-7/1/01, 5/31-6/1/02 and yesterday, correct me if there was a Phil show there in 2003-06, but I don't think there was?) I don't recall those sound probs, but live sound is an ever evolving animal, even in a familiar venue, and especially w/ varying lineups)

But the 2nd set was great and shows much promise for this tour...

oh yeah and seeing Karan sit in at the end was nice just to see a sick GD family member back in action, but claiming he is a significant upgrade from Larry is pure hyperbole imo... GDTRFB rocked good though!

Hate to hear the lack of appreciation for Campbell. He's got an eccentric, understated style that keeps one off balance. I never know what he's gonna do and like the tension this builds. This band rocks and alot of the credit should go to him. Same as it did when he led Dylan's band. I find his aversion to typical guitar hero antics refreshing. He could use some love. Dude could use some sun too. I was actually alarmed when I first saw him. He was painfully pale and tired looking. Looked like he needed some blood. Hope he's not killing himself.

Just some quick thoughts on the show and music here for now (OK, not that quick after all, now that I see how many words I wrote here):

(and also let me say, PhilZoners RULE! met and revisited a boatload on Sunday, all of them top notch peeps; more Zoner kudos later in another thread)

1) Sound problems aside, I really enjoyed the first set. Dug the "Schoolgirl" opener followed by "Good Lovin", and even the "WDWDIITR". Almost a Pigpen tribute (he might not "DIITR", but he'd encourage it, I'm sure), but not quite (would have needed at least one "rave up" in there, and maybe played later in the show too). Was listening to a JGB "Deal" before catching BART to Berkeley, so I freaked out big time when the intro started, and sang along like crazy. Alway like "The Weight", and the "Cumberland" was at a real cookin' tempo, faster than a lot that I've heard. And I was really happy when I saw Barry's blanket on a pedal steel before the show started. He would be a great addition to this band, but they're still pretty good without him (more on that later). He really filled in "Gone Wanderin'" and the other Jackie tune that ended the set (which I thought was just OK, but that also might have had to do with the length of the first set, as well as the beers I had earlier, if you get my drift).

2) Second set started off OK with "Playing", and was a little "tentative" in its performance to me (due to the time changes?), but things were fine when they started "Mex. Girl" (one of my fave Jackie tunes). I can see that one going off in different directions later on in the tour (maybe I'll get a stretched out one in Santa Fe?). "Candyman" was very nice, with fine vocals from Jackie, but for some reason he doesn't "sell" the tune for me (I could see Chris Robinson taking a shotgun to someone, but not JGe). Still enjoyable though. Then "Fire", which was the start of the real fun for me in the second set. I was worried whether the pace would be maintained when Phil "ducked out" for a minute, but Jackie didn't seem to want to just wait around, and started an impromptu jam that wound itself down to the beginning of "St. Stephen", mofo (for me anyway). Now it gets good, I thought, and it did, and then it got better. I got so pumped up during "Stephen" that I yelled out the "one man gathers" line totally wrong (I don't even remember what I actually said, but I know it sure wasn't "one man gathers ..."). Then "Hard Rain" just SMOKED, definitely the highlight of the show. "Wheel" was good and cool to hear, and then to hear them start "Eyes", well, I was just stoked (as I usually am when I hear it start). Larry's first solo was amazing (I thought, anyway; not transcendant, but damn good), so much so that I'm sure the energy helped him recover later when he flubbed some chords (for all I know, he was so caught up in the same momentum that he just spaced for a second). And then, I get a "Sugar Magnolia" (!!!)at my first ever Bay Area Phil show (!!!), and I'm thinking about that Wolfgang guy I just heard of and never saw, and wherever he is, I'm pretty sure he's grinning ear to ear.

3) Encore with Karan was a real barnburner, even though they only did the first verse (and did it twice! once by Phil and once by Mark). Lots of choruses, though, which left more room for solos. Mark was great, but I thought Larry was too. That kind of tune is right up LC's alley.

4) I was on the "stage left" / "viewer's right" side of the lower "stepped" area, so I'm not sure whether Molitz was low in the mix for the whole night, or just "imaged" in the mix relative to his position on stage (the opposite side). I may have to plant myself in front of him at the D-Fill so I can at least hear his monitor feed and then move around to balance it with the house mix.

5) I don't care who Phil has in his band, as long as John Molo is playing drums. IMNSHFO, pretty much any show with Phil & "The Lion King" is guaranteed "great" before the first note is even played. The train is not going to be sluggish with those two engines moving it along.

6) Jackie Greene brings a palpable energy to this lineup, and while he plays more of a rock/blues style, he is no slouch on guitar. He didn't exactly "noodle" when he played, but he played perfectly good notes within the context of the material, and was more likely to step back than take a solo he wasn't ready for.

7) This is not your daddy's Phil & Friends. You may not like it if you don't like "rock show" kinds of sets. But if you still like the odd good dirty Stonesy throwdown, as well as some good R&B vibes, with the bonus of jams that will likely multiply as the tour progresses, you will like this iteration.

Finally, one more thing. I'm chuckling to myself here because of all the folks saying "we need Barry", after all the "Barry plays too much like Jerry" posts over the years. Now it would seem that "Larry doesn't play enough like Jerry", and Barry is the savior. Don't get me wrong, I will go to see FOB / Moon Alice just for Barry alone. It's just hilarious to see the turnaround. Of course, everyone's entitled to their opinion, and this is the PhilZone, so there's plenty to go around. Hell, there may even be calls to draft Jimmy, Warren or Derek by the end of the Chicago run. However, it's not our band, it's Phil's, and he doesn't seem to be concerned at this point.

Of course, I'm still buzzed 24 hours later, because I SAW PHIL LESH & FRIENDS AT THE GREEK, AND THEY ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF!!!

(so take my words with that in mind)

Thanks posthead, great review, and you made me laugh, love Bruce Edward Weber(Eddieboy)!

Some he best news I've gotten is that COTTER IS BACK!!!!

im a huge fan of larry campbell for the same reasons, hes a more interesting guitar player than Karen for sure ( though im not hatin)

any word on recordings from this tour?
will they be on bt.etree.org??

any word on recordings from this tour?
will they be on bt.etree.org??

http://www.archive.org/details/Phil2007-09-23.flac

Nice review Posthead. Good to read that you had a lot of fun at the show.

Nice review Posthead, I agree with what you said. Great meeting you at the triple rock, the best part of the day is the pre-party and meeting everyone.

Right on! Relax, enjoy the whole experience. Don't bring expectations. Let go of the past. Enjoy the moment.

Looking forward to meeting some of you in Chicago, Camden and NYC.

nice review D_R, thanks for the words, sounds like a lot of fun..


so were you the drunk guy yelling incorrect lyrics?? (I'm just playing man, couldn't resist )

re the sound....i was about 10feet back from the stage center...i could hear larry, phil, and john great....molitz was really low in the mix and they fixed jackie, so we sould hear him....i could hear the onstage monitors..that was nice. Molitz was way low in the mix the entire show though

i really enjoyed larry and jackie and i loved the flaminqo style teases during the show after mexican girl...i also enjoyed hard rain is gonna fall with different music.....but it didnt have enough noodleing...(my taste)....i like the chaotic nooodles where u have to search for the beat, tempob blends of tone that meld together

i had a good time...i havent been to a daytime phil show in quite a while....

by the end of tour these guys are gonna smoke

>>>>im a huge fan of larry campbell for the same reasons, hes a more interesting guitar player than Karen for sure

same here. more interesting (to my ears) than warren, jimmy or trey too. Someone said as a criticism that Larry doesn't go "over the top" like those guys, but to me that's a good thing.

Patrick said it well up there ^^^^^

With the technology that exist today, there is really no reason to have the sound like it was. Everyone's comments about the low-end and the mid-range issues are right on. I couldn't get Independent tickets so went to String Cheese. I don't know what they did differently, but the sound for all three bands that day was so far superior as to be staggering. The volume and clarity of the bass that day was incredible. We said how awesome it would be to hear phil that kind of fidelity.
All that aside, I had a great time and can't wait for this weekend!

Only Warren has broken the plane of you follow me in post Dead era. The big league of Garcia,Betts,Clapton...etc

Schofield,Sless,Herring,Karan,Kimock never broke the plane. They played the right notes, but stayed in the mix. They did not lead the group.

Larry final lead the group at the Greek. He also stayed in the mix depending on the piece of the song. BRAVO

Warren at first did not stay in the mix. He was always racing. When he did the Dead tour, he was calmed down. Less is more, but when it's time to shine, you to got to stand out. Warren was always going to be a partimer.

Hopefully,Larry stays on for a long time.

Pump him up when you see him. We need a permanent big league ringer. Molo did it. How about Larry stays? Greene is a fun partimer.

larry was the most animated that i've seen him yet...he seems to be getting more comfy...

...i do feel the jams a bit lacking....as i keep repeating...I'm a HUGE pedal steel fan....I need that instrument!!!

we shall see the next 3 shows evolve...I'm digging it...but the "out there"....factor hasn't shown up yet.

IT WAS A DAY TO REMEMBER, FROM THE SMOOTH GLIDE OFF THE HILL, WE HEADED FOR BESERKLEY. ONLY TO ARRIVE TOO EARLY TO CHECK INTO OUR MOTEL (WHICH FILLED WITH PHANZ) KILLING AN HOUR AT A SEAFOOD JOINT (SPENGERS) AT THE FOOT OF UNIVERSITY AVENUE, GETTING RIPPED OFF TO THE TUNE OF $50 FOR 2 APPETIZERS 2 BOWLS OF CHOWDER A CUP OF JAVA AND A BLOODY MARY. WE BUZZED BACK TO THE MOTEL AND LITERALLY THREW OUR BAGS IN THE ROOM AND CAUGHT A CAB UP TO THE GREEK IN A CRAZY TAXI RIDE. WE GOT OUR SEATS IN THE DISABLED SECTION (EYE LEVEL WITH THE STAGE).


I WASNT REALLY SURE I WAS GOING TO MAKE THIS ONE AFTER ALL MY PREPARATION AS I HAD BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL 5 DAYS BEFORE WITH A BLOOD CLOT IN MY LEG, THHANKS TO SOME GOOD DOCTORING FROM BOTH MY DOC AND MY WIFE (WHO TOOK A LITTLE TOO MUCH JOY WITH THE INJECTIONS) I MADE IT!
tHEY OPENED THE SHOW WITH jACKIE GREEN (A LOCAL PLACERVILLE NATIVE) SINGNG GOOD MORNING LITTLE SCHOOL GIRL, AND FROM THERE, WELL LETS JUST SAY WITH THE HELP OF A LITTLE MOLLIE THINGS GOT A LITTLE SWIRLY, BUT I DID GET PICTURES VIDEO AND A SETLIST:



Phil Lesh and Friends 09/23/07 The Greek Theater Berkeley, CA Set 1 Good Morning Little Schoolgirl Good Lovin' > Why Don't We Do It In The Road > Deal The Weight Gone Wandering * Cumberland Blues * Supercede You * Set 2 Jam> Playing in the Band > Mexican Girl Candyman Fire on the Mountain (Pee Jam) St Stephens A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall The Wheel > Eyes of the World Sugar Magnolia Doner Rap Encore: Going Down The Road Feeling Bad # * with Barry Sless on Pedal Steel # with Mark Karan on Guitar



IT WAS SO GOOD TO SEE SOME OLD FAMLIAR FACES AND PHRIENDS ALONG WITH THE NEWBIES (WITH LOTS OF KIDS AND BABIES THERE TOO. MY BIGGEST BITCH WAS THE STENCH OF TOBACCO THROUGHOUT THE SHOW. i MEAN IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DO WHATEVER ATSMOPHERE, BUT PEOPLE SEEMED TO HAVE NO REGARD FOR OTHERS ON THAT ISSUE. AND IT ENDED JUST LIKE IT BEGAN WITH A CRAZY PAKISTANI CAB RIDE BACK TO THE TRAVELODGE AND LATER THE NEXT MORNING BACK UP THE HILL TO MY MOUNTAIN HOME.

.I'm digging it...but the "out there"....factor hasn't shown up yet. >>>

I believe with this line up, that will be a rare occurance.
It's about the jams this time around.

This was a very underwhelming performance. It would have been ok if it were a rehearsal, but it wasn't. It was supposed to be a show. This music just wasn't very good. It felt just like a rehearsal. An afternoon performance, completely stripped of a light show, highlighted this fact all the more. High points , such as a ripping Cumberland Blues, which I'm convinced that Lesh and Molo could carry on their own by now, were completely squashed by that buzz kill of a song that followed it. Completely. It reminded me a lot of a ratdog performance in that sense, a complete lack of regard for musical juxtapostion. The irony , of course, is that the Mark Karan appearance for the encore did sound really good. Ah, someone to take the lead, finally. Oops show's over.
Loved Molitz last time I saw him with Phil at the Warfield. Couldn't hear him this time, excepting a really bizarre sythetic harmonica insertion he made into some song with this little casio he had plugged in. Campbell, you know, whatever you like. That's not what I would call lead guitar though. He's just too chicken. Lesh, Molo, the Rocks, as usual. Greene? I have no idea what Lesh wants to accomplish with this guy. He bored the hell out of me. Please tell me that this kid is known as a blues musician for reasons that are deeper than he can steal and barely competently perform blues riffs on the piano and guitar, sing about girls, and wears black. Please, what else? At one point in the first set when he lunged at the microphone with the guitar, short riffing, I felt like I was at a Green Day concert ten years ago. Complete with the goofy face. It was that tacky.
I'm convinced now, whether it sounds good, or not, this music can satisfy a lot of people, as it seemed to be doing to about ... half the people at the Greek. I'm also sure that Phil could stand at a microphone and play Sugar Magnolia from a ring tone on his cell phone and there are those who will WOO HOO the place to death.
Any who are on the fence about seeing him in the first half of the tour probably should just wait until the second half. It's unlikely that this band , which needs a lot of rehearsal still, will be doing much more than rehearsing for these first few shows. Hopefully it will be better for the second half. I'm sorry, I'm not comparing this to the dead. I'm comparing this to so many Phil shows I've seen. This one was remarkably devoid of soul, that whole organic grooviness thing.

I'm not a musician nor an audiophile, so I can't analyze the playing as well as some of you, but I had great time at the show! Highlights were definately Hard rain and Sugar Magnolia. Low light was the loooooong break.
I went to listen to good music, groove and just have a good musical experience. As far as Jackie goes, sure, there are better guitar players and singers out there. He's only 26, still a pup with lots of musical conquests ahead. I don't know how good Phil or Bobby or Jerry was at 26, so I can't compare. Jackie plays a lot instruments (drums piano, bass, etc). He played alomst everything on his Sweet Somewhere Bound Album. He has a great appreciation for music and great songwriters. I think this experience with Phil will only make Jackie better. In one interview, he expressed concern with the jams and whether he would be able to hold his end of the deal. Not many young musicians get a chance like this. I think he's gonna be around for a long time.

Bob Minkin's pics:

http://www.minkindesign.com/photo/lesh9-23-07/inde x.html

So.....did Phil and Bob trade ? In effect?

The long set break almost made sense after that Supercede you, which felt like an order from the band to SIT YOUR ASSES BACK DOWN. And the audience complied.
Sorry for such a bummer review but this band really bummed me out. I don't believe they can do way better. I know they Have done way better. Actually, as a person, my hat's off to Phil and his willingness to keep starting over from scratch with his lineups and his sounds. Being a bit lazier myself my tendency has always been to stick with what works. But hey, it's his band.

Here's something I wrote on another list, which helps put it all in perspective - the short is, they've been slack at the Greek or the Shoreline before and gone on to be fucking great. So I'm staying faithful in Phil. And the sound is always compressed and sucky at the Greek, unless you get like SCI and completely blow it the FUCK away... I think I've heard better at the Greek, but it's a known difficult venue.

"I thought the band seemed way underdone, not yet sure of how they
were going to make the songs their own... and there were distinct
sonic problems: although the low-end rumble cleared up by the second
set, the midrange remained dangerously compressed all day long
(typical for the Greek), so that keyboards and fiddle were inaudible
and guitars and harmonica were overamped... troublesome. All these
sonic problems are faithfully reproduced on the excellent Neumann
recording that has just been uploaded to the LMA...

More to the point, this isn't the first time this band has taken it
WAY easy at the Greek! I remember seing P&F at the Greek for three
shows in June 2001, and being severely underwhelmed - and seeing
them two weeks later at Somerset and Alpine Valley and being blown
to pieces! I remember The Dead, in both 2003 and 2004, playing low-
key, downright LAZY shows at The Shoreline - both times, directly
inbetween two other GREAT shows: in September 2003, the LA show just
before the Shoreline was superb; in June 2004, the Sleeptrain show
right after the Shoreline was amazing. So I think the band just
takes it WAY EASY on their home turf. Should they? Well, the only
way you can vote is with your dollars... and I love going to the
Greek, even if they play less enthusiastically there - but I'm glad
it's not the only show I'm seeing on this tour - we're ticketed for
the three Chicago shows. I'll say more after those...

(Oh, even Summer Sessions of 1999: if you remember, the Greek shows
were very subdued, compared to Eugene just before and Santa Barbara
just afterwards... I remember Phil saying "Gee, you guys sure are
quiet out there..." on the recordings... And dammit, it WAS a low-
key day Sunday, I was the only one standing and dancing in our
section and people behind me wanted me to SIT. GEEZ! We must be
getting OLD!)

hmmmmm

much to play out prior to visit out east. Will be interesting to follow.
Looking forward to C-Ville........
that fo sure

>>>Sorry for such a bummer review<<<

No one should ever apologize for a negative review as long as it's what you really thought and it maintains some objectivity.

Your opinion/review is as valid as anyone elses, and with this band Phil has definitely set up his fans for a WIDE range of opinions, since it's clearly a different direction. THANK YOU for taking the time to put what you really thought out there for everyones perusal.

I didn't go to the show as I was otherwise occupied that day, and I wasn't too bummed that I missed it because I had a good idea what it would be. After listening to it on Archives, it really hit the mark I had set.

Yet if I had been free I would have gone and I think overall I would have had a good time because I wouldn't have expected too much. The Greek looks great in the photos, I'm sure the vibe was cool and the Cumberland sounds REALLY fine; that would have been worth the price of admission for me right there!

JGe seems to be a decent bluesy little rocker and Campbell fits very well in that style, so I think as long as they keep the focus on the straighter rockin' songs the band will work in a John Fogerty, The Band, Dylan sort of way, but if they try to go too deep it will clunk. IMO.

Because you simply HAVE to have ROCKETS if you want to get into space!

Whatever..... keep those reviews coming!!!

Yeah, but Phil keeps writing those set lists like "Outer Space > Galactic Core > Big Bang (Reprise) > People's Republic", so he seems to want the Space as much as the Bluesy Americana... so I hope he aims where they can follow this tour! Maybe they're going to leave the stage mics on for the whole tour, so we can all get properly demystified about how to run a fine jamrock band...

>>Because you simply HAVE to have ROCKETS if you want to get into space!

how true.

can anybody explain why Larry brings all his toys onto the stage but fails to play with them? Is the set list so last minute that they don't know what instruments are needed?

and can somebody please tell Jackie to extinguish the cigs on stage. thank you

I would take any of those Greek '01 shows, the '99 Summer Sessions or the '03 and '04 Other Ones/Dead @ Shoreline (all of which I saw) over the show I saw on Sunday. Though I do agree that there were better shows in those eras I still think this is a low point for Phil. I'm sure the shows will get better as the tour progresses and I wouldn't go so far as to say the show was a waste of my time but I honestly wasn't that impressed. Phil has had dud lineups before (Little Feat/Robben Ford) and he certainly can make the best of it but I for one am looking forward to the next shift-up which I hope doesn't include Jackie.

Harry, I hear you... but probably Phil is going to keep this one going for a while. So my best hope is for Molitz to turn into a wild card, capable of taking over a jam and bumping it to the next level... he did a fair bit of that at Mountain Jam... but first you gotta be able to hear him!

>>can anybody explain why Larry brings all his toys onto the stage but fails to play with them?<<

No, but that got me thinking about Molitz and his toys, anybody else see him playing a funny blue rectangle, it sorta like like a power strip...long white tube connected to one end...Rory thought Medeski played a similar gadget, fill me in...what the heck was it?

Don't think I ever heard though.

Phil finally found his new Bobby.

Great Rock and Roll show at the Greek. No more, no less. I would have liked a bit more psychedelia, but I love the Rock and Roll and enjoyed this show. Sure, I was hoping to hear The Eleven after St. Stephen, but whatcha gonna do? St. Stephen did have a pretty sweet jam as well as the Fire that proceeded it. I love Larry Campbell. Dude is tasty. Knows when NOT to play as well as when. I never had the out of body face melts that I had with the Q, but I also was never bored, which I sometimes was with the Q. (Too many jams that went nowhere- take the good with the bad). Great singing by JG. Good energy as well.

Way classy to have Mark K playing the encore. I bet if they didn't take an hour set break they would have played a longer encore with him (curfew issues at the Greek). He starts radiation this week, so I am sure it was good therapy for him to be able to make some music with "the family."

Sound - first set sound sucked as mentioned above. Second set much better.

Phil - bass great as usual. I thought his vocals sounded pretty good - fairly rich and on key.

Molo - say no more!

Larry - yeah, he should step up more, but the improvement in his playing since Dylan is amazing.

Steve - couldn't hear his keyboards very well. When I could hear it sounded pretty good. He sang some harmonies which were OK, as well as a verse on The Weight.

Jackie - I was actually pretty impressed with him, having never heard his music or playing before. His lead playing was a bit Neil Young-esque, and I liked his own tunes.

Barry - his timing was a little off at first, but when he got in the groove he was great - too bad he didn't reappear for The Wheel.

The band had a pretty good vocal blend - I'd like them to sing more songs all in harmony, even the verses, as the GD used to do.

All in all it was a typical, low-key P+F west coast/Greek show. Mellow, without a lot of big climaxes. The east coast crowd will get a more intense, concentrated-energy show, I'm sure, but I had a lot of fun at my first Greek show. It was great getting to meet, re-meet, and hang out with all you Zoners - hi to Wino, Gary Fish, Maureen, Hedspace, Nancy, Doogles and everyone else.

The openers cracked me up - 2 "Bobby" songs in a row, and 4 all together. Highlights for me were Cumberland, Playin', ST. STEPHEN!!!, Hard Rain, Wheel, and Eyes. Sugar Mag not one of my fav. tunes, but it was well played. Great to hear Karan ripping on GDTR, too.

Re. long break - we still got 180 min. of music - pretty standard for GD-related shows.

This was the weakest show i have ever seen phil and friends play. As long as jackie greene is part of the lineup i will not go see them anymore. I wonder how much money jackie payed phil to be part of the tour? Is it phil and friends or jackie greene and friends. Phil gave the show to jackie. He is so far from a grateful dead vibe. There was very little jamming. Dont get me wrong it was still nice to see phil in action again, although this is a totally diferent phil and friends. It was as if larry was told to not play his guitar because of jackie. Jackie was the main focus. Maybe after the tour we can catch him on mtv. 2 thumbs down!! BOOO

Hi Harry!

Odessablue wrote, "No, but that got me thinking about Molitz and his toys, anybody else see him playing a funny blue rectangle, it sorta like like a power strip...long white tube connected to one end...Rory thought Medeski played a similar gadget, fill me in...what the heck was it?"

Molitz actually did play this at some point during the second set (I think. Sorry, hopefully someone else will remember the song.) FYI, it was a very small (maybe 12"?) keyboard which he "powered" by blowing into the long flexible white tube.

A friend of mine has a similar child's toy keyboard that's breath-powered, and I need to remember to tell him that sort of instrument has evidently made the big time.

Too late to update my post above, but evidently the name for the sort of breath-powered keyboard Odessablue mentioned is a "Melodica".

FYI, there's a pic of a Melodica similar to the one Molitz had at The Greek here.

>>>the improvement in his playing since Dylan is amazing

I know what you're saying, but it sounds funny, because Larry smoked with Dylan, especially when he was the lead guitar player, before Charlie Sexton replaced Bucky Baxter and Larry was shifted to more of a utility role. Check out some shows from '97, '98, early '99. Best lead guitar player Dylan has ever had, bar none (unless you count Jerry )

Yup, Gwen...that's the gadget! Funny little thing...

Here we go to Rado, here we go!! !!

First time posting here and you all seem to be a thoughtful bunch, really dissecting the shows in depth.

I loved the show. No, it wasn't as psychedelic or as exploratory as some P&F line-ups or as the Dead were, but Phil has done 100's of those types of shows.

I think a huge contributing factor to the drug addiction and death of Garcia was that he grew tired of playing the same music, the same songs, with the same guys waaaay after the thrill had gone for him. There was intense financial and audience pressure to keep mining the same musical territory. Before he died spoke of doing jazz, playing with different bands, and breaking out of the mold. Never did for a host of reasons, and I think indirectly died as a result.

Phil on the other hand is doing a fabulous job of carrying on both the songs and THE EXPERIMENTATION that the Dead were the masters of for the first 20 years of their existence. They were mold breakers from the very start.

Over time Phil is showcasing how many ways the Dead's music can be interpreted and, how much other great music can co-exist with such classic material.


I thought adding Jackie Greene and pushing the shows in a slightly more straightforward Rock and Rock direction, totally worked. For THAT style the band kicked ass. Jackie's songs seemed to blend right in with the rest of the material, yet stood out because they weren't the same damn songs we've been hearing Phil do for years.

Yes, Larry could have stepped out and rocked a bit more, but as a BAND they rocked. Fabulous Cumberland Blues for example.

As far as Phil letting Jackie run with the show, Phil has NOTHING to prove at this point. Seemed like he totally dug hanging back and watching a very talented 26 year old step up to the plate.

By the end of the tour this will turn out to be
one of the best P&F line-ups, I'm pretty sure of that. Jackie will dive deeper into the jams guitar-wise and Deadheads will enjoy what he brings to the show as a singer and songwriter.

Plus, a ton of Jackie fans will get turned onto Phil, and that's a good thing.

Ok, not being at this show and only hearing a recording of it. I would say this show is middle of the road. Better then ratdog any day of the week. the jam leading into Fire, and during Saint Stephen were my highlights. Like the Dylan covers. I see potential in this band. Lows were the fact that the sound in the first set was awful. And I hope they don't ever play Superede You again, boring song that sounds to much like Stuck in Memphis.

All in all, I am still looking forward to this tour, and believe this band will gel. I, like others, wish sless was involved in the tour.

They also need more Molitz in the mix!! I think him and campell could play off each other and push the jam farther.

The Q is gone, Trey is on house arrest, Warren is Mule, Scofield isn't going to sign up for a whole tour. Rob is full time with DSO now. SO what we got is what we got.

I am just happy to see Phil touring again, but I also expect great things from this band.

Just a ramdom thought, PEACE!!

nice post Matthew; I agree w/ pretty much all of it.

Based only on hearing a recording of the 7/21 P&F show (plus a couple of JGr shows and his most recent album), I can't believe people are complaining about this guy. Seems to me that Phil has finally found a vocalist who fits pretty well. His singing is a lot like Chris Robinson's, but stronger and more consistent. And he certainly brings more potential instrumentally than CR - I like his harp-playing, and he seems more than competent on guitar and keyboards as well. As far as his songs, I liked a lot of them at first, but I'm starting to think they may lack depth and staying-power for me. A few of I don't like at all, but most are enjoyable enough and provide a nice break from the usual repertoire. Some of them should make great platforms for Larry to rock out on.

So far I'm not impressed with Molitz. I'd rather drop him and add a third guitar, preferably Sless. Jackie could play some keyboards and harp, Sless some steel, Larry some mandolin, fiddle etc, so too many guitars would not be a problem.

Not much I can say that hasn't already been said, I like Jackie, I like this lineup, I like Larry more than ever, I liked the show and I'll probably continue to like the things they do for the rest of the tour!

(Insert lots of high praise for the band and the killer setlist here--St. Stephen!! The Wheel (too bad there was no barry for that one though...) The second set opening and closing with 'Bobby' songs, ha ha ha, have to giggle at that one.)

Someone told me that the first song Phil sang back in the 80's when he started singing again was Why Don't We Do It In The Road. It kinda got me thinking I'd like to see the band take a stab at Revolution. Get some distortion in the guitar and that mic Jackie uses...yeah, I'd like it!

I'm not as surprised as everyone else with the Hard Rain, yeah sure Jackie did a great job with it...There's a reason he gets all those Dylan comparisions, and it's not just his hair. DUH! Hopefully we'll get a Desolation Row and a Tom Thumb down the road.

The Jackie song 'Supercede'...cheesiest song ever?!?! honey I need you, ain't no one who can supercede you Gimme a f'n break...I agree that song should NEVER be played again.

I'd say the hightlight for me was Mark's appearance and the GDTRFB encore...by the end of the show I was toast, it was the end of a long weekend and my knee was toast, the encore got me moving again though.

So yeah, I'm not worried about the guitar, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in Colorado. (more of larry on every 'god damn' thing with strings hopefully!!)

Emily... great to hear from you finally. I can't believe I saw EVERYONE IN THE WORLD at the Greek except you, where were you hiding? :+}

Um, I actually liked Supercede You, not half as cheesy as some of Brent or Vince's songs... but I didn't think it was a set closer, at least not yet!

I'm staying out of the Larry discussion, at least until after I see the three Chicago shows. Can't wait for a chance to hear the "Gotta Serve Somebody", since the "Hard Rain" was such a highlight at the Greek.

Phil's still doing his Weird! Just check out the introductions to Playing In The Band and Fire On The Mountain, he manages to phool us again... and again...

Y'all going to Red Rocks are in for a treat, and I hope to hear reports of crystal-clear sound from Paulo Soleri and Red Rocks (I know better than to hope it for the Filmore...) Then we'll see whether Larry plays more strings and Steve gets more assertive in the mix and his playing. I actually think Steve is the Wild Card in this band, most capable of taking it to another level when the audience is least expecting it...

The guy is 67 years old, give him a break!

Hi Peter...I did take my time with this review--let all the dust settle

We didn't speak at the Greek but I sure saw you! It's fun playing Find-the-Zoners, a big live action where's waldo game set to music! You and Maria were pretty easy to find, behind the board was the first place to look naturally

I guess since I never saw the grateful dead and I don't really listen to much of the Vince years, my perspective of cheesey is a bit different. I liked the music, but really, if a guy is professing his love to me, I don't want to hear 'no one can supercede you, sweetheart!' Especially if it rhymes.

The Gotta Serve Somebody in SB was great, I hope they repeat it at some point!

more Dylan songs i'd love to hear:

Obviously 5 Believers
This Wheel's On Fire
Wicked Messenger
Can't Wait
Masters of War (how could they not play it?)
Million Miles
Unbelievable
Tough Mama

I could go on and on...

Well, east coaster here with my review of this show. I saw SB as well. The bottom line: this band is not ready for prime time, and the greek is primetime.I give the show a B, which is consistant with my review of SB. Good vibes great day, awesome town, excellent people, food etc...if it wasn't for all those intangibles which make the greek-and berkeley so special, I would not have flown out in the first place. This being said, over all, the show dissappoints.

There were nice points of course: Fire was the highlight for me...Stephen was great but then was followed by Hard rain!!!????!?!?- how about the Eleven or NFA or viola or chincat>rider...why some drippy Dylan tune. Campbell looked starstruck, like there was too big of a crowd for him to deal with. Jackie songs - sorry not into it at all. His playing, was okay. So far, after 2 shows, the best line up would have been sless with campbell and Joan Osborn ( assuming Trey is not available). Again, the stage is boring and phil needs tye-dies and a light show for the greek as back stage looked hallow and empty. Not sure I am comfortable with my own review but it is honestly how I feel after a few days of looking back on it. Not the best shows I have seen from phil; my take so far is that Jackie is too tame and does not get 'it'. Nice kid, showed some great enthusiasm and energy, but all the songs were 'poppy'...Fire was only 8 minutes long, the wheel was a radio version, eyes was truncated.

I liked eyes even though it was sort of tame and deal was good too, but over all it was Bish and sort of a let down. At no point did I say "wow' that was great...it was more like "well maybe next tune'.

This is my first post in 6 years. It seems from reviews that I am not alone. See ya in NYC phil~!

i did not attend either show SB or Greek but it is amazing how many people bitch about phil shows - this tour as well as others. i am going to the 2 denver shows and the only thing i am expecting is to see a great musician have a great time playing great songs. there seems to be no pleasing some of you out there. THE DEAD ARE DONE - GET OVER IT! Phil will do what phil will do and if you don't like it don't go. if you are not sure but you are going to bitch if you don't like it, once again, don't go. at some point he will be gone and i for one would rather see him do what he does with whomever he does it no matter what it sounds like. What is wrong with you people! give the man a break!

gee, that's original.........

not having seen either SB or Greek I'll throw in my .02... I think people are getting too hung up on expecting "the magic" to happen at every show, maybe even during every song... You have to remember that the "magic" we used to experience at "great" Dead shows were because of a whole set of intangibles that aren't in place anymore. You can't make a magic omelet without magic eggs and magic mushrooms... grade A ingredients just aren't enough...

Phil and his bands will put on good shows and even some great shows, but those "magic' moments that transport thousands of people at once will be very few and far inbetween I think - that's not really a knock on Phil or the personnel he brings in, just a realization that the magic of those Dead shows is long gone and not repeatable without those intangibles, many of which are six feet under at this point.

Funny how the Q was too noodly, and Jackie doesn't noodle enough... Poor Phil - can't win for trying...

I thought the Mountain Jam show was a real highlight of the past few years, blowing away Robinson or Osborne lineups, and it's a shame that lineup didn't get more time to expand...

drmz...

Liked a bunch of the previous reviews. Very knowledgeable folks. And, yes, I think it's OK not to express glowing reviews about everything Phil (or any other musician, for that matter) does. What's the point of 100% positive reviews?? We all can like some things more than others, right? And shit, if we still want to take the time, effort and money to go to Phil shows, it still must be worth it to us, right? I agree some comments probably aren't constructive, but they can make for amusing reading.

Seriously, it was a nice day with my honey and friends (the sun eventually came out, and the temperature was perfect - not too hot, which afternoons at the Greek can be), somehow got an amazing spot down on the steps of the floor with an unobstructed view (stupidly, didn't bring the camera and there was like no security at all...DOH!!), very close to FrogPjs, Mr. FrogPjs, and some other Zoners I recognized (saw you Emily, but it seemed we were both in our own little trances - well, I was), so that all worked out nicely.

The show - well, I think some of the interesting choices in the first set were kind of fun (if not overly mind-blowing) - I liked the Why Don't We Do It in the Road and The Weight. Kind of different stuff for this fairly new alignment. Once Barry came on (for Cumberland especially) it really picked up for a bit and I would've liked to have seen a little more of him, but this band's trying to establish their own sound, so any Barry's good Barry. Today, the Jackie tunes didn't really do it for me - as someone else mentioned, they seemed to kind of be momentum-killers in this show (didn't even really think about the "Supercede" lyrics I was hearing, but they are a bit weak, huh?). I thought the material that he played at the Indy was superior to the stuff he played this day. I do think he plays a pretty solid guitar, though not in the typical mold of a Phil and Friends guitarist, but he's good on the more straight-ahead rockers, which seem like they will be this lineup's bread and butter (well, until the 2nd sets when Phil follows his weird). Was hoping to have seen a break-out of Big Brown, but it didn't even seem to be up on the stage (probably not going to get it at a Sunday afternoon Greek show, huh??). Was it just me, or did Phil not sing a lead vocal until at least half way through the 1st set? That was different.

The 2nd set was probably better, though nothing too mind-blowing. Playing was so-so, from what I can recall (didn't go on for very long, did it?). The Candyman seemed a little strained, as someone else mentioned much earlier. Once Phil returned from the "pee break," I could hear the distinctive calm before the storm and I'll take St. Stephen with whatever band Phil has - it seemed pretty well played, if not overwhelming. The high point had to be the Hard Rain. That was a pretty interesting arrangement - kind of slowed-down blues version. Seemed about half time of the original Dylan recording and it seemed to come off really well - went on for a nice long time, too. The rest of the set didn't really knock my socks off. The Eyes was OK, but not extremely memorable. I started laughing when they went into Sugar Mag thinking, "have I just heard Phil's band play at least 2 Bob Weir tunes in this set? Does he usually do this? Uh, no." Seemed a bit odd - it seemed as if Jackie called the audible on this one from what I could see on stage. Perhaps not.

As for the encore, I'm glad Mark Karan made an appearance and I totally wish him the best with his cancer treatment and recovery. As usual, it was a totally classy move by Phil to bring him out. I must say that I didn't really notice the music jump to a higher melodic or energy level but, then again, I've been over this tune for a number of years. It just seems like one of Phil's weaker tunes and I didn't even think the Dead played it very well for their last 10 years (slam away, if you must). I'd almost take a Casey Jones over a GDTRFB these days, and that's not a good sign.

As for Larry, I think he's a very competent guitarist who, as someone else noted, doesn't just play notes for the sake of playing - he understands the space in the music - but he does also sometimes go into this kind of overly rock 'n' roll mode and play things that don't sound quite right for the material. Seems like he's actually straining to play stuff that's not really him. But, hey - Phil's looking for a different sound now. I thought he was a pretty good counter to Trey at Vegoose last year, but when he's the go-to guy, I'm just not quite as blown away. If he's paired with Sless or Scofield, I think it works better. I think Jackie's a good singer, good rhythm/2nd lead player, and a decent addition to Phil's band (at least he can follow a teleprompter, remember lyrics, remember cues, not fall over himself drunk and stoned - um, you may know who I'm referring to). Personally, I could use a Barry or someone else full time to add the psychedelic touches. Oh, and yes, if he brings all these freakin' instruments, it would be nice if he played more than two of them! Jeez - Kimock brings 15 guitars, but at least he plays them all!

All in all - it was a fun day, if not one of the most memorable Phil shows I've seen, and I'm sure it will get better as the tour progresses. I would definitely like to be seeing some more shows, especially the Nokia shows in my 'ol hometown, but that's not to be this year. Don't know that I'd go so far as to tour for this lineup, though it is Phil and that should be enough right there.

Larry was killer at The Warfield with Scofield! They were really playing off each other and smiling and having a great time!

yo Barry Ost...chill dude, people spend god money and effrt and emotion and just lke anythng else, expect a lot as well. That is my thought. Personally have been seeng shows only since 1987- big deal- the point is that people have stuck arund through a lot and stll bitched about certain shows. The internet affords us this freedom of expression much more now.

To your point regardng not going if you are going to bitch, all I say t you is don't read reveiws if all you want is good news. Even JG always said that deaheads were constant critics and he was okay wth t, so you should get over it.

The show was fun but there is room for crtique.

Cheers,

I agree if you want to see the dead stay home been here since the mid seventies this experience is living and growing and changing.Try and grow with it it's a pleasure to catch the wave ........

anyone pining for trey is a tool w/no credibility and should sell their NYC tix

I liked it - listened to the recording today. I really dig Jackie's voice and I liked his songs too. Overall the tunes weren't as "out there" as we might be used to, but it was a pretty cohesive rock show I think.

Highlights for me were the Hard Rain, Stephen, Sugar Magnolia and even the Eyes had some nice moments. GDTRFB with Karan was also pretty damn cool. Hard Rain really stands out, I think.

I'll probably listen to it again and I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the tour. Thanks to the tapers!

an audio or flac vine wouldn't go amiss out here in the dial-ups...

Man - give these guys a chance! It's only the second show of the tour, and Jackie's only been in the band for, what, five minutes? The Greek Phil show, IMO, was better than about 30% of the GD shows I've seen (since 1969). By the tenth night in NY these guys will be cooking - I only wish I could be there.

To follow up an earlier post and correct a mistake, I have heard from VERY RELIABLE SOURCES (wink wink) that THE WIZ did NOT mix sound for the Alpine Reunion or Fall 02 Other Ones tour - all the sound I've heard The Wiz mix has been great - sorry for any misrepresentations - but you know how it is - it's the internet ;)

Fillmore Denver Friday Sept 28 we have..

Not Ohfficial..

I: FOTD>Let It Ride, Wheels on Fire, New Speedway Boogie, I'm so gone, Mean Mr. Mustard, Cosmic Charlie

II: Scarlet Begonias>Fire On the Mountain>Wild and Free>Golden Road, Viola 1>Loose Lucy>Viola 2> Alabama Getaway>Viola 3..

Donor Rap,
Encore: Box Of Rain

Thanks!

Add Birdsong set 2...

9.28.07
Phillmore Denver

I: FOTD > Let It Ride, Wheels on Fire, New Speedway Boogie, I'm so gone, Mean Mr. Mustard, Cosmic Charlie

II: Scarlet Begonias > Fire On the Mountain, BIRD SONG (full) > Wild and Free > Golden Road, Viola 1 > Loose Lucy > Viola 2 > Alabama Getaway > Viola 3, Donor Rap, Box of Rain

the phillmore show was awesome! they were having a blast on stage - right in front of phil the whole night : ) thanks to the heads up front for being so amazing - really great group up there last night.red rocks should be sick!

Was on the rail last night. I thought it was very good. Definitely exceeded my expectations. I didn't know what I'd think of Greene after reading the Greek reviews, but I think he is a nice addition to the band. He plays with a lot of enthusiasm. Nice watching him get after it on New Speedway and Loose Lucy. My only complaint is I think the band needs a Les Paul. I'm not a musician, so maybe I'm off base here, but the two Fenders, well, I guess mainly Greene's Telecaster, don't produce the sound I think Phil's band needs. Telecasters have that metallic sound and the music could use a fatter sound. He did play what I think was a hollow body Gibson from Viola2->Viola3, and that changed the sound up some. Larry, FWIW, was on his Strat the entire night. Except for Bird Song when he played pedal steel for most of the song. I was stage right, directly in front of Steve (Is it Molitz?), so maybe my position played into that. In any case, that is my layperson's take.

I loved reading all these reviews. Being a huge Jackie Greene fan, I was curious as to what people would think of him. Though many haven’t warmed up to him yet, I respect everyone’s thoughts and opinions. Jackie’s talents truely are amazing. Considering how he started out his career and how far he has come, he has accomplished so much already. And he is only 26 years old keep in mind. This tour will Phil Lesh and friends will be gratifying to Jackie because it will help him grow as a musician. Having to learn so many GD songs in such a short amount of time is a feat in itself, and I think Jackie is handling it wonderfully. The show at the Greek was loads of fun. I don’t know how many of you just took a second, or a few, to stop and look around the theater-everyone, and I mean everyone, was up on their feet dancing. It was a great concert that brought everyone together on a beautiful Berkeley afternoon. I love the way they are taking old GD songs and puting a new twist on them. Jackie does this very well. Having been to a few GD shows back with Jerry, I love to see the GD songs played in a new and fun way. Keeps things fresh. So, instead of bashing JG early on in the tour, give him a chance to blow your mind, because in the end he will. Trust me. I’ve seen him do it. PL+F should come end the tour back here in CA. yeah!?

nice to hear a JGr fan's view, thanks!

enjoying yor thots :-)

only thing to add from deaf zone signing setlist was that Box was the planned encore, so Karan mustve shown up etc after that was printed !

At age 26, Bob Weir was touring stadiums with the Dead, at their peak.

come to that dylan had released the albums up to BOB ....

does it help us to make the comparison tho ?