I'm ready for more! Keep it coming, fellas!

What a difference a show makes. I was sore and tired on Thursday morning after the uneven and occasionally lackluster rehearsal on Wednesday night. This morning, after a ripping two hour set last night, I awoke feeling refreshed and pumped and ready to dance some more.

On a more somber note, the media is beginning to produce stories about Deadheads misbehaving in MV. It saddens me that some of us just can't seem to recognize that we have responsibilities to live up to when we're guests in someone else's town. I'm a Mill Valley resident myself and I don't want to have my local area phun shut down because some out-of-town 'head craps on someone's sidewalk. Be cool, my friends, so we can all keep on keepin' on!

Peace!

What's up with that? I saw that news team with camera set up by the depot after the show last night and was wondering how can there be any news in MV, especially at that time of day?

Bruce, looks like we have been at the last two nights together! Funny, I had them flip flopped, Wednesday being a bit better for me than last night...oh but that Dew keeps ringing in my head!

On the poor press, do you really see the problems? I haven't seen more than 5 - 6 people hanging out on the street side of the venue and 3-4 of them are the local San Rafael/Mill Valley drunks (is that PC?). My take is that it is a slow new cycle for th IJ and Mornings on Two...thank goodness the Mehserle trial starts today!

Tonight should be more of the same...killer soul fulfilling music.

>>>the media is beginning to produce stories about Deadheads misbehaving in MV. It saddens me that some of us just can't seem to recognize that we have responsibilities to live up to when we're guests in someone else's town.<<<

I doubt those stories are about any of "US". i doubt that genuine Deadheads are doing the alleged misbehaving. Most of the unsavory motley sidewalk rats are probably not Deadheads or Philzoners at all. Many of the nasty wookies on the street don't even have computers or live indoors so they will never read this.

I've been a Mill Vly resident for 7 years and as best I can tell, we have exactly one homeless guy. For sure almost all of the 'heads in attendance are well-behaved and cool. But that wouldn't be much of a news story. Heck, we've been targeted by the press with crappy reports for decades and all over the country, too. This latest round is just another one of those classic opportunities for the uninitiated to sneer at us and (try to) convince themselves that they're superior individuals. What a bunch of baloney. Still, it's fairly evident that there are a very small number of poorly behaved folk that have drawn the ire of a few local merchants and that's the angle driving the recent stories.

Now back to the phun stuff. I always get a kick out of comparing notes with others who've seen the same show as me. Even among my closest, oldest Deadhead buddies we often have a different take on what was good and what wasn't. We all take away different things, but isn't that part of the reason why we go? The boys deliver such a variety of musical styles that there's almost always something for everyone.

I have yet to meet anyone who hates Scarlet->Fire or Morning Dew, however. And the way the band is playing right now, well I'm happy to listen to anything they want to play. It's all good!

May the Four Winds blow you safely home!

Here's the review from my buddy, Waldo:

Mill Valley's got the ways and means.
What a bunch of lucky Heads we are to have this going down in our -Hood some forty-five years after it all got started.
and this is the way its supposed to be.
an all positive night.

The line to get at 6:45 was about 30 deep. it was slow to go because in a highly orderly and organized manner in single file procession you step up, show the man your id and he lets you enter through the venue doors where a woman at a kiosk is waiting for you. Place our id firmly on table and she checks you off the list and ushers you over to the wristband lady. Next stop, the refreshment line. Beer, wine and cookies (no not Madeleine's cookies). No line there. Into a chairless GA floor where maybe a little more than the 30 people in front of me in line are standing. We firmly plant ourselves in front of Phil's mic about 10 feet back. I was just far enough outside Jeff's keys that I could see his hands now and again twinkling up and down. Security was nill and we got two nice flasks of scotch in.

Brother Bruce shows up around 8:20 and the place has filled up nicely. The boys decide that a 7:30 start means they can go on closer to 9:00. With a nod and a wink (an apology and a promise) from Weir that they'll make it up to us, the night begins around 8:50 pm.

From the start we knew we were in for some fun as Jay Lane (drummer stage left; Mickey spot behind Jerry) strapped on a washboard (no shit).

Cumberland got things moving. Apology accepted Bobby !!!!

Given that there are only two very large speakers blowing sound through this place it wasn't too loud even though we were right in front of it.

The opening notes of Doin' that Rag kept the excitement going. It was apparent to me though that these sessions are indeed being used as rehearsals (especially for John) who's phrasing of the words told me he was reading them from the teleprompter and even some of the chord changes were a little rough. He had the jams down though. The Professor on the other hand can see the words and music in his head behind closed eyes and had no problem remembering a 41 year old song.

I think Tenn. Jed had Weir's only vocal flub of the night in it and he recovered very Jerry-esse with it.

The Wheel was beautiful. The boys really took their time with it and built and built and built it up. It grasped the crowd and I did the dance. My spine became a spring and I joyously and joyfully Dead danced once again. Unlike the second set of the 30th which was balls out rock n roll and thoroughly enjoyable from that perspective; last night was the music of my soul. They played The Wheel as they had with Jerry and finished up ala new Dead vocally. Gotta love California for "giving the singer some". Those pin drop moments.

Thankfully I had no complaints with the crowd; either their usual over-talkative nature or pushiness. There was none of that. As Bruce mentioned to our left were several twirlers who did a great job of keeping the crowd push from the left from ever developing and they were apologetic when they bounced into you now and again. Good hippies in the crowd last evening.

I heard the No More Do I coming on and was glad when they finally fell into it. I like it for the fact that there's no Jerry expectation in the song. It's a Grateful Dead song.

He's Gone (again) beautiful. The music and vocally. Nice and easy. Long and delicious.

Kudos to Bob who has either been working on his vocal inflections or I just don't give a shit anymore. Naw, he's been using less phrase-ology into it and actually singing.

And speaking of singing (excuse my tangents), Michele's friends Zoe and Sunshine, the two back-up women add very nice touches to many of the numbers and now and again Phil asked the board to turn them up and they shined ever more brightly.

Built to Last was chosen by John, and again, I felt he chose it because it needed work. A little rough on the vocals. Not something I heard Old Jer do a lot so it was nice to see it dusted off. It made me feel that they were just looking through the catalog and playing whatever the _uck they wanted to. I have a new appreciation for the songs complexities given the rough spots I experienced last night (not just another Push Comes to Shove).

What I don't see on the list is this long meandering Other One jam that went on for about ten minutes. Not sure if it was pre-Peaceful Valley or Post or both (I think both). Not really familiar with this song and can't recall seeing it, but Bruce said he did when Ryan was in the Phil Band; possibly Colorado). Excellent selection of music though which the boys really played on.

Another aside, at one point Lane was "bowing" a drum's legs. Don't know exactly what type of drum it was but it was waay cool to see him up close doing stuff rather than just being a bouncing bean pole from the back of the Bill Graham Civic.

As the trio journeyed out of the Peaceful Valley/Other One it headed into that quiet hopeful place where the anticipation grows. I could sense the Dew and man it was true jubilation when it happened. They're Back!!! The unfortunate part of the Dew was towards the end you could see John wanting to turn up his guitar but it would go no louder. He fanned that baby a good three times. Good enough to close the show, but....

Our own Rock Star Bobby Weir had to do some Stones and I'm glad he did. What fun to see Satisfaction again after all these years.
It's only rock and roll but I like it!

Phil came out and said "see, good things do come to those that wait"

A nice big thick slice of Goin Down the Road pie followed by a vocally amazing acapella We Bid You Goodnight (where the girls really lent a hand).

Michele and I said high to her friend Sunshine after the show and then we were home in five minutes.

This was definitely one of those all round Grateful evenings. Surrounded by good friends. Excellent music. Respectful peers. A small home-town show.

Sorry no booing last night.

Peace,
Waldo

With the chicks capella and seeing the BYGN from the 7th.....do you think you could bring back Angel Band? Cause that's what you are!

Been trying all week to get a ticket. Got some bad news around 12:15pm, hit refresh at 12:30pm and got lucky for tonight.

Thought I'd share the news for those still trying...the miracles come in differnt ways these days, but the magic is still there!

How'd you do that? The ticket page hasn't changed for two days. What site are you on?

Obsessive refreshing on the ticket page. It has changed on about 4-5 occasions this week, though only for moments at a time.

Jaybee, three times today the further/music today/calendar showed tonight's show. 7:25am, 12:25 pm, and around 4:30. I was able to access the "buy now" but I kept getting kicked out, and then the "display" for tonight was gone. Put the link on your desktop and then keep hitting refresh. As a note, I have spent now about 50 hours on-line trying and still not one show. Good luck. Here's the exact link as you can no longer get directly to it through Further.net.

http://furthur.tickets.musictoday.com/Furthur/cale ndar.aspx

Grateful Dred

Wow you are all soo frigen luckey,,, I used to live in mill Valley,,17 years ago,, sweetwater was the closest bar to my house,,, I'm sooo Happy to see that The MAGIC is Still happening,,makes me wanna quit my life and GO ON TOUR!!! but I guess Im a grown up now,,Thanks you all for the reviews,, Its wonderful to get direct news,, Here in Remulack(France) nobody understands .....peace Have fun tonight!! TG

Thanks Drea Foffe. I've actually been doing that, just didn't realize that they've been putting shows up then taking them down since the Monday show has been up for a few days now.

I can't complain, I very fortunately got into three. In fact, gotta take off or I'll be late for tonight!!!

Waldo nice,nice post. I'm just waiting to leave my home for Norfolk, Virginia but right now i got Cali on my mind...you all come down easy because there's people out here who care a thing about you and dont lets us poor boys down! Have fun, close your eyes and dance!!!

I'm late
I'm late
to a most important date
with Phil and Bob and John and Jeff
oh shit I'm late, I'm late

Yeah, Drea pretty much hit it. From what I know they are releasing spots on the list at random times throughout the day for that night's performance. We got a call at about 7am Friday morning from a friend who was able to purchase on musictoday's website. Apparently he was on at that time and the page changed after refreshing. So, it is basically going to be hit and miss, and who knows how many spots are actually being opened up at any particular time. I guess you really got to want in, and have to have an internet hook, as well as a debit/credit card, and a whole day to kick away. I am still recovering from New Years myself, and this is the first day that I have put in some effort to at least try for one show in Mill Valley. Most of my friends are on the same boat, and are now finally getting the same idea. I am not going to even bother going down to Throckmorton unless I get lucky with the website. So, good luck to all trying to get down in Mill Valley. It has been a tricky one, but the boys did kick down hard at the Bill Graham, so if nothing comes my way this weekend and into Monday, and Tuesday, at least I got that much. It has been a magical couple weeks in the Bay Area to say the least. Happy New Year!!

midnight hour
Little light

midnight hour
Little light
round n' round
Duprees

>>>Little light

brent! is that the first brent song they've done? who sang?

sweet thx JD!

little light wonder who sang i could see an "all"...

midnight hour
Little light
round n' round
Duprees
Bob Weir Duck Joke...concluded w/ "Jerry taught me that"
Come Together

Gomorrah!
Wouldn't that be nice
JK can rip it!

some JGB
A senor

midnight hour
Little light
round n' round
Duprees
Bob Weir Duck Joke...concluded w/ "Jerry taught me that"
Come Together
Days Between (bw)

midnight hour
Little light
round n' round
Duprees
Bob Weir Duck Joke...concluded w/ "Jerry taught me that"
Come Together
Days Between (bw)
Queen Jane Approximately

so is days the start of the acutal show?

i thought it was just SC but guess maybe they started right at 8 tonight?

show started early...my friend inside got in at end of little light

midnight hour
Little light
round n' round
Duprees
Bob Weir Duck Joke...concluded w/ "Jerry taught me that"
Come Together
Days Between (bw)
Queen Jane Approximately
No More Do I (jk)

midnight hour
Little light
round n' round
Duprees
Bob Weir Duck Joke...concluded w/ "Jerry taught me that"
Come Together
Days Between (bw)
Queen Jane Approximately
No More Do I (jk)

Enc: US Blues

nighty night...thanks to Ian for the timely text updates.

tomorrow
a jk GOMORRAH
.....'cause he looked behind her....

causehe lookedbe hind her

Oh yeah, Gomorrah is a great call. I pitched John after Tuesday's show on Believe it or Not too.

john can belt the
"where the iceblue roses grow" SMRds too

link open for sat night...and closed...just like that. I got nothing

wow! started at 7:40 and was done by 9:10. Phil wanted to go see another show somewhere.

Why didn't you go to the other show with Phil Deac?

Just a song of Gomorrah, I wonder what they did there
Must've been a bad thing to get shot down for
I wonder how they blew it up or if they burned it down
Get out, get out Mr. Lot and don't you turn around.

Who gave you your orders, someone from the sky
I heard a voice inside my head in the desert wind so dry
I heard a voice tellin' me to flee the very same voice I always believe
Say alot of trouble comin', but it don't have to come to you
I'm telling you so you can tell the rest what you've been through.

But don't you turn around, no, don't look after you
It's not your business how it's done, you're lucky to get through
You're a good upstanding man, a credit to the flock
But if you don't face straight ahead you could not take the shock
Blew the city off the man, left nothing there but fire
The wife of Lot got turned to salt, because she looked behind her.

I love the call of Gomorrah Mr. Fitz... Hell, while we're looking for JK to pour it out, what about Sitting Here In Limbo? :^)

Sitting here in limbo, but I know it won't be long.
Sitting here in limbo, like a bird without a song.
Well they're putting up resistance, but I know
that my faith will lead me on.

Sitting here in limbo, waiting for the dice to roll.
Sitting here in limbo, got some time to search my soul.
Well they're putting up resistance but I know
that my faith will lead me on.
I don't know where life will lead me, but I know where I've been.
I can't say what life will show me, but I know what I've seen.
Tried my hand at love and friendship, but all that is passed and gone.
This little boy is moving on.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the tide to flow.
Sitting here in limbo knowing that I have to go.
Well they're putting up resistance, but I know
that my faith will lead me on.

The show is in Fairfax, CA at The Sleeping Lady - don't know anything else about it.

Show Phil jetted off to is 21 Aces...featuring a certain guitar player who Phil is pretty interested in.

Dupree's and the duck joke were the highlights for me tonight.

Gomorrah...now that would be something!

one of Phil's son's band, 21 Aces I think they are called
saw them nearly 4 years ago at Slim's, not bad
glad they are still together

Dupree's and Round & Round were real good; Phil really hitting some strong ones on the classic rocker.

IMO Come Together should be put to bed, and Bob singing Days Between, well, he wants to sing it so fine, but there was also some really amazing flourishes toward the end, and it was very good overall. These guys are learning how to make some real good sounds together.

No More Do I was the best of the three versions they've done now, with Phil really putting something into it tonight, and I'm a sucker for US Blues, again Phil just walking that funny looking thing he plays UP & DOWN that song. Good old-fashioned rock 'n roll!

Starting "early" caught many off guard, and the room was only about half full for the first two songs.

The balcony is filling up with VIPs now, and the Mayor of Mill Valley was rocking out front & center.

A short show and nothing "epic" but still damn fun, with a very relaxed Bob Weir shooting the shit with us while Phil fixed his bass.

Phil was shameless with his plug for his kids band, but he's a good dad; good for him.

Tomorrow should be interesting, but will sadly be missing Louie Lardo at the rail. That man knows how to rock.

Thanks Hlpslpfrnk
So John K: I wouldn't see a need for a telepromter for this epic balled. Please rip it. Wish I was there and these will someday be released
Just a song of Gomorrah, I wonder what they did there
Must've been a bad thing to get shot down for
I wonder how they blew it up or if they burned it down
Get out, get out Mr. Lot and don't you turn around.

Who gave you your orders, someone from the sky
I heard a voice inside my head in the desert wind so dry
I heard a voice tellin' me to flee the very same voice I always believe
Say alot of trouble comin', but it don't have to come to you
I'm telling you so you can tell the rest what you've been through.

But don't you turn around, no, don't look after you
It's not your business how it's done, you're lucky to get through
You're a good upstanding man, a credit to the flock
But if you don't face straight ahead you could not take the shock
Blew the city off the man, left nothing there but fire
The wife of Lot got turned to salt, because she looked behind her.

round n round, duprees, queen jane, and just a little light were a lot of fun.

favorite part of the night = the jamming. It feels like songs are mostly played to experiment different jam spaces, and man can they jam. Transitions were fluid yet abrupt. Each distinct groove could be layered to find its way into an entirely new space, or timed to start/end with the power of the entire band, especially felt during round n round & light. Twas a magic carpet ride indeed

I'm not a huge Come Together guy either, but they pulled out a tasty jam towards the end that energized my lazy bonez. Furthur def has the chops to do some awesome drums->space exploratations, which i really hope they start to do at shows -=0-0+-


+1 for Gomorrah

Hi Folks,
I just got back from the shortest Dead related show I've ever been
to, but it was good and worth it.

I almost blew it. I took a nap after work to recharge my batteries and
figured I'd wake up at 5:30. I went too deep and opened my eyes to see
it was 6:30. It takes close to an hour and a half to get to Mill's
Ville on a good day and I was hoping the Friday traffic wouldn't kill
me. I high-tailed it up and was at the entrance about 7:50. I could
hear Phil from outside and walked into what I guess was the first song.
(I've learned I missed the opening "Midnight Hour".)

BTW, here I should state that you're going to hear a lot of opinion,
mostly upbeat I hope, but take it with that grain of salt.

The first song was "A Little Light". I knew it was a Brent song right
away but it took me a second to realize which one. I must say that this
is the only Brent song that sounds like a real Dead song to me. JK sang
and they did a nice job on the part I heard.

The venue is tiny. I was at the back and maybe 25' or so from the
stage. It wasn't very wide either. The female singers were almost
crowded off the back side of the stage. The sound was really good. For
me, it's a joy to hear Grateful Dead music through a big, clear, loud
system. I love feeling the music in my body, especially Phil's bass.

They then played "Around And Around". A nice version, with an extended,
minimalist jam towards the end of the song. The interplay between Phil
& Bobby was nice to hear/see, and JC & Jk were adding there own
touches. I must have been in a good mood because I was enjoying Jay
Lane's playing. Usually his pounding just doesn't fit the music, to my
ears, but it worked as a percussionist. Bobby sang.

"Dupree's Diamond Blues" was a gem. Really capturing that cartoony,
broken-down merry-go-round feeling. Bobby's syncopated guitar was the
driving force to my ears, but Phil & JK were grooving away, too. JK
sang. One of my favorites of the night.

I guess Phil had to pee or something. He handed his bass to a roadie
and walked off stage. Bobby said there was an emergency and proceeded
to tell a succession of duck jokes. The second was a shaggy duck joke
for which he blew the punchline, saying he'd tell it better tomorrow.
Being the joker I can be, I yelled out that he should try to sing
Truckin' now.

Phil returned and they played "Come Together" and Bobby flubbed the
lines at first. He didn't need Truckin' after all. It sounded good and
JK was getting some nice George Harrison sounds out of his guitar. It
was a Grateful Dead treatment to the song. Then they went into a jam at
the end, which is where things got really interesting. Now I'm not a
musician, nor do I understand music in that way, so my description here
might not make sense. Most music seems like it has a forward
progression, with the notes moving the song forward sonically, I guess
in the way the sounds relate to each other. I've noticed over the years
that the Dead do this thing with their music where either the song
sounds like it's in a holding pattern, neither progressing nor moving
backward. Bird Song seems to get this treatment sometimes, where the
notes build up but stay static, not moving the song. Now, in the jam
tonight, it sounded to me as if the movement of the song was moving
backwards, not like the song was being played backwards, but rather
like the momentum of the song was falling backwards rather than
striding forward. Like someone losing their balance and falling back. A
visual image that matches this feeling is David Byrne, back in the
Talking Heads days, careening around the stage in his oversized white
suit, seemingly off-balance and out of control. The tempo of the jam
picked up and the band was wailing away, like careening backwards, off
balance and out of control. This felt like real Grateful Dead music and
I could feel it changing my consciousness. The neuronal pathways laid
down in more than a hundred acid-drenched Dead shows were being
activated and I could feel a buzzing in my brain. Me, who hasn't had a
drink or a drug for almost 22 years. The X-factor showed itself to be
alive & kicking there, at least for me. This experience made the show
worthwhile right there.

They slowed the jam almost to a stop, and then went into "Days
Between". They started off slow and pretty, with Bobby singing quietly
about a step away from his mike. This was the signal for bathroom break
for some people and the drinking contingent in the corner took the
quiet music as a signal to ratchet up there conversations. The band
took their time building the song up in volume and grandeur until it
got pretty powerful. Unfortunately, Bobby kept up his soft singing so
the lyrics were mostly lost in the second part of the song, but it
sounded great otherwise. They played this until a stop and went right
into "Queen Jane Approximately". Weir missed a couple lines in the
beginning and was casting his eyes to his forehead, trying to remember
more, which he did. It was a fine version but nothing of note.

They came to a full stop after Queen Jane, then played a song I haven't
heard before.("No More Do I") Your blue heaven was mentioned a couple of time and
seeing you after I die. It was a straight ahead song, which shows how
powerful the band can be when it plays normal, straight ahead music.
This went right into "US Blues", which was a rocker like always. It
showed my that I have finally gotten over the aversion to it that I
developed in the 80's, hearing it as the encore of way too many shows.
It also showed how well programmed I am, because whenever I hear it, I
feel that the shows over. And indeed it was. Phil steps up, tells us
that his son is playing at the Sleeping Lady in Fairfax and that he was
leaving to see him perform. So without an encore, at 9:06 by the stage
clock, the band leaves.

And it's funny. I was a little disappointed but not angry or feeling
ripped off. The $33 charge to see such music in such a small venue for
such a short time seems like money well spent and value received. In
fact, I'm going to keep my ear to the ground & see if I can make it
into another one of these some time.

Now, I'm not going to join in the argument of cover band vs, pathetic
oldsters sinking into nostalgia. I saw music that was creative and some
truly Grateful Dead music. I left not missing Jerry or Grateful Dead
music, like I used to do after every Phil or Bobby venture. I haven't
seen either of them play for 5 or 6 years because it just wasn't
scratching that itch, but Furthur does. JK doesn't ape Garcia,
slavishly playing his lines. He plays in the tone and the style that
fits Grateful Dead music, for my purposes. I'll go see these guys again
& again because I really enjoy them.

great review Bigrr! I largely concur.

Nice review Bigrr, short and sweet last night.

yeah, well done. I thought they nailed the In The Midnight Hour and Bobby was on it. Loved the Days Between too, with Bobby bringing a lot of emotion to the song.

OHHH man who's da man,, where are the tapes???? of all these (rehersal shows) theyve been "rehersin for 45 years,, now,, and we like it ,,its gettin near perfect,, peace lucky campers!!

Furthur
Rehearsal
Friday, Jan. 8th, 2010

7:40pm - 9:05pm

In The Midnight Hour (bw)
Just a Little Light (jk)
Around and Around (bw)
Dupree's Diamond Blues (jk)
(Phil leaves the stage, Bob Weir Duck Joke that he forgot the punch line to...concluded w/ "Jerry taught me that")
Come Together > (bw)
Days Between (bw)
Queen Jane Approximately (bw)
No More Do I (jk)
Enc: US Blues (bw)