I went to this show and had no idea what to expect. How good could Phil's kids' band be? Pretty damn good, I found out. Sullivan Hall is a small club and definitely the smallest place I've ever seen Phil. He comes out with the band and the place is going nuts during the soundcheck--just to hear THAT beautiful bass tone in such a small place. Then BOOM they open into a raging Shakedown Street. Phil turned up real loud and the club was rocking. Very quickly the Shakedown jam went into a lot of very exciting, exploratory collective improv spaces. This was a very, very good sign. This band can JAM. And they're exciting, nuanced jams, with PEAKS. This band plays with a lot of rude, young energy. Everybody's a very good player--but the energy is high and there seems to be lots of risk taking. Both of Phil's kids (sorry I don't know names) are indeed very good musicians. One plays electric, acoustic and mandolin. And the other plays electric and acoustic. Both of them have good voices--and the whole band harmonizes very well. The other (non-lesh) guitar player is a freaking ringer. Kind of punk-cowboy image on stage--he plays with a ton of vibe and musicality. His vocals were also very strong. (Sang a great Lovelight!) The drummer is a solid-groove drummer who was able to rise and fall with the peaks and nuances in the music. The band as a whole was the most impressive aspect. They navigated the complex changes in Unbroken Chain very well. And they played everything with great joy and energy--and lots of jamming! Phil was on FIRE on the bass all night. He was moving around a lot and had a HUGE grin on his face for most of the time. Phil's name sold out the venue for three nights--But it was The Terrapin Family Band which impressed me (and the screaming, hooting crowd) a tremendous amount. These kids are certainly legit.

Sorry for the wrong date above. Should be 2013-06-04. Late night!

Set list from Grahame Lesh's web site --

Grahame (guitar/vocals), Brian Lesh (mandolin/guitar/vocals), Ross James (guitar/vocals), Alex Koford (drums/vocals) & Phil Lesh (bass/vocals).

Shakedown Street BL
Brown Eyed Women GL
Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen – The Band style – cover) – AK
Who I Was (GL original) – GL
Mountain Town (BL original verses) – BL
Unbroken Chain – PL
Viola Lee Blues – All >
Cumberland Blues – All >
Viola Lee Blues – All >
I Don’t Care (Justin Townes Earle cover) – RJ >
Lovelight – RJ >
Viola Lee Blues – All
New Speedway Boogie – GL

E: Old Man (Neil Young cover) – GL
West LA Fadeaway – RJ
Big River – BL/RJ

Phil brought San Rafael to NYC... THANK YOU!

It was a beautiful night of music. I'm still floating!

no way to get webcast for east coast shows?
the timing is so much better for us here on the east coast.

nice review....thanks