let's see if they can get it up again. ya know, y'all always come back for more...

Candum rules!

I'll be coming up from DC for the Saturday show, arriving about 5:30. What is the best way to minimize traffic hassles -- going across one of the Philly bridges, coming up NJ turnpike, or 295? And is there plenty of parking? I also saw on a map there is a ferry across the river. How's that? Thanks -- Randy

i did the ferry last summer when i saw PLQ...
it's super easy and fun too!

Enjoy Mason's Children to close first set. Hope you get the big Chunky version Playin'>UJB>Dew>UJB>Playin' would be just right tonight.

I can feel the doin that rag already, i agree Keith, were due for Mason's children and a classical dew/ujb/playin' sandwich. Dont count St.Stephen out of this one either. Eyes of the world in the second set is also a possibilty. After what the dead did last nite at the factory... Anything is possible!

The Dead - Camden, NJ 6/28/03

Set 1:
#Jam>
#Alabama Getaway
#Mama Tried
#Little Red Rooster
#The Race Is On
#Jam>
#Truckin'>Jam>
#Built To Last (Joan)
One More Saturday Night

# w/Willie Nelson

Right on, Willie riding tall in the saddle...

6-28-03

Set One

Jam>
Alabama Getaway w/WN
Mama Tried w/WN
Little Red Rooster w/WN
The Race is On w/WN
Jam>
Truckin w/WN
Jam>
Built to Last w/WN
One More Saturday Night

Set Two

D/s
Playing>w/Greg Osby (sax)
Jam>w/GO
Eyes>w/GO
Spacey Jam>w/GO
Mason's Children>w/GO
China Doll >w/GO
Unbroken Chain
Saint Stephen>
Wm Tell Bridge>
11 tease Milestones Jam>
Ripple>
Sugar Mag

Donor rap
E: Aiko Aiko, And We Bid You Good Night

Just got back from the show....After seeing Hartford, which I thought was good, and 2nd night PNC which I thought was absolutely outstanding, I thought they would have a pretty tough time topping it. For me, they did it! It was pretty much a perfect setlist for me. 1st set was very short, but sweet. 2nd set blew me away...I loved the song selection and overall, it was very well played. Very spacey, high energy, spacey, energy, somewhat of a roller coaster....A few sections may have been "over-noodled" and I lost Jimmy at times, but aside from that, I really thought it was excellent! I don't know if I was alone in my feelings for this show as a lot of the folks around me sat for most of the 2nd set and a few were dozing off (passed out)...but either way, I LOVED IT and can't wait for Jones Beach...

The 2nd nigh was a very good show, highlights were mama tried in the first, and the 2nd set is a highlight all of its self. At the end of the set they began teasing milestones by miles davis, which was played to open the 2nd set with the PLQ, same guy on sax= jazzed out show, including many teases such as old walkin blues in the first set. Both night were outstanding, after the show the band members wer leaving in thier busses, Phil was still holding a cup, waving at me while he drove by. I was so close i could of hopped onto phil's bus. It was quite an experience.

Oh boy I really hope that willie doesnt continue to play with them for a whole 1st set Im sorry but his voice sounds like hes 90 years old and I have to laugh when people consider his guitar playing good at his best its medicore, Ide take Weirs clueless slide playing over Willies butchering

Just got back. This has to be one of the top shows so far. From start to finish - BIG energy.

A wonderful way to wrap up the East Coast leg. I loved Willie sitting in the first set. His leads were strong -- even in the Dark-Starish jam before Trucking. I love the sound of his ol' Martin amped up. Mama Tried and Race is On were cowboy songs as they should be done. Then Greg Osby took the second second set into a beautiful jazz space. Highlights were his meltdown jam in Space, an Eyes lead that came off like the sax in Shine on You Crazy Diamond, a sick final jam in Unbroken Chain and a gorgeous China Doll that also showed Joan at her best.
It was remarkable hearing country-boy Willie and jazzman Greg both fit so well into the band and color each set differently. Jimmy played well with both of them. I think a two-lead line up actually shows Jimmy at his best as well.
Bobby mangled the lyrics to an otherwise ideal Ripple -- he looked across the stage in panic trying to remember what came next.
Bid you Goodnight capped a very lyrical evening. Lots of pretty melodies all night long.
The whole band looked tighter than they did a week and a half ago at Merriweather.
Joan is the embodiment of Sugar Magnolia -- she can dance the Cajun rhythm, jump like a Willys in 4-wheel drive...She's got everything delightful. She's got everything I need.

Tonight show......SIMPLY SAID WAS UNFUCKINBELIEVABLE........NUFF SAID....JOAN HAS TAKEN THIS BAND TO A NEW LEVEL....WHEN ARE THEY GOIN INTO THE STUDIO? I HOPE....RE CUT SOME NEW OLD DEAD WOULD BE GREAT

LOVE DEM PIG TAILS...
PEACE JAKEMON -COMMIN DWN HOME FROM DA SHOW

Nice, makes me wish I was there

Good stuff. Willie didn't get in the way, but didn't add so incredibly much. Greg added much more. Joan prodded gently when it was necessary, with fairly little strutting...

I almost can't imagine hearing China Doll without Joan singing it...

wadin' in a cool stream...

>>>I almost can't imagine hearing China Doll without Joan singing it...

is that a joke?

good show
good tunes
nice facility
nice people

mama tried
the race is on
truckin
masons children
eyes of the world
an awesome one more saturday night


what more could you ask for

god bless the grateful dead

can't wait for jones beach

Damnit! That was my show! They were supposed to hold out on that show 'till TONIGHT in Vernon!

Maybe The full blown 11 will rear its ugly head to complete this thing they started! Hope willie sits in just as long tongith! With a SOTM!!

Let's see -

Didn't like Willie last night : Jack Stevens

Liked Willie last night : Everybody else


Hmmmmmmm.

for what it's worth....they scored huge friday night, ending with the great set at electric factory...when everyone hears the music that was being made during the three song set..they will be looking into the future..where some of this grateful dead music is evolving to. the electric factory was amazing!! like seeing the dead and friends in some cool barn..real relaxed...saturdays show was simply the final encore of this leg......the icing on the cake..
one of the greats~!!

Lol redneck, No where did I say I don't like him in fact I respect what he has done for music and charitable causes. What I dont want to see is him play a entire set with the Dead, Steve Winwood who certainally is a dam fine player didnt even get that. I have no problem with a guest spot of a few songs even but practically a entire set Im sorry but I just dont think it allows the band to continue to jell. As to my comment about his guitar playing I stand by it.

Wow!!! No time to review right now but wow!!! That was a grate show!!!! I was taken many places last night and it was ALL good! From the scene in the parking lot til the Denny's run at 3am ~ pure magic, love, fun and ALL good vibes!!! I will be high as a kite from this show for a long time!

JimmyPhan ~ always a pleasure bro! it was grate boogiein' down with you on the lawn.

Althea ~ sweetie!!! i was so glad you guys found us and i could hang with your kind soul! i don't think your surrogate big bro would have let you not find us.

kate and OBIE ~ 2 of the kindest, warmest, generous pholk you would ever want to meet!!! you guys are beautiful souls and i was honored to have you stay with us! many thanks for all the little presents you left ~ merriest of pranksters indeed!

Graffix ~ finally!!!! how many shows did we go trying to meet up?? tell donna i said hello and she is one groovy chick! i love franklin ~ lil' beer drinkin' cutie!

Huck, Beth and Kirsten ~ not enough time!!! it was still awesome to see you guys! beautiful pholks with beautiful spirits! {{{gypsy bus}}} ~ make it home safely girl!!!!!

Northern Lites ~ too brief, my phriend, but we will get together this summer for a beach trip.

LT & GT ~ thank you for helping me find my car!! "Keep the fireworks coming we are losing our way!!" wish we coulda hung longer! you 2 are awesome and fun pholk always with huge smiles on your faces ~ i love it!!

taperrob ~ good to see you again! thank you thank you thank you for gettin' the music out there. you rock!!

if i forgot anyone else, i am soo soo sorry!!!! you ALL were a part of my awesome time last night.

above all ~ the MUSIC!!!!! i went to all kinds of places and grooved the whole night long! can't wait til red rocks!

WOW!!!!! Willie played almost the entire firts set!!!!!!!! Wish I was there, is all I can say!!!!!

I didn't experience the same show as the previous reviewers. Its true the song energy exceeded the Hartford and SPAC shows I saw, minus the killer Dear Mr. Fantasy and Low Spark w/Winwood. But what is needed is a time chart to go with that second setlist. Its also true that the majority of people around me were sitting frequently throughout the second set, minus the too drunk - way stoned sing along clapper types who were jumping and dancing wildly during spacey jam sections. Anyway, I found the first set interesting. I am a big Willie fan, and anybody who thinks Willie can't play guitar should catch his set, so I found it really fun to see and hear him up there trading a few licks with Herring. I was totally excited when they started teasing Darkstar, Willie on Darkstar! That whole section was fun and well played. I thought Tweeter was a little boomy sounding, like an arena, not as loud or clear as Hartford sound. The end of the first was a little let down - Joan doesn't fit Built To Last at all. I love her additions to Mr. Charlie, and Stagger Lee was a good song for her as well, but BTL? One More Sat had the crowd jumpin' but I am not that fond of it so I beat the crowd to the hole in the wall. First set - came on at 8 or 8:05 and played till 9:10 or so.
Second set started around 9:55. A nice loud Drums started things going. Booby joined in after a good sequence and messed around with his equipment searching for weired sounds and stuff. This got a little old but people were milling around still and getting back to their seats and chating and sitting down etc.. you get me point. Its now 10:15 and some more members start coming out Space and Joan chanting here and there. Its now almost 10:30 - an hour and twenty minutes since our last tune. Finally Playin in the Band. Playin reignited me and the jam section got really nice and strange. An abrupt transiton at the end of the jam had everybody on stage looking at each other and wondering who was going to start doing something. They dropped into Eyes with all the grace of fat smelly passout guy two rows in front of me. They got it organized and Osby and Jimmy each had magical solos that soared. But even those moments were too tortured to fully enjoy. No polyphonic interplay preceding their solos. Verse ends, everybody makes eye contact, someone takes a solo, everybody makes eye contact, someone else takes a solo - no musical intensity other than the one instrument playing the solo. Spacey jam had everyone sitting down for at least 10 more minutes, little to get excited about and I love the weird stuff. Osby, as I have seen him do with Phil & Friends spends more time rockin back and forth listening than playing. I was disappointed to see Phil and Bobby lauging and talking, chating, having a minor band meeting for 3 or 4 minutes, while absolutely nothing is going on on stage. Jimmy aimlessly noodling around while everyone else looks like its coffee break time. A decent Mason's - nothing close to Warren and Jimmy blasting this one out - but a huge improvement from what had been going on. Crowd giving them a second chance, on its feet and ready to jam. CHINA DOLL. What a joke. This song sucked. People started leaving at this point. A few in the crowd seemed mesmorized, but most were totally bummed. We're trying to get a grove going here and they refused to let it happen. Unbroken Chain was decent but the jam section was short and turned into a noodle session again. Now 11:15 and we get a Stephen--> William Tell. Both done real well I think; the too drunk - way stoned crowd only needed the mere gesture to go nuts at the first note. William Tell did sound solid, my personal highlight from the show. An awesome eleven? something unexpected to redeem the set? No. A Love Supreme. No where near as cool as the one on the Valentine's Day SBD. Ripple which I guess is a feel good song, was mutilated first by the mass sing along and then by Weir who forgot the words. SUGAR MAGNOLIA smoked. Mickey's Aiko was good too. Too much noodling not enough jamming. Too much soloing not enough polyphonic interplay. NOT ENOUGH ROB BARACO!! LET ROB SING. After three (Hartford, SPAC, Camden 2nd) mediocre performances I'm headed to the Summit on Sound; Anyone want my Jones tix?

I thought Willie played fine, and I didn't find him being on stage for most of the first set obtrusive at all, although it may have limited their potential setlist. Overall I thought this was a really strong show, not as great as 2nd night PNC, far superior to Hartford, which were the other two shows I was lucky enough to catch. The 2nd set was great, lots of spacey jams, and I was glad to see that I wasn't hearing things when I read the setlist today and saw the "Love Supreme" jam mentioned. Greg Osby is a great guest and brought alot to the stage. I thought the vocals, Bobby's in particular, weren't very clear, and I was close enough to the stage where sound shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise I thought the sound was alright. I look forward to Jones Beach. Peace y'all.

>>>They dropped into Eyes with all the grace of fat smelly passout guy two rows in front of me.

That's pretty funny.

4 out of 5 deadheads surveyed think willie is a great guitar player and folks who disagree are on crack. Numbers don't lie. (said with all respect for our crack addled friends who have a right to their whackadoodle opinions. I will pray for you brother.).

piss drunk......rowdy...hyper....saturday night crowd...run-down venue.....nice enough security.....tight, constructed 1st set with poor set list but focused jamming....2nd set..noodle city...minus rippin' stephen, which was show highlight, no questions asked...back to more noodling

>Hope willie sits in just as long tonight! With a SOTM!!

We were kinda hoping for that last night but maybe you'll get yours Rev?

We were able to hook up with Schnee and Evan11 the night before, thanks for taking the time to speak with us. We'll be looking forward to seeing you two again.

We had such a Grate time meeting you all in the lot, OK I'll try to remember you all.

I think I got reeled in by Mark? (another Mark, other than myself) as I was wearing my PhilZone baseball shirt, walking past you folks at your spot.

Finally I get to meet a group of Zoners ~ you guys are truly "The Best"

Scarlet ~ It's been a long time waiting, but definitely worth the wait I'll be making it a point to track you down wherever we go together.

Tim ~ my new found fishing buddy, I knew even before I met you that I would truly appreciate you love of life, one high energy bro. (I met Tim twice for the first time, each time last night)


Althea and Brian, we're gonna make it up to visit you two, maybe in the fall for some serious foliage photos. I have a funny feeling that the four of us can have alot of fun together.

Obie and Kate, I didn't make the connection between you two, but Obie man, you are one funny mf bro. Just thinking of that sticker on the back of the tour bus, still has me laughing. My cheeks hurt today, in a good way.

>merriest of pranksters indeed!

what else needs to be said, I hope I can enjoy your company again real soon man. Thanks for the PLQ sticker, it's on my beer fridge in the garage, so that long after I sell my truck, I can always remember these good times together on this special afternoon.

David C. ~ Very nice to have met you last night man. We were hanging in the walkway between the lawn and seats, talking up a very interesting storm last night. All good things weird and wonderful were happening last night.

I was able to get the good zoom lens in last night, some real good photos will be coming soon. I have to thank someone from the Zone, but I don't know who. I was able to get my camera in last night because of a post I read here about stealthing your way in. I just put the camera around my neck with the camera resting on my back, strap around the front of my throat.

He didn't even notice the big hump on my back as he was checking my pockets, and the sweatshirt in had caused a nice distraction. Somebody posted about getting their bag in this way, it worked like a champ last night.

Dean ~ I was lucky enough to meet up with at the blood drive, nice to meet you bro. I'll be sending you some nice pics when they are developed, got some Grate Phil photos there as well. Phil is an outstanding dude, no BS! I gave my camera to somebody else so they could take a pic of Phil and myself, I hope it came out nice. We were standing shoulder to shoulder, as I put my arm around him and thanked him for all that he has done.

Phil is one blessed individual, may a heavenly angel look after you, and always keep you safe in you travels, bro.

Zoners Rule!

Best sign on a VW bus -
We have enough Youth,
how about a fountain of Smart?

hope you all made it home OK last night, my cell phone was the only casualty for our weekend, I must have put it down near my water, and just left it under my seat last night, let's see how long it will take to make it home.

Arista Years CD #2 was in the truck on the way home last night, while all the nice lights passed by in a rollercoaster like ride, Philly skyline breathing in the mist, this is the stuff that you cannot photograph. It would be pretty hard to find a better recorded CD than that. It got us home safe and sound.

See you all at Red Rocks, next freakin weekend already, Woooooooooooo Hoooooooooooo!

The Positives:

Just seeing them all on stage rrockin' a party! Willie is 70, Phil 60-something, and the rest of the core 4 are getting up there. I used to think 60-70 is OLD. Now at 42, it ain't that far away, but these guys give me hope. Infused with new young blood, including Joan who's tons of fun, they don't really seem to be aging. I guess it's possible if you keep seeking, learning and expanding your mind everyday, like poets who did their best stuff in their 60's and 70's. Don't be lazy; live every day like it's your last. They appear to have practiced what they've preached. All the tennis has kept Bob in great shape, but that scruffy white beard's GOTTA GO. Maybe it's his twisted sense of humor--an 80 yr-old beard on a 35 yr-old body...

The 1st 4 numbers were just great. Willie played guitar solos on all of them. Trigger was loud almost electric-sounding. What an amazing guitarist.

A powerhouse St. Stephen, complete with the bridge, which they nailed.

Drums and Space. We had snuck down to tenth row center for most of the 2nd set. Extremely powerful and trippy, with the video. It's placement is fine because it's a highlight of the show. Bobby was out for most of drums doing spacey effects on guitar. My only question: is there recorded stuff or 'loops' going on?

An almost perfectly executed Ripple that came out of nowhere. Beautifully sung with Weir's acoustic turned way up. Joan, Phil and Bobby do nice harmonizing and Phil sang great all night. Really hit the notes during UBC.

(Another) spirited Sugar Mags, when Jimmy came alive. All of the musicians had moments of brilliance. Jeff plays damn good organ.


The Negatives:

WAY OVERSOLD. P&F last summer was comfortable. This was bordering on greedy. Not to mention the CD hawkers. As a friend said, he'd pay to be able to make a compilation disc; to pick out individual songs and jams from certain nights. I wouldn't pay 25 bucks for a piece of plastic with last night's show, but maybe for a disc or two containing the tour's highlights.

CLUNKY transitions and jams. The transition into Eyes was so horrible I may never listen to DeKalb '77 again. It (barely) passed muster once they got into it, but my ears still hurt. Going into the Playin' jam after the vocals was too rushed. Not slow, smooth and spacey the way we like it. Then it got cut. Several Bobby-led dissonant jams went nowhere, notably 5 minutes of pointless tripe after The Eleven before Ripple. Or again, maybe his twisted humor?

Let's face it, this is Bobby and the Dead. He may have capitulated to Phil in the business matters, as mentioned in the new RELIX article, but on stage there's no question who's in charge. He's strutting around telling everyone what to do, constantly huddling up, pointing, directing, nodding. It's all so disjointed. Phil had a good thing going with the ear monitors in his band. Maybe the other shows are different.

In the UBC and Eleven jams, when I expected Jimmy to step up, he didn't. Probably an off night since he was better at some Other Ones shows last fall. As someone said in earlier post, he now has even less freedom to let loose like we know he can. It's that sports car/train thing he described in an interview. This is a huge train, sometimes out of control. Clankety-clank.

Overall:

I guess I'll check 'em out again when they come to JB. Looking forward to the acoustic part because that setting may work best at this point. They're not exacly achieving seamless flow, like great GD/P&F shows. It's still VERY early.

One show, one man's opinion. The other 50,000 seemed to really enjoy themselves. Thank you.

First off what an incredible night last night! First Class GD. Smoker!

Here goes,

Need to listen to the first set again to be sure but,
First set:
Nice Alabama (they did a little warming up before diving into it and it was nice). About 2/3 into Race is On, it sounded like all the energy just dissapeared/fell apart. Truckin sounded like a train wreck IMO. Took until Sat Nite to get things going again. I was thinking to myself, so this is what the nay sayers were talking about.

Second Set:

All I can say is, ISO: my brain, last seen about 50feet left of the sound board. Snap, Crackle Pop folks.

The Beast is out of the Cage!

P.S. Forgot to mention Osby. Very sorry. He looked cool in that hat! And played well at times. But this band's still feeling their way and introducing another musician confused things, I thought. Not like Camden w/P&F last year.

Just my opinion. I see from above a lot of people liked it and that's great.

This was the closest thing to the feel of a GD show that I have expereinced with TOO/TD. And a first class experience at that.

I saw both Fri and Sat shows, so I have a lot to be thankful for in this second night at Camden. In short the Fri show was nice, but very disjointed. It seemed like a TAO concert, LOL. Certainly lots of high points, but Sat night's show was some thing completely different.

This show was a cohesive whole, even with two more new musicians sitting in. I thought Willie played his ass off doing some great lead work in the cowboy tunes. That is what I would like to see him so diring his own set, but instead he plays great songs that have been played and covered so much it is like watching reruns on TV.

One thng I haven't seen mentioned too much is the conspicuous presence of at least one or two classic Pink Floyd jams in each of these two shows. First night it was Atom Heart Mother and Echoes or Careful WithTHat Axe, Eugene and last night it was TIme from DSOTM. A few others, but I don't want to think too hard about it.

I, for one loved the moment when they lost it in Trucking, but the song and band kept on playing(were they ever even on?lol). It is that place in time where the magic of the dead is wide open for us to see. I smiled, and I saw a collective YIP! from the expressions on the bands faces.

This show really hit home for me. Sure hope to get my MOs for JOnes Beach.

I envy those of you who are follwoing the tour. What great fun everyone is having.

Later, enjoy it everyone.

Georgie? What, I'm chopped liver now? No calls no letters and no hugs at the show? I am trully offended.

>>In short the Fri show was nice, but very disjointed. It seemed like a TAO concert<<

now that's funny...

What happened to the stream for this show? Did Taper Rob ever post it? Do not get me wrong I am loving the 6/27 stream as well and enjoyed the others as well. Just curious if 6/28 streamed or is going to stream any time. Come to think of it I have not seen any posts from Taper Rob since 8:00 last night. Perhaps he is getting some well needed rest? Keep up the great streams! Love ya for it Rob

what a fabulous show,i had a blast!! was bummed i didn't meet any zoners ~ oh wait i caught up briefly with Fritz! anyway it was a great time!

Sorry Dew. Were you there? Only could find one zoner (Brian D). Ran into him because he had on a Philzone T. Been so busy I haven't been able to see the shows. Camden was it. About to leave for Neil Young at JB though. You think the traffic will be bad?

I'll email you. Will be in line for Bridgeport tomorrow morning.

One thing I'd like to say about the shows I've seen, the Energy of the songs played, and the order they are played in, is hard on the body. You get an up-beat song, then a calm mellow one, then an Up again, then a down again.

I'd like to see a few UP songs in a row please.

It seems like the Coney Island Cyclone Ride, a wooden rollercoaster that does a number on you.

What I'd like is the music going progressively up, up, up, Up, UP, UP, and don't come down until you've gone over the top!

>Love ya for it Rob


thanks much....



was meeting up with a bunch of zoners last night... kept noticing all these balloons in the parking lot... there were lots of fireworks too...
stayed out way too late...

great to meet all those i met last night....you know who you are....

had some technical difficulties last night, so the stream of 6/28 will be hitting your computer speakers sometime this evening..

thanks to all for your kind words of praise....
but all the thanks goes to Philzone.com for providing this little corner of the internet for us to enjoy

I loved parts of this show, was incredibly ill for about an hour which scared the bejesus out of me, and had an excellent end of second set. This show reminded me so much of Camden 2001 it isn't funny. TC, remember the ups and downs. How many times can you do Caucaphony Jam in one show? Sometimes more than once is enough for a lifetime,
but I loved it, and I love the two people I was with, and sometimes you do get shown the light, in the Strangest of places, right Huck? Thanks friend, thank you so very much for everything.

Which Bridgeport? Blues or Summit?

Just a few quickie comments from the peanut gallery here, maybe more later when my brain straggles back to where it belongs.

The 6/28 show at Camden last night was absolutely a trip, on many levels, much as the other shows have been for me over the last few weeks.

I have a lot to digest and think about. Not all of it good, but nothing to do with the music.

But for now, Musical highlights last night for me were Built to Last in the first set, and... like the whole second set!! I had a combination of places I hung, both inside and outside, and all offered different perspectives.

As i've gotten older, I prefer to be inside, as close as i can be, and in as acoustically as perfect a spot as i can eek out for myself. Its all about the sound for me, where it used to be all about the dance space. Now, I realize both are important to me.

I found myself right behind the soundboard in an elevated little area during the second set. The view was unobstructed, the crowd respectful, and the sound was divine!! Jimmy let loose and didn't pull back--unbelievable playing and soul. I remember at one point,in the middle of Eyes, I think, I turned to the guy next to me who looked like he was as in awe as I was, and I said, "Is it okay at this juncture to say that this band DOESN'T SUCK??" He said that we were in complete agreement that the band does NOT suck!

Mason's was clear, energetic and as good as usual. Love dancing to that song. I don't know where I was during China Doll, but I have NO MEMORY of that song. I must have been wandering in some strange headspace then. Might have taken a walk up the hill to see the river. Unbroken Chain... well, ahh! And St. Stephan was awesome, with a phenomenal W. Tell verse. Very powerful and tight. Was it Ripple where the harmonies were all screwy? At one point, I felt like i needed to hold my ears and cringe, but I can't remember if it was Ripple.

More in a min

Well I have to say that was one of the most enjoyable show experiences! From the lot to the show there were no hassles by security. The Cops were extremely hands off this year, which was really nice. We didn’t get out of our lot until after 2 and the cops were barely harassing the stragglers, I was shocked and very glad to see them being so cool.

Tim & Scarlett
OBIE & Kate
Mike McMullen
Grafix
LT & GT
Althea
Huck
NLights
Dancedude
Dewit
TaperRob

Thank you all!!! It was truly great getting to meet all of you finally. Even better then expected. Definitely one for the record books of all time great party gatherings.

I really enjoyed the show overall last night. We were up on the lawn directly behind one of the re-enforcement speakers, so the sound was ok. I wouldn’t call it great, but it was good enough. I really enjoyed the 1st set. It was a rocker. Danced the whole time. Meet up with a lot of friends and had a great time. After roasting in the seated section Friday night, it was really refreshing to be up on the lawn bare-foot. 1st set highlight was the BEAUTIFUL sunset over the Philly skyline during Race Is On. I hope someone took some shots of that one.

2nd set was good, but a lot looser then the first and a lot of moments when the jamming came to almost a complete stop before someone figured out where to go next. But there were a lot more high points then lows for me. Getting the WELL played Wm Tell bridge in St. Stephen was the highlight of the set for me. Low point was the butchered Ripple. That was a train wreck.

After show had some great eats on shakedown. If you see the big kind wookie girl selling the Thai Noodles.. GET SOME!!!!! Out of this world good. I went back for seconds.

Back to the cars to meet up with everyone again. BALLOONS all over the place and we all had fun with that. Near the end a tank setup about 25ft away from us. He was starting to run out of balloons and was giving away FREEBIE re-fills if you brought your balloon back!!! I couldn’t believe it, never seen that before. Enjoyed the heck out of it while it lasted.

ZONERS ROCK

WHAT A WEEKEND..most unreal circumstances in boomsville..every mishap turned into a crazy adventure. I really have nothing but the highest of praise for what I saw this awesome band lay out for us over the last two nights.

Wasn't nervous at all with regards to a let down show after the killer Friday night jamfest..vibe was too damn good not to keep on flowing. Stagger Lee was good old fashioned fun, stomping down old school style as the Sun began to set we had what I consider to be a perfect point in time looming..

Broken Arrow was my favorite moment of my 4 show run. The song was played remarkably well, Phils voice sounded great BUT there was so much more. The Sun setting over the Philly sky line was one for the ages..I turned to look and was completely taken with the moment..looking out over the lawn of smiling faces the sky had these long red streaks streched out and cascading into the heavens..let it sink in as I turned to the big screen where I saw a close up of Phil, with what has to be the most peaceful expressions there could possibly be, as he looked down and strummed his guitar. I could think of no place I'd rather be..I felt the love wash over us all.

The second set was bliss from start to finish. Loved Joan doing her thing in Lovelight.."you know when a girl's out on the road(something about a hotel room?)you know you get a lil lonely.."

SATURDAY

Reckoning's what I cut my teeth on so The Race Is On rocked IMO, a killer knee slappin' tune to play with Willie if there's ever been. Getting Saturday Night out of the way in the first set was a real good sign that many a east coaster was going to be sent home in fine fashion.

YEP

Masons got the danceAthon rolling in a major way. Joan really did China Doll some justice, watching her up there putting her soul into this lovely tune it occurred to me that while it's sometimes a little rough for us to get used to a new band memeber, especially when they're singing some of the tunes that we hold dearest in out hearts, she not only has to get used to the material, the band, Bobby ;)..she also has to get used to us..it just seems to me that she really digs what she sees when she looks out onto the crowd. Back to the danceAthon. Chain, Stephen>Bridge RAGED..Ripple->Sugar Mags was sooooo fucking cool that I was able to get over the fact that we didn't get the Eleven that I KNEW was going to fall all over us like a clensing rain. Perhaps the best way for me to describe my thoughts about this show..my soul was so recharged and filled with joy that I even enjoyed The Mickster singing Aiko.

Time to hit the salad bar and gym after a rather hedonistic weekend..had 4 1/2 cheese steaks and was still the light weight of my crew. Didn't have my phone for much of the weekend, nice seeing the zoners that I did. (((ber hug)))

Healing vibes to Super Wook who many of us saw phish face first into a pile of bottles..came around and promptly asked those tending to him if he could borrow 5 bucks. ahhhh the sights and sounds of Summer Tour.

I have been reading the reviews on here since the tour began, and was dissapointed that there were so many negative reviews, thinking the shows may not be very good. I attended Friday and Saturday nights shows, and they were both great. The negative (et) stuff is coming from negative people. I have seen shows for fifteen years, and these two shows were as good as any from the last few years. Unbroken, St Stephen, Ripple, Sug Mag, Bid You Goodnight!?!?!?! Damn that was awesome. With the sax! Red Rocks is going to be great!!

>>>>Its all about the sound for me

in full agreement Althea. Sound trumps almost everything. Even visuals. And few things get me more down than BAD sound. It is almost like I can tell they are RIPPING it up there but can't really hear it even with ear cups (which I even use sometimes up REAL close).

Out of the 4 shows I saw I thought the best sound was from middle to the right. Obviously the closer the better. For me I NEED to hear PHIL and JIMMY. Bobby can be in/out (soundwise) even if you are right in front of him. Drums you can hear from pretty much anywhere. Vocals are also pretty easy to hear from anywhere. Keys are nice to hear but for me NOT KEY, and usually well heard from almost anywhere. I just would rather have Jimmy drown out the keys than/vice versa.

1st night at Camden 1st set was all the way on rob/jeff's side and sound just wasn't that good. 2nd set got a little closer but all the way on Jimmy's side and it was like a different show. Maybe they turned everyone up but it just felt like everything was loud and everything was ripping and tasty from that spot. don't get me wrong I did ENJOY the first set but soundwise the 2nd set blew it away. I know this is the wrong night (thread) but during Comes A Time, WRS1&2 everything just sounded so good and the band was getting off so nicely that after after seeing 7 sets (this being) the 8th I had reached the conclusion that this band did infact have THE POWER (they came very very close in all the other shows I saw but did'nt quite quite make it). Bucky said to me after the Mansfield show, if I have to wonder whether I had an "eargasm" than I'm pretty sure I did'nt.

Well Bucky too bad you missed this jam because there was no doubt. The band got to THAT place and it was truly beautiful. Anyway been rambling here for long enough., that sound commnent just got me thinking and then my fingers started typing. Would have liked to post individual reviews for all the shows I saw but I'm really, really spent and have been really really busy (changing jobs and moving apts is NOT recommended during the middle of a Dead tour but it is possible). Anyway maybe I still will...

peace all, enjoy the rest of the tour and safe travels to all,
bones

ps-thanks to Taper Rob for getting these shows up on Zoner Radio, listening to St. Stephen from 6/28 and it sounds like the band is getting right back to that place...

pps-also a quick shout out to all the great zoners I met/saw/hungwith this time round

Huck (rocks!) and friend Beth
Mike Pace (thanks for the kind pregame)
Bradfest (great tiedyes bro..)
Bucky (THIS BAND IS WORTH SEEING AGAIN! TRUST ME)
The people who make this website possible you know who you are (great hanging before Camden 1!)

quick digresstion Jimmy is going apeshit during this St. Stephen,

had quick meet-ups with

Lites and Robin
Althea and Bri
Fritz, and Co. after the Mansfield (Thanks for the brews)
C eyes
Si Head
Carl W

hope to hang with you all again soon...

What a weekend!! Talk about a great time. Two perfect days of rockin' music, good people, great weather and orange sunsets. Thanks to the band for giving a lot of people some new memories and sparking some old ones. Kudos to the Ben Franklin bridge lighting coordinator -- the light show that corresponded with St. Stephen was sooo cool (or was that just me??). What was up with the dude that had no less than 10 guards carrying him off the lawn kicking and screaming?? Great to see some old friends again. But enough with the nitrous already everyone - the scene after the show with that was waaay too out of control. You gotta grab your friends and get away after a couple - ok three or four - but then we're leaving!! Nice hangin' with you Douchey -- see you at the vibes!!

"What a weekend!! Talk about a great time. Two perfect days of rockin' music, good people, great weather and orange sunsets. "

You said it. Awesome shows and a kick ass time. This was really fun. Camden on the waterfront is a nice venue. I love being out under the bridge on the Philly Harbor on a gorgeous day. Thought we'd get the Scarlet but I guess Vernon will instead. 6/27 was a hotter show but this one had more drawn out spacey jams. I wish there were 4 or 5 more shows to catch in New England. Again, Joan is awesome. Like the Grateful Dead, The Dead have there periods of highs and lows. Philly was a peak period in the tour.

forgot to mention J. Moore who called the Samson encore at Mansfield. impressive. that spot was sweet !

>>>>>>>Philly was a peak period in the tour

seems like it often is...

From NYC (love MSG) but must say I have never seen a bad show in Philly. First show ever was JFK 89 (super sick Scarlet>Fire, often overlooked and underratted, I put this Fire up against anyone ever played, absolutely psychotic!) .

Since then seen multiple GD shows, JGB, PLQ, and now "the dead". all fun high energy, great set lists, well played. great crowds also, too bad I missed TOO in Nov. as many say that was the best of that tour also. "Phil"ly hmmm, guess it makes perfect sense.

Some observations after reading previous reviews and then seeing my first two "Dead" shows in Camden:

1. Bob did not screw up much at all and didn't in my view try to dominate the proceedings.

2. Joan Osborne can be a little distracting and annoying with her strutting. Didn't think I would mind it, but I did a little bit. Still, she was terrific most of the time.

3. Phil's vocals sounded good. No better or worse than I'd heard from 20 Phil & Friends shows.

4. Jeff and Rob have very little to do. I heard more of Jeff's keys than Rob's.

5. I actually liked Mickey's singing on "Self Defense".

6. I enjoyed Friday a little more than Saturday mostly because of the Weather Report Suite. And New Speedway Boogie rocked big. I thought the China Cat was excellent but for some reason the Rider felt flat to me. Saturday's second set looks great on paper but wasn't as memorable as Friday's for me.

7. I'm happy I decided to catch a couple shows on the second leg.

8. The parking lot "scene" gets grimmer to me every time. Granted, the venue didn't provide a lot of garbage cans and it is Camden, but man it gets ugly in there.

SHOW WAS GREAT.

still liked wednesdays DS>Terrapin>Peggy-O sandwich better and feel that night was the peak period in the tour, but its all good. race is on was a real rocker, had us spinning off the aisles. The shakedown spicey chicken pita wraps were AWESOME! Anyone else catch the band in their buses leaving that place. Phil is such a comedian man!

The place was packed man. 20-25K packed? LOADED. never seen that many folks cramed into that place and hope i dont again. I felt sorry for the folks stuck on the lawn all night cause the sound does blow and i dont think theres a way of improving it. anyway, of the 3 shows i got im glad i got'em. Im also glad i didnt burn vacation time and go out of the way for these venues. saw alot of folks from fall '01 phil tour, and that felt REAL good!

Last thing, i must have counted 30 different roamers sat. night. and i really wasnt even looking for them.

Dammit. I never found Hurricane in his jester hat but I did introduce myself to about 6 other guys wearing jester hats so at least I met some new friends.

I'm in the camp that thought saturday was mediocre. IMHO, Friday was way more intense with several highlights. Saturday, I saw a mass exodus right about midway second set. The killer for me was that I 'missed' what seemed like the highlights - AL Getaway through Truckin' sounded pretty good from what I heard, but I was walking around the lawn and dealing with a few drunken fools, so i didn't get to my seats until Built to last which was weak. I couldn't get into saturday night until that point.
Second set start with drums was weak. I saw a posting that indicated there was over 90 minutes of non-song time between Sat Night and Playin. Way too long. Playin'>Eyes was good enough. I thought both songs on their own were above average. Then phil started teasing playin again out of eyes. I thought we could salvage the set. Instead, we ended up on mason's children. There's a reason this song was dropped from the rotation before it ever started. China doll w/o jerry - don't waste my time. UBC was good, but P&F (warren) does it WAY better. St Stephen came so out of nowhere, that i wasn't sure how to take it. And, frankly, I spent the entire time dreading bobby's new way of singing the eleven. Love Supreme and ripple were weak. Sugar mags was too little, too late.
Still, friday's show will keep me coming back for more. Any fall tour planned?

Oh yeah. LET ROB SING!!!

Saturday beat Friday night like a red-headed stepchild. The second set was biblical. Eyes, William Tell, Mason's, Ripple....Osby is terrific, although he looks like he aged about 15 years in the last 12 months.

This is not the same band that played in the fall.

(((ber hug))) back at ya skins
you may be happy we hung for the Arrow
but for me it was all about Comes a Time

I do find the evolution of the HuckleBerry BER Bear most interesting INDEED
but that's a joke for my OWN POOH BRAIN

oh yeah and scroto you're right
not the same band
by a longSHOT

Well as seems to happen to me way to often (and Im wondering with some of the folks on the board if Im creating ill will in the process, certainly hope not), my grand scheme for creating an easily recognizable spot didn't go quite as planned.

Made it up to Philly and the blood drive on Sat. around 12:30, and while won't go into great detail on that (did do a write up in Other section), was lucky to meet Graffix there and get to hang with him some, good meeting your Mark and appreciate you sharing some of the good shots you got. Was cool meeting Phil and just listening to him talk to folks, seemed quite down to earth and very much a what you see is what you get kind of guy, which came as no surprise. Did make him laugh when I threw out a "Let Rob Sing".... Ended up being at the blood drive much later than expected, not as much due to a crowd, but after having given blood dozens of times, don't think its ever taken that long to actually get the folks to stick a needle in my arm and drain me of the pint.

Ended up making the lot about 4pm (about 2 hrs later than planned), and while I didnt get into the main shakedown lot, was in the one right next to it. I'd brought a half dozen smiley face ballons with me. When I started tieing them off to the car folks all around me where complimenting me on my idea, so was feeling pretty smart, that is for about 2 minutes till actually got the balloons tied off with 20 feet of kite string. The wind was pretty whipping especially being as close to the water as I ended up being parked. So after getting the balloons set out, instead of sitting like a 20' foot beacon to all the zoners I hoped to meet, the wind pushed them sideways about 6' feet off the ground, and after an hour of watching them hit other folks around me, get tangled in cars 2 rows over from me and in general do everything except float 20 feet in the air, i reeled them in to about 8' where they couldnt bother all my neighbors. Felt pretty stupid at that point and started calling all the folks who's cell #'s I had, hoping to locate them or point them in the direction of where I was set up. I did get to run into Jackstraw and Jerman (briefly) but that was more due to fact they ended up getting parked right near my spot and just happened to see the balloons, but as I was flying solo at this show, really wanted to make sure I saw a few folks. After reading the posts under the review section of the show, seems like all the folks I was hoping to meet were able to catch up with each other, so I guess I need to improve on my tracking folks down skills.

Althea and Brian, Huck, Dewit, GT and LT (nice to talk with you again Abigail even if I couldn't find ya'll), Spinny J, Fritz (try again at Jones Beach?), Bradfest, Northern Lites, Scarlet and Angelique, and Drew, I appreciate if you tried to track me down via the balloon plan I'd laid out, I'm sorry it was a bust and was quite bummed not to get to hang with you good folks.

Don't think I can add too much to whats been posted before but will throw in my 2 cents....

Of the 3 shows I've caught so far (Roo, Merriweather), and Sat. camden, for me each one has been an improvement upon the last. Thought Willie's guitar added a nice "cowboy" feel to the first set. Show started out with high energy (more than I'd felt at previous two), and didnt really seem to slow down all night. Nice opening jam into Alab. Getaway. Mama Tried with Willie sitting in, left me feeling like I should have been sitting in some dusty bar in Abilene....Thought Bobby was going to burst a blood vessel during Little Red Rooster, he seemed to be enjoying himself so. Was glad to see the obligatory Sat. Night taken care of in the first set, so it left the encore open for something besides the obvious.

Greg Osby's horn is become a regular part of Phil or the "boys" playin' at Camden and hope that trend continues, as he added alot to the tunes he sat in on and transports me back to the few shows we caught with Brandford. 2cd set opener of Drumz/Space was a real throwback to the good old days and one of the crazier/trippier than I'd seen in a good long while. At the blood drive Sat. morn, Phil had hinted w/a goofy grin on his face towards the "eyes" and with Osby coming out from the pre-jam on, could understand while Phil's grin had been so big.

Having caught Joan doing China Doll at Bonnaroo, thought her version that night was quite beautiful but that Saturday's was amazing and just shows what a little time adjusting to a new band can do for a song. The look on Bobby's face when he goofed up the Ripple lyrics was classic, it looked like he was begging the rest of the band to throw him the next line...pretty funny stuff.

Don't think I've ever seen the lawn as packed as it was Saturday night, and left me feeling a little overwhelmed in the tracking anyone down department, but for those standing on the left side of the lawn (as you look at the stage), not sure we could have gotten a prettier sunset (even if it is pollution driven) and watching the transition come over philly, the river, and Ben franklin bridge, from daytime to night was quite beautiful.

Saturday night just left me wanting more!!

PS...one sour note, when did folks coming to shows become such pigs, I passed out a couple dozen garbage bags sat. night and couldn't believe the mess as I tried to find my car post show.....

>>I do find the evolution of the HuckleBerry BER Bear most interesting INDEED

HuckleBerry->Berries->Ber->Pooh Ber

your cosmic fleeting visits were too cool

So right about the Comes A Time although my wasted friends were a bit too chatty. Like Phil says..when they play quiet we need to "listen hard"

I would like to add that Jimmy kicked ass during SSDD..killer unbridled jamming

I was not going to post or write a review because I don’t have the time, but after reading some of this dribble, my goat is got.

I attended Thursday’s show at PNC and the two Camden shows. I’m a huge PLQ fan as I love how Phil has taken the music to the next level. Without Molo and Warren, I was predisposed to not like these shows. I told myself to go for the fun of it and enter with no expectations of which I did. I’m not one of those Stepford fans. I call em as I see I see (and hear) em and in my judgment, I’m reading way too much picayune negativity about these shows. My experience both nights were entirely positive.

Granted, Camden has many pockets of poor sound and I was fortunate (thanks to my bro LG) to have close to stage, center section (102) seats both shows. Aside from this venue's flaws and some clunky transitions between songs (which even PLQ is prone to), these shows rocked! Let me count the ways:

Joan has bought real magic to this band. They sorely needed a strong vocal backbone and now they have one. She can sing every jerry tune as far as I’m concerned. She has reenergized the overall sound and injected more life into Bobby’s game than I thought possible.

The drummers have got their bounce back. I saw them last year and compared to Molo, every song sounded a bit slooooow. Not this time

Although he will always be an ensemble team player, Jimmy with his new Jerry sounding guitar seems much more comfortable and capable in the lead role. The man can flat out play and in this band he is stepping it up while stepping into some huge shoes. I don't know anyone alive who could do it better

I knew Rob could play, but Jeff Chementi’s piano skills were awesome

The new sound system is great. Instruments and vocals are sharp.

Kick ass lighting and visuals

Great happy vibe onstage: Rob and Jeff hugging after songs. Pregame huddles. Big ending group bows. Even Jimmy broke out his smile

Band is savvy enough to keep adding guests, which help to complete the sound. Randall and Steve at PNC were great. Willie playing the first set (great lead on Rooster) and a more confident Gregg Osby (great lead on Eyes) Sunday in Camden made for a stellar show.

Whoever said Bobby was running this band is sorely mistaken. Make no mistake about it, Phil is the man pulling all the strings.

Another correction, the William Tell Bridge came at the end of St Stephen. There was no hint, jam or suggestion of the Eleven. (although it would have been great to hear).

Yes we can be picky and say the Truckin was not played out, Bobby was too excitable, Joan is not Jerry (she’s way hotter), but as far as I’m concerned this by far (aside from PLQ) was the best Dead music I’ve seen since 1991.

Special thanks to LG, Ed (Ripple), Wil, Michael McMullen, David, Less, Kody, Mitchell, Gregg, JBKen, Rosenbergs, Sam, Bret, Joey and all those sweet young eyecandy deadgirls for adding to my great overall show experiences.

I will be a Pooh Ber if LT can be the Tigger
he jumps around tiggertastic imho
hee hee hee
CHRIS(topher) ROBIN -- that's easy
Kanga and Roo -- the Gypsy Bus girls
for that ride is a comfortable pouch

Rabbit has friends and relations
we know
because rabbit's cell phone won't shut up at the show

6/28
the second set was the classic MOTHAFUCKA
PLAYIN>>EYES
with a huge Jimmy solo in it that
even though Jimmy soared
was still ALL ABOUT PHIL (esp in that lawn/pav gulley, right Schmegg...LOW TONES)
"sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own"
deep spacey Playinesque jam
funkier
then CRASH
not so smooth but hey it's MASONS (and it was waaaay stronger than VA beach, joan is better with the words)
into a quiet jam
yes yes could it be
is it?
YES
China Doll
and then mothahell
UNBROKEN CHAIN
(it's not like a rocker, the way Philco does it, more jazzy and Jimmy SHINES, THANK YOU CANDACE FOR THE LILAC RAIN )
another jam
quiet......

then jesus H I roared from my seat
ST STEPHEN
complete with a lil will tell
(shades of a Hard to Handle bass line, imho)
Bobby gets his acoustic

A LOVE SUPREME JAM
a love supreme indeedlydo

and then RIPPLE!?!?!?!
they screwed up the lyrics but that in itself is PERFECTLY ABSURD
and glad I was up close to catch the looks and play btwn Joan and Bob

Sugar Magnolia
dead on kick out the jams
go BOB
the end was over the top and I LOVED IT

wow what a night
solid lasers of light emanating from this band as they entered the power center
BRAVISSIMO

"LOW TONES"

-YOU TALKIN TOO ME?

its all about the sweet spot man. havent found my seat in 10 years because of this horrible addiction to THE PHILZONE!

that gully & eyes was a fucking riot man. had to be there!

Without going on about the show, if you are lucky enough to have Huck as a friend, you will know what I mean right here. You saved my life on Saturday, and now that I know it was bad water, I feel OH so much better. Not many would have done what you did, nor shown so much caring. I really appreciate it, and it probably saved me a trip to the ambulance. You are my friend, and I am proud of it. My date was pretty impressed by you, and your caring. Thought that that should be passed along in public. Probably doesn't get said enough.

Love, L.

what a night indeed, huck!!! sorry we missed ya at set break. my phriend had to go to the bathroom and we went together (oh the adventures of 2 f**ked up girls going to the bathroom and getting water by themselves. i'm used to tim guiding me along. this time i was the leader no wonder we wound up everywhere! ~ made many friends during that journey!!!). so glad i found you, beth, kirsten and the gypsy bus though!

i was most pleased indeed after this show ~ energy was magical from the start in parking lot all the way to getting into bed and snuggling with my scarlet dog!!!

>>>i was most pleased indeed after this show ~ energy was magical from the start in parking lot all the way to getting into bed and snuggling with my scarlet dog!!!



Me too, but he wasn't a dog...all good things in all good time. It was cool to run into you in the lot Scarlet, you and Tim and your buds.

I am smelling GNO out again...we can make up the guidebook to water/pee runs and sell it for a fortune to new tour rats.

S'cool, dewie dawg......everything happens for a reason I suppose.
Glad you are feeling better.

and I'm good as a friend in the manic upswing but when I bottom out it's rather trying for folks. Thanks for putting up with it.

If its rather trying for folks, then maybe the scales ought to be turned a bit...better or worse, you and I been through both, you are my friend...and thanks for being part of a most wonderful wonderful weekend, and for hanging in there, being there, and all else. You were quite kind to me, and quite kind to the boyfriend, and I was very touched by the concern shown by both of you.

Both nights were great shows, they might even top TOO 2 night run at the spectrum. But i wanna know from you heads which night ou preferred? (for those who went both nites). Personally, if were talking songs i wanted to hear... Friday. Stagger Lee, Mexicali, Shakedown, WRS 1&2, Lovelight, Dancin encore. It was priceless. The second nite reminded me too much of the Phil show last yr in Camden. It was still on itself a glorious show with great tunes well played, but rarity of the tunes played on Friday is what tripped me out... Comes a time!!! Classic show IMHO

"Me too, but he wasn't a dog...all good things in all good time"

Hmmm, what's the supposed to mean?

And I have to second the emotion on Huck - you are a truly wonderful friend indeed.

to the boyfriend???????????????????? What happened to sex toy?

You guys who don't like Willie's guitar playing oughta listen harder- think of it as the exact opposite of Jimmy's style but they're both coming out of the same place to begin with.He's a master cocktail jazz stylist and can crank out the blues with the best of them. And girls seem to enjoy showing their 'puppies' to this 70 year old guy...

I’m a little late on providing a timely review of Friday’s and Saturday’s shows. I initially planned on providing a detailed review of both shows, including comments from my buddy who just got on the bus this year at age 36. But somewhere over the course of the weekend I reach the point of tranquility and gratification for what the band is trying to do and decided not get too worked up about the bumps in the road.

Now don’t get me wrong, I'm not in the camp that says “it’s all good and glad they all on the same stage”. I still have a personal preference for the style that a certain band member has with his band, but this is not time or place for that discussion. Besides from what I could see from the tenth row on Saturday night it look like he was having a blast. I wish I had a picture of Phil’s face during one of the jams with Willie, it was priceless.

Friday night I had a chance to share the show with the enthusiasm of a good friend who’s was seeing his first show and Saturday I had great view of the stage watching the band have a good time. I thought both performances were solid, with a few bumps in the road and at times a few on my arm, but all in all I had a great weekend.

My only regret is I was not able to run into more of you folks before the show. It was great meeting Mark (a.k.a Photo, formerly known as Caps) and his wife. He put a lot of leg work into more of us meeting last fall and this summer. I didn’t know he had such a green thumb. I look foward to see more of his pictures. I hope they turn great. Photo, I'm glad you were able to find some else to hook you up with a prime spot. I knew there was no way I could handle the job, your would have certainly come out with “All things weird” not so sure about wonderful?

A few observations from Saturday:

Jimmy is great tight rope walker. Besides the obvious, he was really listening when Willie was involved in the Jam, allowed him room to contribute, without being too hesitant in his playing.

Phil’s big old grin during the Jam with Willie was Priceless

>>> Phil and Bobby laughing and talking, chating, having a minor band meeting...

This looked like Phil lobbying for a different song, and eventually getting his way to me. It also looked like he was suggesting something else after love supreme, maybe something even a little crazy, judging by the eventual shrug, nod and grin after his discussion with Bobby. I read the look on Phil’s face like he was thinking “yea o.k., maybe you are right, but it still would have been cool”.

Bobby spacing during Ripple between: "Ripple in still water, When there is no pebble tossed, Nor wind to blow” and “Reach out your hand if your cup be empty”. Joan was trying to visually cue him by reaching out her hand, it didn't help so she had to feed him the line. The band had a little laugh,and so did Bobby. Classic Bobby.

Between the bow at the end of the show and the buses rolling by and letting out a series of big horn blast for the crowed, it sure seemed like they had a good time.

Final thought: I posted this in a couple of places here today, but I think it really made a difference in my perception of the show. My little mantra before the show “This is not the Grateful Dead, Jerry is no longer with us, this is not PLQ, this will not be Ratdog; God willing, this will be something else. Enjoy what you have today”.

Feel free to try it and see if it make a difference in your experience.

The boyfriend isn't a dog, nor a sex toy, unless that is what he aspires to be when he grows up, but then, that mind would be a terrible thing to waste. You have a big heart, don't you...and Huck, really, you were great, both of you were oh so kind and sweet.

Friday, second set, my favorite whole set...every other show had moments of purity and clarity, but that was my favorite set...it flowed, it made me dream, and I got to dance with my honey to some very special songs.

hey david C. I got a question for you:
What tune did u think phil was hinting to after love supreme? I cuaght the love supreme riff, but then the jam started to sound like a slow- beat milestones, which they played last year greg osby on sax. Anyway, what did u hear instead of love supreme and milestones?

Hey Mathieu - It really had little to do with what I was hearing and more to do with me watching Phil and Bob's conversation at the conclusion of "love supreme jam".

I certainly heard love supreme and was even singing it in my head, but I'm not sure if I would call the slower part milestones or not? I was at last years show and thought it flat out smoked. I'm wondering if the “milestones” is more of us re-calling last years show? I would have to hear the disk.

Joan's China Doll is sublime. Big ups to Jeff on the organ here, too. Wow.

>>don't waste my time

Whaddaya, fuct? Know what? I heard a number of Jerry versions that WERE a waste of time. Creaky, phlegmy vocals or forgotten lyrics. Many were saved by some tasty guitar on the coda, but vocally, like on Comes A Time, Joan has set the new standard.

If someone can say that China Doll was more than a snoozefest MOST of the time it was performed in their "concert going" lifetime, I would express dumbfoundedness.

If I thought it necessary, I would go back to the P&F reviews and see if the same Joan naysayers were also Warren naysayers, with regard to the almighty "Jerry Ballads". At this point in time, would Phil really encourage ANYONE to sing one of the 'Sacred Cows", unless said vocalist wasn't going to pay it reverence and respect?

Let me just remember with the utmost of peace and grace, the intense beauty of Joan singing Comes A Time, and that it was actually better than a Warren version, TO ME, or the shattering crystalline beauty of her rendition of China Doll.

Perhaps its time for a review of the shows I saw, perhaps not, but this argument is old...the "tapes" are the proof in the pudding.