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ZONE
OUT with The ROLLING RIDER
This
Week: Tour Diary from the Western Region Pt. 1
DENVER 10.24.00
A lil' quickie report from the philmore last night...lesh took the stage
for a 'jam' with his friends before night had fallen on denver. wandering
in from the twilight, the Denver locals were out in full force to welcome
phil, and he reciprocated with a warm 'here comes sunshine' opener,
which included a searching jam, and a rousing culmination: 'keep that
mother rollin' ONE MORE TIME'. 'the wheel' was one of the strongest
versions of the song i've heard, dead or otherwise. grateful dead
101 then continued with a dire wolf>cumberland. Much camaraderie abound,
as the Colorado crowd nestled in and gave some of those good' ol'
rocky mountain vibes. 'sugaree' included some deft guitar work by two
key members of the dream team, warren and jimmy. My companion said it
best about warren: "i don't think there's any song he can't sing".
true, true.' new potato caboose', a zen trickster standard, allowed rob
barracco to really dig in...and the segue to 'passenger' brought the
Fillmore faithful to a veritable frenzy. "the only game in town"
indeed.
Set 2's 'jam' into 'dark star' took the night to a new level, which warren punctuated with a thunderous version of 'she said' by the beatles. after that, as they say in EnnWhySee, 'forget about it...', i.e. cryptical>other one>the eleven. Barracco is really shining on vocals and keys. 'turn on your lovelight' brought down the house', and a reprise of 'Cumberland' surprised even the band. after a few minutes of indecision at the encore (i felt an unbroken chain tuning - alas, it was not to be) Phil led the troops into a haunting version of 'cosmic charlie', leaving fans with a very clear explanation of the song's title. The very first word is 'how do you do?' The last: 'go home your mama's calling you.' This is your Rolling Rider, reporting live from B Block.
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DENVER 10.25.00 The Rider here, using this time out of mind to comment oh so briefly on the Philmore Part Two. a siege took place on the only payphone at the fillmore, so i spent alot of the first set staring at the back of a dreadlocked, bleach-blonde, glass-bead-n-other random-junk-adorned 'head in line. My erstwhile companion called the 'speedway' two hours before the show, of course, and two of my top 10 all time jerry songs were played in succession: dupree's and ramble on rose. Rob barracco then took control and delivered a poignant first set version of 'wharf rat', displaying intricate key work as well as being a more-than-adequate August West. The 'cold rain and snow' closer brought the denver faithful to a fever pitch, with phil thumpin' and chuggin' along with the CRS just like days of old.
after a short setbreak, phil and his friends seemed to magically materialize on stage playing a very spacey tuning which formed immediately into 'attics of my life'. Dumbfounded, i checked with the guy next to me if this was the second set opener and he confirmed that it was. Attics proved only to be a tease, as phil led the boys into a confident and methodic 'unbroken chain'. i don't think i've ever heard such a 'tight' version of this abstract melody. 'stella blue' followed, with lyrics (!). although i enjoyed nothing better than kimock's taffy-like slide guitar playing on this one, warren and jimmy stepped up. you don't want to take on warren and jimmy as a duo in ANY guitar alley, if you know what i mean. 'i know you rider', always the classic, catapulted the crowd back into 'shake yer bones' mode, and the pairing of rider with 'st stephen', which followed, was profound. stephen into 'eleven jam' was the crowd-pleaser, but the heaviest moment of the night for me HAD to be the 'black peter'. Again I quote my friend: 'it's hard to hear him sing some of those songs'. The Peter and the Days are tough for me. Any tears were wiped from our eyes, though, as phil blasted into the sorely anticipated 'viola lee blues'. when it began, i was sure that the boys couldn't possibly match the 105 minute viola>rolling stone>viola energy of last year, but the impossible is possible with phil, as he interspersed 'the golden road' within the viola suite.
'noboby's finished, we ain't even begun!...'
amen, phil. amen. ah yes, and the 'attics' did come. always a beautiful and heart-wrenching encore. Phil and friends 2000 sounded bassy and haunting on the attics harmonies. 'i have spent my life seeking all that's still unsung bent my ear to hear the tune and closed my eyes to see'. -RR.
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VEGAS 09.27.00 The Rolling Rider here with a lil' update from one of the truly most enjoyable venues this varmint has ever been dehydrated in...mandalay bay, in the united states of Las Vegas! prediction: the wilterns will be instant classics. phil, warren 'pulpit' haynes and the rest of the dream team are riding the crest of a beautiful wave, and bubbling over with the confidence to throw in some new shreds... shakedown street was an oxymoron in Vegas, with the sparse smattering of heads lingering in front of the house of blues no match for an entire city of lights, losers, and lady luck.
The acoustic quality and the set-up of the house of blues is comparable to the Warfield, albeit without the tradition. After a short jam, however, the room was christened as a lil' mecca with the bust-out of 'dear mr fantasy', warren and jimmy trading cresendo after cresendo. david copperfield would've been jealous of the utter MAGIC in the house of blues. here on the ninth anniversary of bill graham's death, i couldn't help but think of the handsome man who would ride on a white horse and shoot clay pigeons 12345 justlikethat. fantasy was followed by an apropos 'deal', easily my all-time favorite rendition of the song. everyone in mandalay bay was grinning from ear-to-ear, as we realized, including phil, that this truly was a fantasy>deal. 'friend' seemed perfect, and i thought of warren haynes as he readied himself for the homestretch of this memorable fall tour. 'Casey Jones' was a veritable show-stopper, with the friends once again culminating the Case with endless, impossible crescendos. the foolish was easily the best i've heard from phil and friends, warren and jimmy navigating through it's delicate abstract bridges. that song has some big shoes to fill, but i have no complaints after Vegas. warren soulfully closed the set with 'built to last', and again i felt like the song was for warren, as he doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Set Two opened with a Bill Graham jam into 'our love is real not fade away'. anyone who ever entered the city limits of oakland let a tear slip down as Phil chugged along to the NFA. seeing the friends in such a cool venue reminded me of the poem:
'Love Haight,
at the Fillmore, late,
with a broom in his hand.
he made the world a safer, better place,
for our Tribe and our Band'.
NFA was followed by a searching, long-awaited 'eyes'. from this moment on, it became the rob barracco show. the zen trickster keyboardist had fun with 'strawberry fields' by the Beatles, which he let flow into a very spacey jam, and the screens manifested some cheesy, austin powers-like, summer of love psychedelia. not a big beatles-tune fan is yours truly, but the 'doin' that rag' which followed is one of my all time faves. kudos to barracco for nailing each of these intricate hunter lyrics. 'hipsters, tricksters, and real cool chicksters' alike grooved along with barracco, who has really solidified himself as a dear friend, playing respectfully, humbly, and creatively. and for the second half of the second set, this guy traded licks like hornsby! rob barracco can flat-out play the piano with a vengeance when need be. this guy 'gets it'. after standing out in the pouring rain most of the afternoon, the 'scarlet>fire>jam>sugaree' was perfect, phil outlasting most of the 20, 30, or 40 something deadheads in the room with ease. where does this energy come from? from some fountain I suppose, and not one made by the hands of men.
'just a little
light' punctuated the second set beautifully, warren channeling all of
the love and soul of the night into a near-flawless version of this brent
standard. after achieving the pulpit on many a crescendo, the rider
has now seen warren encompass the trinity -- pigpen, brent, and jer. who
would've thunk it? THIS ONE'S A KEEPER, PHIL! the 'cold rain and
snow' encore somehow added insult to injury, with most heads literally
ready to pass out from exhaustion after the 4 hour and twenty some-minute
experience, and phil still ripping along. the mandalay bay crowd provided
amazing background vocals, howling along with a collective 'rain and snoooooohhooohhhhohhhoho'
that surely made Jerry smile from above.
All in all, a great deal. 'Til the Wiltern… -Rolling Rider in Vegas.
Out.
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