8-13-99 Red Rocks Amphitheater Morrison, CO
Phil Lesh & Friends

(click here to see two-day-in-review reviews)

band line-ups -- Tom F., 09:21:50 08/19/99 Thu

Phil & Friends are the closing act for each show. The only show where that was not the case was the first night of Denver at the Fillmore. Since this is a club, it stays open late. Phil played 2nd....from approx 9 to 11. Galactic played at midnight. Phil can't stay up that late.

I was completely blown away by all 3 Denver shows. It seems to me that they are picking up steam as they go along. I have a feeling that the Greeks and Santa Barbara are going to be really great.....enjoy

Red Rocks 8/13 -- Bongo, 14:37:00 08/17/99 

Tue  8/13 Red Rocks Amp. Morrison, CO

Phil announces It's A Show For Dick

Phil dedicated the whole show, but particularly Viola Lee Blues to Dick. When it finally ended half an hour later, Phil said "that was for you, Dick."

Viola (~28 mins)
Very, *very* funky. The jam featured about 15 minutes of intense, sustained, in your face walking bass from Phil, thundering through space. Incredible.
Duprees (WH)
Very tight arrangement.
Alligator
Bird Song
These ran into one another. The alligator slipped right back into the bass-driven full band jamming seen in VLB, Bird Song stretched.
Just a Little Light
Awesome. Stunning. Great. Warren on vocals, Steve on mutron.
Sugaree
Warren on vocals again. Strong.
Stella
Wish You Were Here
WYWH sequed out of the last note of Stella. Phil again leading the pulse on WYWH, driving the beat with solidity and purpose.
Scarlet>
Fire

Little weak on the vocals...some of these melodies contain notes which Phil can't sing, and so he alters these melodies at points. Strong jamming throughout.

All in all, the best of the Colorado shows. But to be fair, this was this lineup's 2nd set together. I predict the next set with Michael Kang and co. will also soar.

                                                        cheers, --bongo

Red Rocks 8/13 -- Nicholas Brush, 08:21:08 08/17/99 Tue

Unfortunately circumstances made us late for this night, so I didn't catch the first half of
moe.'s set. I don't know them well, and this was my first time seeing them live. I had heard
some of 2 of their CDs at times, that my roommate plays. When I went in, moe. was playing
my favoite tune by them (if anyone could help with the title.....) "They say it's nice up there
Anchorage...." For some reason, I've heard less than enthusiastic reviews of them lately, incl.
at Red Rocks. I didn't find the set particularly inspiring that I recall, but I don't recall that part a lot anyway as I was not yet focused on the show, and don't recall much about the set. I'm
actually looking forward to seeing moe. at Summer Sessions in Baltimore in a couple weeks.
As I said before , I thought Friday night's String Cheese set was the better one, and I
particularly liked their choice of covering (Weather Report's) Birdland. 

I forgot to mention that Thursday night's closer was Galactic, from New Orleans. They played long and hard, with more focus on jamming, I thought, that at Red Rocks, and they played much longer. I heard some stories of them playing in New Orleans until 4 or 5 in the morning, once jamming with Mike Kang . I met a guy at the show who got to party with Kang a couple of times this year - he was pretty psyched about meeting him !! At the Fillmore and at Red Rocks, we got the nucleus of Phil's group, Kimock & Molo, with SCI's Kyle Hollingsworth on keyboards and Warren Haynes on guitar and vocals. I was beginning to accept the idea that this would be the lineup for the whole tour. 

Night one at Red Rocks opened much like Phil & PRIENDS, with a looong almost half an
hour) Viola Lee Blues that examined the many possibilites within that song. Warren did a
particularly good job on Dupree's Diamond Blues. When I first heard that Jorma sang this with the "Friends", I thought this would be the definitive post- Jerry version (see new CD), but I think Warren may have bested Jorma on this one. Next was a loping, funky, version of
Pigpen's Alligator, then a Birdsong which was sounding a hell of a lot like Dark Star until they
started playing the main melody. 

One of my favorite moments of the run came next: Warren doing his best Brent voice with Just a Little Light. I am overjoyed that Brent was finally recognized and respected enough for someone to play one of his songs. I must admit that the remark earlier in my 8/12 review about lack of passion in singing is based on Warren SOUNDING so much like Brent, but then not hearing the dramatic presentation that Brent always displayed. I'd like to see them do Blow Away, which would have been particularly applicable for this show, as Phil had some sheet music that just wouldn't stay on his stand due to high winds..... Warren, surprisingly, was also the lead singer for Sugaree, which he did well, but Phil had actually done a fine job singing lead on this one at other Friends shows. The instrumental Stella Blue was cool, though IMHO not as good as the Phriends version at the Warfield. Ditto Wish You Were Here, which nevertheless was my first and was a real goosebump moment. 

They finished out the show with a well played Scarlet>Fire, though I'd say this one for me comes under the category of Songs Phil should let someone else sing. (like Hornsby / Hart for instance). Once again, no encore. This was a particularly good night for jamming, and Warren on guitar and Hollingsworth on keys really worked. I think Warren compliments Kimock well because they don't cover the same territory - Warren doing bluesy, occasional slide stuff, and Kimock more with jazzy circular figures.

Red Rocks Friday 8/13 -- Andy Stewart, 09:05:19 08/16/99 Mon

Wow, what a return to Red Rocks! Moe was rockin', but most people were still trying to find a seat/beer/groove. String Cheese was definately psyched to be playing in the legendary Red Rocks, and had the attention of the numerous local fans. Their energy was high and the 'Cheeseheads were treated to some fast boogien'.

After the set break, Phil comes out and announces' "Man, it's good to be back here!!! This show, and this set especially, are dedicated to Dick." Then they rip into a smokin' 1/2 hour long Viola Lee Blues!! We knew we were in for something special. Warren then sang a Dupree's, which showcased his Brent-like vocals, but you could tell he wasn't completely familiar with the guitar lines, a little clunky I felt. Alligator ripped again, and then into Birdsong. Having just heard Bobby sing it five days earlier in Aspen, I kept thinking that the energy just wasn't quite there... The rest of the set seemed to confirm that thought. Just a Little Light was fun and unexpected, but again felt forced. Stella Blue was a sweet instrumental, slowing the pace even more. Wish You Were Here - by this point we really wished he was here, to bring us back up to the high energy levels of VIOLA! After the standard version of Scarlet - Fire and long between-song breaks, Phil announces "Thats all  the time we have, thanks" and the lights come on!?! NO ENCORE? Is it just the curfew, or is the band just spent? The crowd sits in stunned silence, wondering                        what happened to the amazing start, watching the band pack it up and leaving us craving more....

8/13/99 -- Jon, 20:09:46 08/15/99 Sun

Friday night at red rocks was incredible. Great sound, great view and of course great music and fans. I was disappointed because I missed MOE. and they are one of  my favorite bands. I would love to get tapes of this show, If anybody taped it and want to trade let me know.