Phil Lesh's 74th BD Party at Terrapin Crossroads, March 15, 2014

Phil Lesh
2014-03-15
Terrapin Crossroads
100 Yacht Club Drive, San Rafael, CA
8:00 PM, Saturday, March 15, 2014

[7:45 PM phil out for his regular noodling; off by 7:55 PM]
[8:09 PM lights down, announcements]

1. [8:10 PM] Good Love (J)
2. [8:22 PM] Friend of the Devil (P)
3. [8:31 PM] Althea (T) » [8:42 PM] segue jam »
4. [8:43 PM] Playin' in the Band (J) »
5. [8:56 PM] Prayer for Spanish Harlem (J)
6. [9:02 PM] (Walk Me Out in the) Morning Dew (T)
7. [9:14 PM] Box of Rain (P)
   [set ends 9:23 PM]

[10:03 PM Phil out to noodle, off by 10:12 PM]
[10:16 PM Chris Robinson out with the band, yeah!]

1. [10:18 PM] Bertha (C)
2. [10:27 PM] They Love Each Other (C)
3. [10:35 PM] The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion) (C) »
4. [10:47 PM] Sugaree (C)
   [11:00 PM CR off]
5. [11:02 PM] Mountains of the Moon (P) » [11:25 PM add AK] jam »
6. [11:25 PM] drums [AK off at stop]
7. [11:32 PM] space » [11:36 PM +CR] Caution » [11:42 PM] Got My Mojo Working » [11:44 PM] Caution jam »
8. [11:46 PM] Comes a Time (C) »
9. [11:57 PM] Uncle John's Band (J/P)
10. [12:07 AM] Terrapin Station (P)
    [set ends 12:23 AM all off, Phil last; mini cupcakes during the break, yum!]
     
    Encore
11. [12:30 AM Donor rap; 12:32 AM band out with ES CR]
12. [12:33 AM] In the Midnight Hour (ES/CR) »
13. [12:39 AM] Whole Lotta Love (ES)
    [show ends 12:44 AM band introduction; all off at 12:46 AM]

[walk in around 12:55 AM, the band is ragin' through Mary Jane]

1. Last Chance for Mary Jane (G/D)
2. [1:04 AM] Mama Tried (G)
3. [1:09 AM] Going Down the Road, Feelin' Bad (R)
   [1:15 AM done; we try to linger, but security kicks us out right quick tonight!]

• Jackie Greene: guitar, slide guitar, percussion, lead and harmony vox;
• Tom Hamilton: guitar, vox;
• Phil Lesh: bass, + lead and harmony vox;
• Adam MacDougall: keyboards, harmony vox;
• Joe Russo: drums, percussion;
  - with a little second set help from -
• Alex Koford: drums, lead & harmony vox;
• Chris Robinson: guitar, percussion, lead and harmony vox;
• Emily Sunderland: lead and harmony vox.

• ?Mike Anderson: bass;
• Danny Click: guitar, vox;
• Ross James: guitar, vox;
• Greg Loiacano: guitar, vox;
• ?Dan Luehring: drums.

We get to Terrapin around 6:30, but didn't find any parking on Yacht Club, so Ting hops out to grab a spot in the queue while I circle back out to the frontage road, off to look for a free space. Mission soon accomplished, I wander over to find that the line is about the same length as Thu, which is to say long, but tolerably so. We pass a pleasant 30 or 40 min, socializing with the assorted friends and kooks around us, then pass the entrance gauntlet to claim a few square feet of floor space and continue socializing while waiting for showtime. I'm happy to comment that we're surrounded by good folk (well, for the most part…), and the time passes quickly enough.

Unfortunately, Anders is still sick; tonight's guitar and vocal stand-in will be Tom Hamilton (of American Babies, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, and Brothers Past). Turns out that Tom knows his dead tunes pretty well. Although there are a few times where one (or both!) guitarists seem kind of lost (cough, Comes a Time, cough, cough), the show is fun. It's always a curious thing to see how well new players knit themselves into the fabric of the post-Grateful Dead, Phil Lesh and friends tapestry; of late, it seems as if Phil is headed back towards the extended, out-there jams pioneered by the fabled Q in the late 90's. I like that trend, though I understand how some folks might complain about the over-abundance of “noodly bullshit” as pretty much every tune gets mangled, rearranged and stretched out past the ten-minute mark.

The appearance of Chris Robinson was a surprise to me – I hadn't really thought much at all about who tonight's special guests might be – and while a few folks around me grumbled to see him, I was glad. I think his singing is obviously better than anyone else onstage, and I like the cosmic hippie energie that he puts out too. Get that mojo workin' indeed! I heard after the fact that he surprised Phil in the bar at set break, leading the band there in a spirited rendition of the Beatles' Birthday – that would have been fun to hear; I guess I shouldn't have been such a slug!

I was kinda beat by the time the encore rolled around, so I'm happy that the two encore choices were both fairly short. I was a little surprised that Emily muscled out Chris on Midnight Hour – he sang only the second verse, rather than swapping, but my guess is that he was simply acting the gentleman's part in sharing the spotlight. Whole Lotta Love was a big surprise for the final tune – has Phil done that before? – and while it was a fun romp, it was also a bit of a musical mismatch compared to the standard repertoire. Celebrating both the sublime and the profane?

Hopped up from the music, we headed over to the bar upon being pushed out of the Grate Room, walkin in just as Danny Click launched into a spirited cover of Tom Petty's Last Chance for Mary Jane. Grabbed a pint of Velvet Merlin from the bar (mmmn, beeeeer!) and then planted myself on an empty step of the stairway – just right for winding down and relaxing a bit after the night's big show. The bar set ended all too soon (only half-way through my stout!), but that just meant it was time for chit-chat and goodbyes instead of chillin' to the classics with the band. All told, it was a mighty fine time!

You can listen to WMWV 93.5FM radio's streamcast of the set via SoundCloud, or watch a replay of the webcast (set one; set two) on YouTube. And if you're really psyched, a little bird told me that soundboards on a thumb drive are going to be for sale real soon for $25 at the merchandise table… could be a good deal!

Back to the calendar!