Another Planet Entertainment presents Dead and Company
2015-12-28
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
99 Grove St, San Francisco, CA .
7:00 PM, Monday, December 28, 2015
Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!
[7:33 PM lights down]
[9:31 PM lights down, band out in a minute]
Zakir Hussain: drums, percussion.
Tonight's show was a good step up over last night – more energy from the band, and fewer dragging moments. The basic problem remains that with Weir in charge, we're going to end up with soul-crushing bring downs like the transition from tonight's post drums jam into Looks Like Rain, but presumably, the band will eventually find a way to make those moves less jarring.
Overall, the first set was pretty enjoyable – Me and My Uncle being the lackluster exception tonight – but as with other sets, I'd have preferred to hear John Mayer singing a few more tunes than he's been given. The insertion of the Temptations' Shakey Ground into the opening Music Never Stops was pretty cool. I'd like the band to take that one into the woodshed and whip it up into a full fledged funk workout – seems like that would be just the thing to get folks excited – yay! a new tune! – and also offer a development path into a musical zone that the band never really explored all that much in the first 50 years of their journey.
I was a little concerned with the opening of the second set that we we're about to enter another low-energy muddle ala Broomfield – Lost Sailor, really? – but happily, things picked up after that. And to be fair, I enjoyed hearing Sailor, but as a slow, introspective tune, it's not exactly the best choice for working up a second set sweat! Tonight's Slipknot! was reasonably well done – far superior to the wreck we endured in Colorado last month – and the addition of Zakir Hussain and Oteil Burbridge to the drums segment made for an enjoyable surprise. Interestingly, Mickey seemed to stay away from his electronic toys this weekend except for laying down a simple drone or loop. Yay, lots of actual drumming during drums!
Like Lost Sailor, Looks Like Rain has it's own strengths, my biggest beef is with it's placement in the set and the way that the band arrived at that spot. I'd have been far more impressed if Bobby could have steered the band through a gradual come down into the quiet opening. The band's shift into the Wheel was quite nicely done, with an amorphous, drawn out entry jam that seemed to offer many possibilities besides the obvious choice, signified by the animated wagon wheel spinning in the center video screen. I especially enjoyed the reggae jam on the way out of the tune. As with Shakey Ground, the vista of fertile territory for new jams is irresistible! I WANT THEM TO GO THERE NOW! But I guess I'll have to wait until next season…
Not Fade Away was fun, if a bit hackneyed by now, but I'm happy to report that tonight's effort in this set position seemed far superior to last night's try at Going' Down the Road. Last chance to get up and dance? Well alright then, let's boogie on down the coast to the Forum!
I should add major thanks to Bob Wynn and John Wood for inviting us to hang out tonight. It's nice to be welcomed into a killer spot, and all that much more fun to spend the evening surrounded by friends instead of strangers. Three cheers for good friends! I'll also add that the house staff was as laid back as ever. Absolutely minimal search heading inside. No big push to sweep us out after the gig ended. And helpful in dragging away the raving lunatics or over-medicated wookies when such assistance was needed. Another round of applausefor the blue-coats!
Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!