Phil Lesh at the Fillmore, December 17, 2023

Live Nation presents Phil Lesh with Stu Allen, Stanley Jordan, Grahame Lesh, Adam MacDougall, & John Molo
the Fillmore
1805 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94109-7217 USA
8:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 2023

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[8:06 PM] {lights down, performers out}
[8:08 PM] {noodling}

1. [8:09 PM] the Wheel (nope! just one line, a capella) » Here Comes Sunshine (SA) »
2. [8:21 PM] Viola Lee Blues
   [8:31 PM] {stop}
3. [8:32 PM] Lazy River Road (SA)
   [8:42 PM] {stop; PL seated at start of next, then standing midway through}
4. [8:43 PM] Me & My Uncle (GL)
   [8:49 PM] {stop; PL resting again}
5. [8:50 PM] Jack-a-roe (SA)
   [9:01 PM] {Phil seated to rest in between songs again}
6. [9:03 PM] Bird Song (PL)
   [9:15 PM] {done, crowd appreciation for Phil; words of thanks from Phil}
   [9:16 PM] {set ends}

[9:49 PM] {lights down, performers out, noodling right away}

1. [9:52 PM] Cosmic Charlie
   [10:01 PM] {stop}
2. [10:02 PM] Jack Straw >
3. [10:16 PM] Dark Star jam » [10:19 PM] {second verse} »
4. [10:28 PM] Crazy Fingers (GL) »
5. [10:39 PM] Dark Star jam »
6. [10:45 PM] Revolution (SA)
7. [10:56 PM] Somewhere Over the Rainbow (instrumental: SJ solo start, then band in around 10:58 PM)
   [11:06 PM] {stop}
8. [11:07 PM] the Wheel
   [11:15 PM] {set ends: all off to the stage corner hideaway}
   
   Encore
   [11:18 PM] {words from Phil: circle of power (the audience drives the band); abbreviated donor rap; band introduction}
9. [11:22 PM] It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (SA)
   [11:33 PM] {show ends}

• Stu Allen: guitar, acoustic guitar, vox;
• Stanley Jordan: guitar;
• Grahame Lesh: guitar, acoustic guitar, vox;
• Phil Lesh: bass, lead and harmony vox;
• Adam MacDougall: keyboards, harmony vox;
• John Molo: drums, vox.

It was good to be back in the Fillmore when it was full of friendly heads from the far flung corners of the Terrapin nation.

The band surprised me tonight by opening with an a cappella rendition of the first stanza of the Wheel, then turning immediately into Here Comes Sunshine instead of continuing with the Wheel. Perhaps this is connected to the SA/PL combo as Thunder & Lightning from past shows at Terrapin Crossroads? Hard to know without anyone spilling the beans!

Phil seemed to want to rest in between songs tonight, but his playing seemed strong enough to me: it's always good to here him dropping bass bombs like he did at the conclusion of Me & My Uncle!

Cosmic Charlie was a great choice to open the second set, and while this rendition was kinda rough, it was still nice to hear that the book isn't shut on rare crowd favorites. Having been absent from the Friday show, I was really surprised when the Dark Star jam segued into the second verse of the tune, but review of Friday's setlist makes that one obvious: they were simply closing another open loop.

Revolution was another fun surprise to hear, though I admit to feeling a bit grouchy part way through: none of the soloists seemed to have anything very compelling to offer, just treacly noodling. It reminds me of the maxim about jazz soloing: you can't say a thing if you don't know the words of the song!

Care to hear the show? With props to TJ, you can! Just head on over to the Live Music Archive.

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!