Phish Berkeley 2010: Home of Elvis and the Ancient Greeks

The Phish shows in Berkeley at the Greek Theatre included probably the most ridiculous ticket debacle I have ever seen as people tried desperately to score tickets for the 8500 person theatre playing host to the only west coast Phish shows of the summer. I saw everything from $350 tickets to tickets that had been sold on Stubhub and subsequently canceled to people buying three fake Ticketmaster tickets outside for $250 each. $750 in fake tickets?!?! I think I would be deeply depressed had that happened to me. Luckily, I was able to get the first two nights on the initial onsale and trade a friend's extra for a Saturday. Tickets in hand, locked and loaded, I began my voyage down the coast to the Bay Area. After a stop at the Bier Stein and Ninkasi Brewing Company in Eugene, Mad River Brewing in Blue Lake, and Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, I was fully Pliny'd and ready to roll.

I arrived at the Greek around 3PM on Thursday to find line duty fully underway. When we got inside, I realized it was tarper city, with people for some reason thinking it would be OK to put tarps down on the best seats to save room for their 12 friends that didn't wait in line all day. I was in a good mood this night, so I took a first row lawn seat in the center (one of the only flat spots on the whole lawn - you need grappling gear to dance on the rest of it). Possum opener and the crowd was VERY energetic. The Wolfman's Brother had a nice jam in it that made me excited for the potential jamming to come the rest of the weekend. Divided Sky was nice as it was in such a great venue, and Funky Bitch and Haley's Comet were fun too. I found the rest of the first set to be a little boring, and the Antelope did not hit the peaks and valleys that it did in the ATL.

Second set opened with Down with Disease (surprise, surprise), and the Free that followed felt great after Hornings and the good drive to SF. More snoozing until Maze, which was high energy. Then came Joy, which I love. The funny thing is, seemingly, most other people do not care for it as the energy was quickly sucked out of the venue and everyone started chatting, sitting, heading for the bathroom, grabbing a beer, etc. Essentially, whatever it is you do when you are bored and unhappy at a show, everyone was doing during Joy except me. Which is fine by me, I can carry the load for a little while. The Tweezer had some decent jamming in it, and they closed the set with Fluffhead (always been a little too composed for my tastes). The Loving Cup encore apparently saw Trey on a new guitar, and the Tweeprise closed the show, of course. All in all a decent show, but not great. I would say it was about average for the Phish shows that I have seen with me being bored about 50% of the time. No late night for me that night as I really needed a good night's sleep.

Friday saw the same ticket and line insanity out front. Luckily I was able to score a couple seats in the concrete near the top on the left side. What a difference it made for the sound, sights, and overall experience. I had been to the Greek a few times before but never sat in those seats. Now, I will make it a point to try to get them every show. I don't know if it was me getting a better seat or what, but Friday's show was night and day with Thursday. I was only bored 15% of the time, and I was VERY impressed with the jamming coming out of the VT boys. Kuroda was amazing on lights all weekend, but I thought he particularly shined Friday night. The show opened high energy again with Chalkdust Torture, and then they gave us a two song pee break with Guyute and Ocelot. The It's Ice brought me back to my seat just in time for the Cities->Moma Dance->Bathtub Gin->Stealing Time. This segment could have been great. Like really, really, really great. And the Cities->Moma Dance were. But they kind of phoned in the Gin jam and rushed through Stealing Time. Still, the Cities->Moma and the jam in between had me ecstatic at set break. Finally!! A jam band that jammed!!

Second set on Friday opened with Rock and Roll (again, surprise, surprise), and quickly got very interesting. The Ghost->Mike's Song->Simple->Backwards Down the Number Line was again top shelf Phish, with an amazing jam coming before and after Simple. Trey destroyed any hope of a smooth transition between Ghost and Mikes by disregarding the rest of the band and beginning to play the next song (a la Caspian->Tweezer in ATL and I'm sure dozens of other times in Phish 3.0). Again, maybe I'm being overly critical, because the jamming took me to a place I don't know that I've gotten to in 2010. Show of Life sounded like a great song with awful, cheesy lyrics (par for the course these days I suppose). Seven Below was short (thank goodness) and segued into a decent Weekapaug. The You Enjoy Myself was awesome, and the drum and bass part before the vocal jam was especially funky. Good Times Bad Times encore, and I just saw my favorite Phish show out of any I've seen in 3.0 (Knoxville, Bonnaroo, Gorge, 8, ATL, Greek).

Since it was Friday night, and we were in one of the greatest cities in the world, I decided to run over to one of the greatest venues in the city and check out Bill Kreutzman's new band the 7 Walkers featuring Papa Mali, George Porter Jr., and some dude on piano. The band was OK, but the room was really fun and Greek->Great American Music Hall is a sick one-two punch. To everyone's (seemingly) surprise Jon Fishman took over drum duties for Deal and Morning Dew. A few songs later, Mike Gordon emerged to take over bass during Going Down the Road Feeling Bad. Neither of them rocked it like they had the previous few hours, but it was cool to see them out and having fun nonetheless. A quick bite at Tommy's Joynt, and that was a wrap on an amazing Bay Area day. Did I mention the weather was phenomenal the entire time we were in the city?

Saturday I was a little more disorganized and did not get to the venue in time to get a concrete seat. No way I was going back to Mt. Everest on the lawn again, so I got a nice spot on the floor. I braced myself for crowdedness, but it did not get that bad the whole show imo. Maybe I was just burnt out from such a good time the night before, but Saturday let me down a little bit, and I didn't feel like the jamming was anywhere near as innovative or deep as Friday. The first set bored me to tears, though the Reba had a decent jam.

The second set did not interest me all that much either. Of course there was a pretty jam out of Light, but that song is so bad imo that the jam can never make up for it (unless, of course, we're talking Gorge Light). Hood was good, and everything else seemed fairly well played. The Theme->2001 was good but not very experimental. I never liked Suzy, but it was energetic, and Slave was a good version to close the set. The Lizards encore was way cool, and (gasp!) they finished the show with First Tube. Again, the playing was good, but it seems like I see most of these songs every show and there is never any creative jamming (Type II) that differentiates one experience from another.

Since I had to fly out early on Sunday AM, I decided to pull an all nighter and check out the EOTO with Kang and Kyle and Hamsa Lila party in Richmond at the Craneway Pavilion. Again, I didn't bring my camera in (I definitely suck at that game come late night). After a short drive to one of the sketchiest cities in the country, I was pleasantly surprised to find a good sized venue nestled in the dock with a great view of Berkeley, Oakland, Bay Bridge, SF, etc. I got there just in time for Hamsa Lila, who I had not seen in probably five years. I thought they were as good if not better than they were back then. There were three large screens spanning the whole warehouse behind the band with decent visionary and psychedelic artwork projected on them. Hamsa Lila brought out Earnest Ranglin to play guitar. Jason Hann joined them for what might be the best 'Drums' I've ever heard, and Mike Kang added some guitar licks.

Next up was EOTO with Kang and Kyle (SuperEOTO). The first song was ambient and awesome, but the rest of the show seemed to alternate between superb and mediocre. To be honest, I do not like EOTO's music generally speaking, so anytime I thought it sounded like EOTO, I was bored. Kyle was the MVP as he could really make even the boring parts awesome. Kang had some nice fiddle work as he went through the themes to Valley, Rivertrance, and Bumpin Reel in the same song (I think...). The only other SCI part I definitely recognized was the latin breakdown in Texas. About 20% of the show was spectacular, meaning I would have been super stoked if it had come out as a jam at an SCI show. The rest was fairly mindless and uncreative imo. If you had told me 10 years ago that I'd be watching these guys play dubstep, I would have called you a liar (and asked what dubstep was). But, they are doing it now, and at least the vibes on stage seemed amicable with no Nershi. During the second or third dubstep jam, I was over it and headed to the airport.

Leaving the West Coast is never my favorite part of the trip, but at least I'm coming home with some beautiful memories. I ate my favorite burritos, drank my favorite beer, saw some of my favorite people, and went to some of my favorite venues. It is a bittersweet feeling to have to say goodbye to these things, but I know I will be back.

Such a long long time to be gone, and a short time to be there... Until next time. MB

Hornings + Greek = West Coast Bliss 2010

I just got home from an amazing week on the West Coast. I was blessed by beautiful weather, beautiful people, delicious beer, great food, and, of course, good music.
String Cheese Incident - Horning's Hideout 2010

Unfortunately, I had to miss SCIde project Thursday and arrived Friday afternoon just in time to catch Bill Nershi and Scott Law's set on the side stage. The side stage had been decorated by a bunch of balloons and stuff that looked to me like they were straight out of Beetlejuice. After a short Lester poem, it was a nice acoustic way to get the week started, with Billy and Scott doing what they do best. Among others, they played Texas Town, Long Journey Home, and Song in My Head. The newer tune - Song in My Head has got to go imo - just terrible. It sounds like it belongs at a Hot Buttered Rum show (though this is String Cheese we're talking about...).

Onward and upward to Friday night - the return of SCI to Horning's started out as most of us remember it usually starting out - with Smile. 'I count the days while we're apart. I count the days, and I count the miles.' Indeed. Beautiful smiles and blissful vibes were all around the rest of the first set that night. Born on the Wrong Planet had a nice jam in it, and Miss Brown's Teahouse saw the Soul Rebel Brass Band come on stage to add a horn section. Once they got the horns microphones working (finally...), it sounded great and really brought a New Orleans flavor to Oregon.

The second set on Friday was also decent, with the highlight coming in the Water jam. Billy just ripping some beautiful notes as the music dripped over the crowd. Bend Down Low was also good. My gripes came with the Jungle Boogie in place of the usual Dirk porno-funk jam (snooze), and the new tune Song in My Head - good Lord is it bad. Nice Bumpin' Reel and Restless Wind closed the set, and the Hey Pocky Way encore with the horns may have been the highlight of the show. Man, I love me some New Orleans horns and am going to make it a point to make it to Jazz Fest this year.

The campgrounds were fun Friday night, and everyone was happy to be back together again. I checked out the late night on one of the side stages (Motet guys?), which was pretty good, but very quiet due to Bob's noise issues. This particular venue was decorated with day-glo grass and other glow-y things, including a glow in the dark type screen that would retain the light (for a few seconds) from a laser being projected on it in different patterns. The glow in the dark laser screen was no cube-a-tron, but was still pretty cool. The other side stage had fire dancers, which I didn't watch for very long.

Ah, Saturday at Hornings. Can you ask for a better feeling? I started the day off with some Pliny the Elder before making my way to Col. Bruce's workshop, which was more like a mellow show. He said they didn't know what to talk about, so they'd just play music instead. Alright with me. After checking out the Colonel, I wandered over to Everyone Orchestra where Matt Butler was leading the ensemble. It was funky from what I remember, but I didn't stay for long as I wanted to see Toubab Krewe. Toubab Krewe put on a mellow show during the middle of the day, which I thought was great. It was not as energetic as they can be, but it was also mid-day in the sun. Before seeing Bill Frisell, I stumbled into Toubab playing an acoustic unamplified set by the Furthur bus - gotta love the renegade sets.


Bill Frisell has been one of my favorite guitarists since I first heard his music in 2003. This is the second time I've seen him at Horning's (first being Strummit in 2008), and I was beyond stoked that SCI booked him for the show. His show was mellow and beautiful. I recognized the drummer from past Frisell shows, but the keyboards rounding out the trio were not familiar to me, though I thought he was very very good. Frisell has amazing energy and the smile seems to burst from his face. It is so good to see musicians love what they are doing.

String Cheese Incident Saturday night Hornings is always an incredible time (though sometimes not the most incredible music). This year was no different, though I think it might be the first year they only did two sets. The show started out very strong with Black Clouds->Rhum N Zouc, and SCI brought out Bill Frisell (dream come true) for County Road Blues and Freedom Jazz Dance. He added some nice licks, but didn't really get down with a duel or anything (jazz guitarist vs. bluegrass guitarist doesn't always work I guess). Kyle's new offering - Way That It Goes is funky and not too long, and the set closed with the boys going back into Black Clouds, complete with everyone taking their turn on the traditional Black Clouds jam.

Set break was long, but the anticipation was building for the first dream dance without Peak Experience (to my knowledge). They opened up with Rivertrance to some choreographed dancing and fire dancers. I was a little bummed because Rivertrance is the get-down, and we were trapped on the hill - oh well - you can't win them all. The fire dancers gave way to lasers, a UFO hovering above the stage, and a female ribbon dancer suspended above the crowd by giant balloons. Sorry I didn't get any pictures, but you can check out Deadesq Dave's always fabulous shots at his website. They let the crowd down, and it was fun dancing under the UFO, lasers, and ribbon dancer. Joyful Sound was awesome and really seemed to be a combination of the original version and the new version with Kyle on the bass line played at Rothbury last year. I also thought the EOTO jam was pretty dirty (though a little too dub-steppy for my String Cheese). The rest of the set seemed like one long pee break song for me - just couldn't really get into it. It reminded me of the third set in 2005 and 2007. Oh, how I long for the adventurous super-jam third set days of 2003 and 2004... Throw away encore for icing on the cake with the re-worked version of Sirens (certainly better, but still bad imo), and a short unexploratory Texas. Again, fun in the campgrounds was had on Saturday night, of course.

Sunday Hornings is always special as everyone tries to reflect on the weekend (and maybe longer) of being together. I am always reminded how lucky I am to be able to have any of these experiences with people that I love. What better way to start the weekend than with the Colonel. Bruce is a living legend, and I was glad he came all the way out from Georgia to play at Hornings. He sounded and looked great, both on vocals and guitar when he played it. Next up were the Travelin McCourys to give us our bluegrass fix. I've seen these guys so many times over the years, and they never disappoint.

SCI Sunday started out strong with Lester Had a Coconut and some bluegrass with the Travelin McCourys. Col Bruce came out for Fixin to Die (awesome), and the set finished strong with Will It Go Round in Circles and San Jose. The second set may have been the most well played set of the weekend, but it, like the rest of the weekend, was short on any deep jams. The Howard came closest, and it was great to hear Emma's Dream and Don't Say, two of my favorites. Eyes of the World was well played and the Outside Inside set closer was rocking. Familiar territory with the Best Feeling and Good Times Around the Bend encore sent us off into the night to see what we could find one last night at Hornings...

This weekend went by as fast as any weekend I can remember, but I guess all Hornings weekends do. I saw so many people that have been such an integral part of my life, and I feel like I could only spend about 5 minutes with everyone. I seriously felt like I was at the Hideout for 10 hours, and did not want to leave. The music was good, but not great. It is what has brought us together for years and it is what brought us together this weekend, and for that I am grateful. Billy was quiet all weekend, Kyle was great as always, Kang was rocking. Keith was Keith, and Travis was Travis. Jason has started some skat like vocals - da diggy da diggy da. Jason, please stop...

I hope we can come back again, but I wonder what the place will be like if Bob wins the State Senate seat. Upon reflecting back on the past Hornings, the place has definitely changed. Maybe not for the better, but change is the only constant, right? This being my 5th time up there for SCI, I've watched it grow from an intimate family affair to one of the most hyped weekends of the summer. This year saw the removal of the beer garden, and in its place, about a dozen other places set up to hawk beer. This year also saw the installation of additional fences to delineate the campground stages (where, of course, they also sold beer). More food vendors (loved the local options) and more people there for the party. More space needed for parking, less space available for camping, and no Peak Experience added to the different feeling. The production seemed less elaborate and a little cheaper. I guess you could say that our little Horning's is growing up. It kind of felt like a mini-Bonnaroo in the Oregon woods. I still had a blast, and will always return as long as Bob has us, but I am a little sad to see such a pure, pristine place turned into Rothbury 2010.

Bigger isn't better, and money isn't everything...

Bonnaroo 2010 (Saturday)

Jay-Z images by my new friend Julia Stanley (julia.amber18@gmail.com). Thanks Julia!

I just got back from my 6th Bonnaroo. This year I wussed out and only went on Saturday. Real life got in the way of an entire weekend on the farm (and a weaker than usual line up too imo). Of the shows I was interested in seeing on Friday, the reports I heard: Jay Electronica was the shiz-nit. Flaming Lips were as expected - interesting take on Dark Side with the same production they have had the past couple years. Daryl Hall and Chromeo was OK. Kid CuDi was good but short. LCD Soundsystem was awesome.

I arrived at the farm early on Saturday to sunshine and that Bonnaroo heat and humidity we have all come to love. I tried to stay under the moving clouds to no avail and went to check out Baba Maal. It was really hot around noon, and I think the early hour and the heat made it difficult for people to get down to the African rhythms. The USA/UK World Cup match drew a huge crowd to the movie tent, and the air was filled with excited energy (1-1 tie sweet!). After a short break, I went to see Dave Rawlings Machine in a nice shady tent. This is the third time I've seen the band this year (and the second time in two weeks), and the novelty has definitely worn off. The Delfest show was a perfect way to close out a festival. This one was in the middle of the afternoon and was the exact same setlist in the same order as Delfest (minus a few tunes). Queen Jane set closer, etc. etc. Maybe if I hadn't seen it two weeks ago, I would have liked it more. Though Dave Rawlings' archtop guitar was still cool to see and hear.

After Dave Rawlings Machine, I made my way over to the Avett Brothers. I was dreading their 4:45 set time on the Which stage (second biggest - no shade), but, lo and behold, it just so happened to be one of those crazy synchronistic days and the weather cooperated. Immediately preceding their set (as in in the time it took me to walk from That Tent to Which Stage), amazing cloud cover moved in. It looked for a minute like it was going to dump rain on us. Then, about four songs into their set, it seemed as though it was going to pass. BUT, it didn't pass. The clouds parked themselves right over the edge of the festival, blessing us with shade, coolness, and a little bit of rain during what turned out to be an amazing show.

The band seemed really into it and went all out for their Bonnaroo 2010 set. I love it when bands are still growing really fast and seemingly feel the need to blow up the huge festival sets. Their sound was loud, out of key, intense, and focused. There seemed to be a lot more electric guitar than I'm used to. It saddens me a little to see them so obviously changing their image and sound as they grow, but, hey, change is the only constant, right? And it spread... Highlights of the set for me were The Fall opener (again), Colorshow (can't get enough), and Laundry Room. For some reason Laundry Room was especially beautiful yesterday, and they had the crowd eating from their hand. A little rain sprinkled down on us during the break down at the end, which added to the energy.

Break this tired old routine
And this time don't make me leave
I AM A BREATHING TIME MACHINE
I'll take you all for a ride.

Another really short break after the Avetts before I went to see Jeff Beck. I had never seen Jeff Beck before (scratch another legend off the list), and he pretty much made me an instant fan. His show was super high energy with such an amazing clear, loud guitar tone. Even though he's an older force in music, something about his show sounded so modern and relevant, like he's able to transcend time and generations to speak to us with his guitar. Covers I remember - Sly Stone's Wanna Take You Higher, Beatles' Day in the Life (normally so cliche, but surprisingly worked here), Lilac Wine (I'm familiar with Jeff Buckley's version, not sure who wrote it).

After Jeff Beck, a really quick walk got me a good spot to the right of the soundboard for Stevie Wonder (living legend number 2 of the day). He came on stage rocking out on the keytar, and things started out really hot (as in good). He ran through his greatest hits and threw in a fair amount of covers. By the end of his set though, I have to admit, I was ready for him to take a bow and make way for Jay-Z (no disrespect Stevie - I just wasn't feeling it).

Getting into the pit for Jay-Z on the right side (stage left) of the What Stage was one of the more challenging things I've done at the Roo. The line was borderline dangerous, with people falling and being nearly trampled as probably 5000 people tried to push their way in. Luckily, somehow I didn't pass out and made it in. And I say luckily because I think I was one of the last ones, as the pit did not fill in any more once I got my spot on the middle rail with a clear view down the catwalk. My guess is that it was getting so dangerous with everybody pushing that they closed it off and said 'no more pit for you.'

Jay-Z's show was great. It was a little boring at times, but the production was top notch. His backdrop is like the skyline of New York City (and indeed is during Empire State of Mind), and it is covered with LEDs (I think). When SCI first started using these things, we jokingly called it the Lite Bright, but man oh man have they made improvements in this technology in the past five years. He ran through his greatest hits and most of Blueprint 3. The bass was full and loud, Jay-Z was intelligible, and the band was tight. He was high energy and that translated into most of the crowd being stoked on the show. Surprisingly, Young Forever was a huge highlight for me. I generally think Dylan's Forever Young is super cliche and thought I couldn't stand the Jay-Z song. Somehow, though, the cheesiness translated into a sense of unity or something as the crowd sang along. It seemed especially fitting and poignant considering the general make-up of a Jay-Z crowd at Bonnaroo, and people seemed to be feeling it.

Fear not when
Fear not why
Fear not much
While we're alive


After the spectacle that was Jay-Z ended, I rushed over to catch the last few songs of Dan Deacon's Ensemble. Though I love Dan Deacon's sound and originality, the band seemed a little disjointed and loud. No matter, because I knew deadmau5 was next, and I was excited.

HOLY SH*T!! deadmau5 was insane!! Absolutely mind blowing!! I'd watched the video of the show from Coachella and knew what I was getting into, but...woah. That looked so cool. His light show is designed by the same people who did the Daft Punk Alive tour and the Kanye West Glow in the Dark tour, and this one is far and away the craziest production yet. Everything from his LED mau5head to his DJ stand (for lack of a better term) had me hooked with glorious eye candy until about fifteen minutes past 4AM. And I actually thought the music was awesome too! After being seriously blown away by deadmau5 (seriously.), I stumbled over to the Disco Biscuits for a little while. Although the music was not awful, it definitely felt like amateur hour in there after what I had just witnessed at deadmau5, and I left around 5AM for bed.

Another amazing Saturday at Bonnaroo. I understand all the criticisms (not my thing, too hot, too many people, not enough jambands, too mainstream, blah, blah, blah), but year in year out AC Entertainment and Superfly put together an event that will be talked for the rest of the year. Though this lineup was a little light, this year is no different. Thank you to the farm and thank you Manchester - see you in 2011 for the 10th Anniversary (can you guys believe it's been 10 years - a whole decade - since the first one?!?!)!

Just a picture perfect day that lasts a whole lifetime...

Del Yeah!! Hail No!!

THURSDAY

My first Delfest was an absolute hoot!! The drive through WVA was really nice, and it felt great to be back in the Appalachians. It's true there's great people everywhere, but I love everything from the kindness to the accents of the Appalachian souls. I arrived at the festival Thursday night just in time for Railroad Earth headlining.

I hadn't seen the band since New Years Eve in Portland, and I was wondering how the transition had been for them. Not that they sounded that winded on the NYE run, but I honestly didn't have the highest hopes. Of course, they blew me away. The setlist and the playing were just spot on. The crowd was loving it, and the new bass player (sorry, name escapes me) kept a good groove going on the whole night. He has that laid-back-but-slightly-serious style that Grubb brought to the band and seemed like a good replacement. I tend to like the rarer songs, and this set delivered in that category. My personal highlights were Walk Beside Me, Happy Song, Hunting Song, and Where Songs Begin. Ronnie McCoury came out for Cuckoo's Medley, and the Railroad Earth set closer was icing on the cake - 'you know I'll be where my heart feels free.'

After the show I was feeling great as my former favorite band had just played a killer show, so I went on a little walkabout. What I found was maybe the most surprising thing to me the whole festival - everywhere I went I found great pickers singing great songs with great families of people in tow. Bluegrass festivals rule!! It probably is true when they say the best band of all time will never be heard...

FRIDAY

The next morning I awoke to an amazing campsite (also full of amazing people) in the shade. The festival grounds are almost identical to High Sierra, especially considering the fact that they are both on county fairgrounds. The main stage was positioned in the middle of a dirt racing track. It dawned on me that my first festival ever was an SCI fest on a racetrack, with, of course, Del McCoury Band on bill. Universe in shaped exactly like the earth...

The Hillbilly Gypsies were a great traditional-ly bluegrass band from Morgantown, and a great way to kick off my first full day of the festival. I caught a little Joe Craven before it became obvious that we were going to get rained on. The mood turned serious as everyone remembered the storm that came through the previous year, and the music was cancelled briefly during the afternoon. I took cover in the Grandstand and watched the lightning and rain quench Delfest's thirst. After a few hours we were back in business.

Greensky Bluegrass had been rained out of their mainstage set, so they extended their pickin' workshop in the Music Hall to include some Greensky songs. The set was good, with the Cornmeal, McCoury, and Railroad Earth boys joining for a few tunes. Greensky had a new tune which was pretty good, and they seem to be expanding to a more psychedelic rock sound. Unfortunately I missed Bobby Osborne's set but caught a little of Del before the band I wanted to see the most - the Avett Brothers.

The Avetts put on a great set with excellent flow. They opened with the Fall and closed with Traveling Song. From the new album, they played January Wedding, I and Love and You, Head Full of Doubt. Offering was beautiful, as was Shame. Yard Sale was mildly psychedelic and profoundly deep lyrically. Who am I kidding? I loved them all. I know most other people do not feel the same way, but they can do no wrong to me right now.

Following the Avett Brothers, I got ready for Railroad Earth late night show. After the night before, I was sure they were going to blow it out of the water. And they did...with all their heavy hitters. People seemed to really like it, but other than the Saddle of the Sun set opener, I thought it was average. Again, probably a subjective thing from seeing the same band too many times. Ronnie McCoury (see a pattern forming?) showed up for Long Way to Go and Old Dangerfield I think.

SATURDAY


After a good long day Friday, I was surprised to see such a great lineup on Saturday. I started out the day with Larry Keel and Natural Bridge. Man oh man do I love me some Larry Keel. I hadn't seen him since moving to the West Coast four years ago, and I couldn't have been happier. Jenny Keel looks great as did Larry. His mandolin player really impressed me as well. Cover songs I remember were Mother Nature's Son and Wind Cries Mary. Larry is the best flatpicker I think I've ever seen with unending energy. Joe Craven sat is and lending some mouth noises and percussion which worked really really well here, and Larry passed around a jar of shine (all over the place here - gotta love those Appalachians!). As the sun continued to swelter the fans, I took a little break to rest up for Cornmeal.

Cornmeal on the mainstage was too damn hot to really have a good time. I couldn't tell if it was the band or the heat, but it seemingly never really clicked, at least not for me. They played Naive Melody and had one really good disco sounding jam, but failed to impress overall. John Cowan Band got skipped due to the heat (though we could hear all the music from our close campsite even without the radio). I caught a little bit of Del and sat through all of Yonder Mountain String Band's set. I thought they were pretty good this particular night and had Daryl Anger play with them the whole set. The light show was the only one that was brought in for the festival, and it was a nice change of pace. The McCoury boys and Larry Keel's banjo player joined them for some of the set. I liked Left Me in a Hole, but the set lacked the strong jamm-y highlights they are capable of. Still, I thought it was solid and had a good time.

The late night on Saturday was the Travelin' McCourys, which had such tremendous possibilities. Instead it was mainly the Lee Boys (not good imo) and the McCourys playing some average music. It was cool to see and hear Del so late at night, but it generally was not my thing.

SUNDAY

Anyone who knows me knows I'm usually ready to go when I wake up on Sunday and I've been at a festival for a few days. Del No!! Sunday was probably my favorite day of music all around. I hid out from the sun all day before catching Larry and Jenny Keel's duo set. I wandered over to the side stage a little early (during Adam Aijala and Ben Kaufmann's set and was pleasantly surprised to see Larry Keel and Daryl Anger picking up a storm with them. Adam and Ronnie McCoury followed by joining in with Larry and Jenny. Again, I cannot stress how happy I was to be seeing these guys again. Larry is one of a kind and just puts an ear to ear grin on my face when ever he sings or plays the guitar.

After a quick jaunt to David Grisman Quintent, I caught a little of the guitar workshop, which was Scott Law and the guitarists from Greensky Bluegrass and Cornmeal. Though I didn't want to, I went to Keller & Friends b/c I knew Larry Keel was going to guest and I still hadn't gotten my fill. The core of the band was Keller, Jeff Austin, and Keith Mosely. Scott Law, a mandolin player, and, of course, Larry Keel joined as well. The set was mostly Dead covers (puke - Keller sucks the depth out of these songs imo), but there was an awesome Erykah Badu cover (Tyrone) that made the set worth it.

Next up was one last set from Del, who was joined by Dave Grisman. Then, probably the consensus highlight of the festival (who I had been stoking to everyone who would listen all weekend), was Dave Rawlings Machine. The band consists of Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch, and some of the guys from Old Crow Medicine Show (and maybe one other guy?). After a good, long weekend of inspiring tunes and great communal times, I knew this would be a beautiful way to close out the main stage. And it was. The guitar he plays has to be 50+ years old, and the vibe was so pure and clean all night. They played I Hear Them All with This Land Is Your Land in the middle of it, most of the album, and The Band's Wheels on Fire. Miss Ohio was very pretty, and the Ryan Adams song encore was great. I'll get to check them out one more time this summer, but at night closing an amazing festival will probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity for everyone lucky enough to catch it. One of my friends had described Old Crow Medicine Show to me as a post-modern hoe down, and I think the name definitely fits this band.

I caught the Cornmeal late night (lame) and did my best asleep-while-standing-up moves at the Bridge. After Ronnie McCoury played with them I couldn't handle it anymore and went into a deep sleep full on bluegrass picking and moonshine.

Next up for me is Bonnaroo (with a little Neil Young Ryman before that). See you freaks out there. One love.

I'm an old time telegraph man. I came here with a simple job to do.

Bad Blogger, No Cookie!!

First off, I have to apologize for being an awful blogger. I have been in the presence of lots of lights no eye can see lately, but managed to leave my camera at home every time. It doesn't matter that much - now I realize that no matter how many megapixels my digital camera may be, the pictures that I want require a proper lens. And those things are expensive. But I promise y'all that I'll get one soon. And I'll try to stop enjoying myself enough to actually take it into the show. Explode onto the rock 'n roll photography scene if you will.

Since we last spoke, I've seen a ton of music. And, much to my surprise, lots of it has been really good. Some notables off the top of my head - New Mastersounds/Trombone Shorty (fun), Yonder Mountain String Band (meh), Elephant Revival (good), Explosions in the Sky (loud). Here is a review of three of the bigger shows I've been lucky enough to see recently:

Akron/Family 2009-04-10
On April 10, I noticed that Akron/Family was playing a $5 gig with a bunch of other bands (MC Chris, Dan Deacon) at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. Hell yes. I had never been to Lewis & Clark before, and it reminded me of a summer camp I used to go to as a kid - really weird can't imagine going to school there. It is just south of P-Town tucked back in a wooded area with one road in and one road out. When I got there, I realized that on a Saturday night in a college campus such as this, most people over the age of 21 live and drink elsewhere. What is left is all the young-ins that live on campus. The show was in a dining room (I think) and was literally filled with probably 300 young, loud, drunk, insane, crowd surfing, mosh pitting kids that were ready to Par-Tay!!

After getting thrown around in the mosh pit for a minute, I noticed a platform about 15 feet back that I could get out of the madness on. This left me with a killer view of the room and the band. Akron/Family did not dissappoint. At one point, they had every single hand in the air moving in unison to the music - I'm talking EVERY SINGLE one. It was insane - not sure when the last time I saw a room totally locked in like that. I was kicking myself for not having my camera. The band opened with River and played an incredible set from start to finish. To me, they sound like some kind of noisy post-folk movement that creates within a 21st century tribal, shamanic, unified community full of love. Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

They brought out two guest percussionists for an amazing, jammy Ed is a Portal to add to the power trio (bass, guitar, drums). They also have some type of sampler which produces everything from beautiful acoustic Middle Eastern music to dirty beats. Most of the other songs I didn't recognize (new album?), but they were all awesome! The band tapped in to the fact that it was a room full of 18-19 year olds going totally nuts, and played as hard and tight and with as much energy as I've ever seen them. Hopefully, I'll get to do it again soon.

Mark Knopfler 2009-04-11
The very next day, Mark Knopfler had the unenviable task of attempting to bring me back to the musical high I experienced the night before with Akron/Family. The show was at the Hult Center in Eugene, which was way cooler than I remember it - very interesting looking room with great sound. After enjoying some Pliny the Elder, I was feeling good, and I managed to scam a scalper outside. I ended up with a dead center seat directly in front of Knopfler 6th row. I love the small markets where they (scalpers) will take a loss as opposed to the big ones where they'd rather eat the ticket than sell for less than face. Scalper scum!!

Though not that exciting, it was a pleasure to see Mark Knopfler of course. The band was the same or very similar to the last time I saw him. Richard Bennett was great of course. And I was surprised to see Tim O'Brien there. He played everything from mandolin to banjo to fiddle to probably tons of other stuff too - very cool and definitely added to the Celtic feel of the evening. Knopfler's solo stuff is OK, imo. There are a couple really good ones, but most of it is flute-y folk drivel. Though I can see why he went in that direction after Brothers in Arms, which I thought was one of the clear highlights of the night. Marbletown was another highlight. Between Bennett and Tim O'Brien, I bet they can play almost every stringed instrument known to man. Surpisingly, at some point during the show, the curtain behind the band lifted to reveal a screen that had cool psychedelic design - way more production than he had two summers ago. Of the Dire Straits songs he played, I remember Romeo & Juliet, Sultans of Swing, Telegraph Road (set closer). The three song encore kicked off with the aforementioned Brothers in Arms and included Shangri-La (can't remember the third song).

Knopfler's distinct guitar tone was prevalent for much of the show, and the band as a whole was INCREDIBLY tight. It did rock out at times, and at times there were beautiful, amazing moments. Though, on the whole, the flute-y style of music was a little boring for me. And the crowd didn't help either - no one standing up as far as my eye could see (limited by the 6th row seat). Mostly older, seemingly rich people ($90 ticket prices help with that I suppose) translate to a nice sit-down affair rather than a rock 'n roll show. It's all water under the bridge though, and I'm sure I'll check him out again the next time I get the chance to.

Yeasayer 2010-04-19
Which brings me to the Yeasayer show I saw last night (4/19) at the sold out Wonder Ballroom in Portland. I learned the venue does NOT serve Caldera IPA in a can anymore, which makes me much less inclined to go back there. And they replace it with Bridgeport IPA?!?!?! Sometimes people make stupid mistakes, I guess. Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect going in.

I love the new album Odd Blood but had no idea how it would translate into the live setting. As it turns out, Yeasayer is friggin' awesome!! The three part vocal harmonies are outstanding, and both the main vocalists have great voices. There are two percussionists, and it seems like there were a total of four keyboards on stage with a laptop, guitar, and a bass guitar (which had a sick flute solo at some point - idkwtf?).

They opened with The Children, as does their newest album. They made it even darker and more awesome than it is on the album. The vocals were put through a filter to sound very low and deep. I believe they played every song off Odd Blood and a good chunk of the songs from All Hour Cymbals. Every single song was good, and the energy from the stage gradually rubbed off on the Portland crowd. My personal highlight of the set was "I Remember," - sounded very tight and powerful. Chris Keating's voice has amazing capabilities - the way he hit the highs in this song was amazing. Once the crowd got into it, there were sing a longs and pockets of dance party breaking out. Everyone was having a blast. They closed the set with Ambling Alp "Now the world can be an unfair place at times, but your lows will have their complement of highs."

Yeasayer (and the crowd) reminded me of what it would be like if MGMT had a full band and could sing well - just an amazing dance party with some great music. The production was tasteful but still interesting (row of smaller screens behind the band with colored lights being inoffensively and unobtrusively blended on them). This band does not need lots of flashy LED bars or intense video screen, because they are entertaining enough to watch. I was a little concerned about the sound mix, but it was dialed in at the Wonder, which always sounds good. The thing I like about Yeasayer (and lots of other indie-electro pop bands) is that they are combining elements from the raves/clubs/parties with actual songs with structure and meaning. And it feels great to see a unifying force in music rather than dividing these days. All in all, if you get a chance, definitely check out this band.

I'm so blessed
To have spent the time
With my family
And the friends I love
In my short life
I have had so many people I deeply care for.

Happy Birthday Phil!!!!!!

Furthur & Friends 2010-03-12
A Celebration of Phil Lesh's 70th Birthday
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
San Francisco, CA

Wow. After a couple good shows, it's always hard to collect my thoughts and separate the memories from each other. But I'm going to try. Where to start? I guess I'll start with the weather. My trip down to the Bay Area was blessed with gorgeous weather - clear blue skies and temperatures hovering around 70 degrees. EXCEPT, of course, during Friday for Phil's 70th Birthday show, when it rained ALL day. Man was it wet outside, but the rain couldn't stop me from having a good time in line. Spirits seemed to be good, despite the massive number of ticketless people.

SET I
Ripple
Lazy River Road
Peggy-O
Two Souls in Communion
Brokedown Palace
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
They Love Each Other
Mountains of the Moon
Attics of My Life

Once inside, you could feel the energy building as the room became more and more full. A little over half an hour after the published showtime, the band took the stage. It was Furthur minus Joe Russo with Jay Lane taking solo duty on the drum set plus Chris Robinson (of Black Crowes fame) and Jackie Greene. Phil had the Ritter out, and everyone else was on acoustic instruments. Steve Molitz joined Jeff Chimenti on keys. Jay's drumming was unobtrusive and fit nicely with the acoustic set. This first set is what dreams are made of. I can't remember if I've ever seen a show open with Ripple, and doing so flipped me upside down. "Let there be songs, to fill the air."

Lazy River Road was short and sweet, and Peggy-O was awesome. I prefer to have Phil sing this one, but Chris Robinson did a great job imo. Next up was my personal highlight of the entire show - Two Souls in Communion. Man, oh, man did Chris Robinson NAIL this one. Such a great voice with so much soul. "Fly on those wings of love, fly up, fly home!" Next, Jackie did his typically superb rendition of Brokedown Palace. At this point, Phil and the boys are just hitting us with emotion left and right. It is like Church on the rail... Next up was Dylan's Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan was the first Dylan album I got, so those songs always have a special place in my heart. This particular version was good, not great. They Love Each Other ... wompy love song ... next (sorry to all you romantics).

Mountains of the Moon has always been one of my favorites to hear Phil play. This one was no different. JK switched to electric guitar here, and Phil played his heart out. "It's time to matter. The earth will see you on through this time." And then...Attics of my Life. OMG - always always a highlight. This one had seven part vocal harmonies I believe (JK, Bob, Phil, Jackie Greene, Chris Robinson, Sunshine, and Zoe) - just stunning. And...I got the whole thing on video so yall can see it too. Set break took a little digesting. The crowd started to get more schwilly where I was and it was tough to keep my personal space. After about 45 mins, the band came out for an electric set.

SET II
Scarlet Begonias
Minglewood Blues
Easy Wind >
New Speedway Boogie
Viola Lee Blues V1 >
High Time >
Viola Lee Blues V2 >
Hard To Handle >
Viola Lee Blues V3 >
Like A Rolling Stone >
Sugaree

The second set as a whole was a straight up rock show. The energy level remained high throughout, and there were not really any cool-down songs (save for High Time I suppose - hard to catch your breath during that one though). Phil strapped on the Modulus, and it was go time. Joe Russo was the only drummer during this set, and his playing was strong. Scarlet opener was good and felt very similar to the Portland second set opener, except Jackie sang it (Yes!). Minglewood was its average thing, oozing sexual energy - "Going to San Francisco, if I have to crawl." CR nailed Easy Wind, which is not an easy one to sing. His voice was lower than I've ever heard him sing, and he almost growled some of the lyrics. It segued nicely into New Speedway Boogie, which Jackie owned as usual. That is where the meat of the second set started imo.

Viola Lee Blues->High Time->Viola Lee Blues->Hard to Handle->Viola Lee Blues was as good as it looks. The transitions were a little sloppy, but Chris did a great job with the vocals in High Time. And, of course, he nailed Hard to Handle (Black Crowes are who turned me on to this song when I was a wee lad before I knew about Otis Redding). The third verse of Viola Lee jammed into Like a Rolling Stone. I had not seen Phil do this song since MCI Center, Washington DC Other Ones in November 02, and did not realize what I was missing. It was so good!! "How does it feel? To be out on your own?" Bob flubbed the beginning somehow and let out a few choice curse words. I remember when he would just play right on through - lately, he seemingly is being really hard on himself for even small mistakes. Lighten up Bob we love you! I couldn't believe the set hadn't ended yet when they segued into Sugaree. But...Chris Robinson sings it? Did not make much sense to me at all considering Jackie's reading of this song. I felt like Jackie got kind of snubbed, so I went into setbreak with a bad attitude, despite the fact that an hour and twenty minutes of an hour and a half long second set were spectacular.

SET III

Not Fade Away Jam (w/parade and balloon drop) >
Happy Birthday Phil! >
Not Fade Away Jam
short break
Playin in the Band >
St. Stephen >
Other One >
Elevator >
Unbroken Chain
Comes a Time >
Cream Puff War >
Franklin's Tower

Encore
Donor Rap
Johnny B. Goode

This set break was not as long as the first - seemingly only around 30 minutes. When the band returned to the stage (more Modulus), they kicked into Not Fade Away. Finally, the Lion King, the White Cloud, the God John Molo made his first appearance with Phil since NYE '08. Good to see you again Molo - you were definitely missed. They jammed the song out while the Birthday parade started. There were three big floats (Birthday present, Heart, and Stickman holding a cardboard cut-out custom Ritter) with people throwing goodies into the crowd. The skull from New Years Eve was stage left and menacing the crowd. We all sang Happy Birthday to Phil, and there was a balloon drop. No words to Not Fade Away were forthcoming, and the band seemed content to just jam on the Bo Diddley beat - with Phil THUMPING away. A short break (5 minutes? weird) followed before they came back out for Playing in the Band.

Playing was not as long or spacy as it can be and was quickly jammed into St. Stephen. St. Stephen was awesome (short Mountain Jam tease in the middle), but they did not do the William Tell ending (short Eleven-ish jam before finishing the song). Before starting into St. Stephen it sounded like they were jamming into the Other One, but they saved it and dropped it afterwards instead. I know I'm going to take a lot of flack for this, but I do not like the Other One. If you see Phil and Bob both multiple times each year, you will see multiple Other Ones. Needless to say, seeing a song too much can wear on my nerves. This version was average - I couldn't tell the difference between it and all the other ones (no pun intended) I have to sit through.

Molitz came out on stage during the jam out of the Other One, and I thought 'Sweet - he's about to add his electronic space to Unbroken Chain.' Unfortunately, they played the Particle song Elevator instead. I never really liked the song when Phil & Friends played it, and it did not really seem to have the desired effect of pumping the crowd up. Joe Russo was making funny faces during the song as if he was embarassed to play it. If that was the case, 'look dude - you play in the duo. nuff said.' Unbroken Chain is always a highlight of the show for me, but this one seemed a little off - certainly not as strong as the one I caught in January at the Throckmorton. The subtle transitions between the jams in the song were not that tight and it didn't switch directions the way a powerful Unbroken Chain does.

After Unbroken Chain, Chris Robinson sang Comes a Time. Again, amazing song and probably the highlight of the set. Although he did not have the emotion in his voice the way JK did when I caught it in Mill Valley a couple months ago, it was still Comes a Time - "ONLY LOVE CAN PHIL!!" Comes a Time made way for Cream Puff War, complete with go-go dancers (a la Warfield 08). These girls didn't seem as slutty as the last ones (@ the Warfield), and I think some of the effect might have been lost. They looked pretty young, and, at first, I thought they might be Bob's daughters! Probably not what they were going for... A quick segue into a short and very sweet Franklin's Tower and we get to bask in the glory of Phil's voice (split duties with Jackie was nice) for really only the third or fourth time of the night (what gives?). "In another time's forgotten space..."

Heartfelt Donor Rap and Johnny B. Goode encore sent us out in the streets at about 2AM. The show started shortly after 8, and by my estimate of about an hour and fifteen minutes of set break time, there was almost five hours of Grateful Dead music played. Even without standing in line all day, I think I still would have been pooped after that. And I was.

The theme of the show seemed to be: 1st set acoustic gooey heart soul love fest, 2nd set rock n' roll show, and 3rd set psychedelic melt down. I thought the first two sets worked marvelously, but the 3rd set fell a little flat. Still, despite not finishing as strong as we would have liked, I wouldn't have missed this show for the world. We are so incredibly lucky to have our lives cross paths with Phil's. Thank you for searching for the sound - I will never take it for granted. Love you PHIL!!!


OTHER THOUGHTS

JK was definitely to be seen but not heard. He didn't have many killer guitar solos that I remember. The acoustic guitar from him and Jackie was great though. Speaking of him and Jackie, seemingly Jackie did not interact or look at him much even though they were standing right next to each other. It kind of reminded me of the treatment Mark Karan gave Jackie at the Deadheads for Obama show - "Show me what you got, kid." Bob was also noticeably quiet, but was Bob at his finest at times. Phil was awesome all night long - he was more animated than I ever remember him - we got the smile face, the closed eyes face, the laughing face, the concentrating face, and, of course, the ROCK FACE!! Chris Robinson sang too much, though Sugaree is the only song where it really got on my nerves. Also, the fact that he was seemingly reading every line from his music stand before he sang it was a little weak. Who doesn't know these songs?

Jackie was massively underutilized, and I melt every time he sings - it's crazy what two years in Phil's band will do to my opinion of you. I guess the positive side of light JK and Jackie was no train wreck of too many musicians that is commonly found in a guest fest. Molo was awesome even though he was not centered behind Phil where we all know and love him. He seemed genuinely impressed with Russo's playing, and the two of them locked into a groove a couple times (NFA and Franklin's come to mind). I can only imagine what they'd sound like if they'd just finished a tour together. Though I'm still of the belief that Molo is obviously the man for the job, Russo is very good. The sound was not as tight as Furthur on Monday night in Portland, but was far from sloppy. In the end, I guess that makes me super excited for...

Not sure what comes next... Furthur Festival got announced, and I'm sure they will be tearing up stages all over this summer - though I'm not sure who will be in the band. Seemingly the ladies are out (bittersweet - thought as a whole they were very tasteful and added lots to the harmonies). And rumors abound regarding Jay Lane's future. Regardless of what happens, in Phil I trust.

"Going to plant a weeping willow.
On the banks green edge, it will grow, grow, grow"

Furthur 2010-03-08 Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR

Until now, I haven't posted again since I decided to start this blog. Not because I haven't seen any music, but just because I haven't really seen anything worth writing about. Except for Jim Page, singer/songwriter formerly of Seattle town residence of course, who I managed to catch a couple times. I'm not usually a fan of singer/songwriters, because, to me, any old schmuck can pick up an acoustic guitar and sing a song. That said, some singer/songwriters transcend the typically cliche genre and produce true art. Anyway, if you've never heard Jim Page, do yourself a favor and check out his stuff at his myspace or his website.

The past couple months I also caught Dave Rawlings Machine (great), Richard Thompson (ok), Medeski, Martin, & Wood (average), Blue Turtle Seduction (good), and others that didn't entertain (or stick enough in my memory) to mention.

Last night, I saw Furthur in Portland where they closed their first extended tour as a band. After hearing glowing reviews and seeing the setlists from Chicago and Denver, I was excited to see what the boys had in store for the peristently Dead starved Pacific Northwest market.



Furthur
March 8, 2010
Portland Memorial Coliseum
Portland, OR

SET I:

Picasso Moon
Dupree's Diamond Blues
Friend of the Devil->
Mama Tried
Built to Last
Black- Throated Wind
Peaceful Valley
Passenger

The band took the stage at almost 8:00, about 30 minutes after showtime. The minor league hockey arena and former home of the Portland Trailblazers seemed to be about 65-70% full. Picasso Moon opener - probably my single least favorite Dead tune that is still played. Ugh. But I was happy to be there so I didn't complain too much. Dupree's was well played with JK taking the lyrics. Friend of the Devil was nice as always, but to my disappointment, they did not do the extra verse Phil has been singing the past couple years

You can borrow from the devil
You can borrow from a friend
Devil's got a twenty dollar bill
And your friend's only got ten.

Friend of the Devil segued very nicely into Mama Tried which was well received. Built to Last was poignent, but Black Throated Wind was easily my highlight of the first set. Someone told me it was the only time it was played this tour, and Bobby let it rip at the end. Peaceful Valley is a great tune, but I kind of feel like JK struggles with the vocal range. Still I was glad to hear it (though wished it was Magnolia Mountain). A rocking Passenger closed the first set. At the end of the song the band seemed to really start to jam and get out there. All in all the first set started slow, but the crowd seemed to be feeling good at set break.


SET II:

Scarlet Begonias->
Fire on the Mountain
Hell In a Bucket
West LA Fadeaway
Reuben and Cherise
Days Between
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider

Encore:

Donor Rap
Knocking on Heavens Door
Touch of Grey

Second set started with a short jam that led into Scarlet->Fire. To me, this was probably the highlight of the show. Thick grooves and the crowd loving it. Phil closing his eyes and thumping away at the familiar bass melodies. I turned around and noticed Bill Walton standing 5 feet behind me with a huge grin on his face. Once that was over, you knew it was Bobby time. Hell in a Bucket was really good - again classic Bobby at the end "at least I'm enjoyin' the ride!" They had a quick reggae breakdown in the middle of the song that I hadn't heard before. It worked ok I thought - not great, not bad. West LA was definitely a groove, but it was a SLOW groove that I thought had things going downhill.

Ruben & Cherise is always a treat and seemed to have the energy heading back up until the jam led straight into the brick wall of Days Between. I was devastated. But, then I decided just to record the song instead of complaining. In the end, I thought it was probably the best one of them that I've seen out of 3 in the past 10 months (Dead Gorge, Furthur Throck). The crowd, at least around me, agreed Bob is getting better and better at singing this one - and it gets downright powerful. Plus I got a SWEET 10 minute video of it.

China Cat->Rider to close the set definitely had the energy level back up to Scarlet->Fire levels by the end. The transition between the two songs was really well played, and I Know You Rider gets better and better every time I see these guys play it. Right before the end guitar part, JK had issues with his rig, and the band had to keep the energy level up (Chimenti and Russo in particular did a great job here) until it got fixed. When it did, JK just let loose - completely ripped it up and they let him have a few more rounds for his patience I think. At the end of all this, Phil lets out the BOMBS - awesome. He made us wait the whole show, but good things come to those who wait. Wish I was a headlight, on a northbound train...

Encore was a throwaway imo, but the Donor Rap seemed more heartfelt than usual (if that's possible?). At the end Phil and Bobby embraced and Phil hugged every member of the band, and they all huddled up together before the bow. Phil was beaming.

OTHER THOUGHTS

It snowed outside briefly before the show. WWE Monday Night Raw was at the Rose Garden right next door. The band seemed tighter than they did in January. And JK's playing was more aggresive, and he seemed more comfortable. Sunshine and Zoe are awesome and really help the band vocally. Phil's Modulus is finally back, and it felt so good to be able to hear every note with such clarity again. The show as a whole was up and down energetically and musically but the energy from the stage (especially from Phil) was awesome. Phil didn't sing a song all night - saving them all for the Birthday Bash on Friday. I can't wait and will assuredly have a bunch of thoughts about that one too.