What A Long Strange Trip It's Been
It’s the slogan of
the Grateful Dead and their way of life, and it’s become a cliché, but
never have the words “What a long strange trip it’s been” rung so true,
as they did last Sunday night in Hunter, New York. Bass Player Phil
Lesh, headlining the third annual Mountain Jam.
After the death
of front-man Jerry Garcia, Lesh had one of the more successful touring
runs of any of the surviving members in the early 2000’s with his "Phil
Lesh & Friends" band. It was a novel idea, and one that seemed to
make sense. No one could fill Jerry’s shoes, so why not bring out a
rotating line-up of professional musicians, each with their own take on
the Dead's massive catalog. But it wasn’t until Lesh teamed up with
guitarist Warren Haynes, that the band really took off. The rotating
lineup finally cemented itself around 2002, built around Haynes and
Widespread Panic's guitarist, Jimmy Herring; and "Phil Lesh &
Friends" became affectionately known as "The Phil Lesh Quintet" or
simply, "The Q." But as Haynes’ main project, Gov’t Mule began to get
bigger, it seemed there just wasn’t enough room on stage for both of
the giants... Haynes left, and Lesh returned to the rotating lineup
format.
Then, last fall news hit that Lesh, 10 years removed
from a liver transplant, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Lesh
asked Deadheads for their prayers and announced he’d be taking some
time off from touring. After successful treatment, Lesh has slowly
worked his way back on the road this year, playing a few individual
shows here or there, but staying away from extensive touring... much to
the chagrin of the dead-head community. Lesh, along with rhythm
guitarist Bob Weir, have been the two main torch carriers of the Dead's
music, and Lesh carried that Olympic flame to upstate New York for his
first, and possibly only East Coast stop of the year. And what a way to
close-out the festival!
Besides reuniting with Warren
Haynes, Lesh assembled a superb lineup. Drummer John Molo, who's become
Lesh's personal drummer in many ways, was manning the skins. Jazz
guitarist extraordinaire, John Scofield shared lead guitar duties with
Haynes. Youngster Steve Molitz, of the up and coming jam band,
Particle, was on keyboards.
The problem Lesh ran into with his
rotating lineup's was that it often took each group a few shows or even
tours before they would really gel, which is understandable. The beauty
of this lineup, particularly since it was a one-night stand, is
that all the musicians were very familiar with each other. Keys player,
Molitz has been touring with Phil the last few years. Drummer, Molo has
been playing with Phil for almost eight years now and the two blend
together so well. Scofield is an alum of several Phil & Friends
tours, and also has an extensive history with Haynes. He co-wrote the
Gov't Mule classic, "Sco-Mule," and also had Warren lend his vocal
talents to his several tracks on his Ray Charles tribute album, That's What I Say.
Fire on the Mountain (Jam)
So
while this particular group as a whole have not played together,
individually, there was a lot of familiarity. From the get-go they
showed an unexpected tightness.The high-energy Dead classic, "Shakedown Street" got
things started off. Haynes' raspy vocals really lend themselves well to
this Garcia number, and it's always a great way to start a show. From
there, the band jammed right into another Garcia classic, "Friend of
the Devil." The group really started to hit its groove here, rolling
right into an expected, and lively rendition of "Althea." This was not
a song that was often in the rotation during The Q's touring days, and
when it was, it was usually sung by keyboardist, Rob Barraco. You could
tell right away Warren was itching to get his chance at the vocals, and
by the time he got to the pinnacle line, "this space is getting hot" it
was already old news. That space was already on fire. Three songs.
30-plus minutes. Phil's way of saying, "we're not messing around
tonight, kiddies."
Next up was a staple of The Q's repertoire,
the Traffic cover, "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys." Warren always seems
to kick it up a notch during this number, and this version was no
different. But this was also where Scofield started to assert himself.
Some great interplay between him and Haynes on guitar, just a prelude
of what was to come later in the show. A near 20-minute version, slowly
winding down and leading into "New Speedway Boogie." The crowd really
got into this one, proudly singing along with Haynes, "I spent a little
time on the mountain." I guess when that mountain is one giant mud-pit
from two days of rain, it is something to be proud of.
One of
the best things Phil has done for the Dead's repertoire is break out
oldies-but-goodies that the band stopped playing decades ago. Perhaps
the best example of that, "Mason's Children" came next... another song
that Warren really breathes new life into. Some more masterful guitar
wars between him and Scofield punctuated the jam, before the band
finally took a breather. They had pretty much played non-stop for 70
minutes, and we were starting to feel the end of the first set coming,
when they kicked into "Candyman." While it was Haynes on vocals, this
one was really all about Phil, smiling as Haynes belted out "Hand me my
old guitar, pass the whiskey round, won't you tell everybody you meet
that the Candyman's in town." Welcome back, Phil!
Knowing they
couldn't end the set on Candyman, tensions ran high as they discussed
the next tune. Figuring they had one more, quick one in them, we were
all stunned when the opening chords of "Scarlet Begonias" kicked in. Phil obviously doesn't sing this one quite as well as Jerry, but this is the type of Dead tune that everyone sings along with, so we all shared lead vocals duty. The
set was already over an hour and a half, and there was no end in sight
as the band cooly segued into "Eyes of the World." After a downright
clinic put on by Scofield, the band weaved back into the "Scarlet" jam,
and finally into "Fire on the Mountain." Warren and Scofield really
played off each other on this one, throwing flames from their amps... A fire on the mountain, indeed.
Not Fade Away
After a
quick, five or ten minute set break, they were back on stage with
another Quintet favorite, Lesh's "Unbroken Chain." This is another tune
that Warren made his own during his "Q" days, but before we got to his
signature solo at the end, Scofield but his fingerprints on the
beginning sections. He really does a great job of playing vastly
different styles, equally well. Next up, The Jam Song of all Jam Songs,
"Dark Star." A song that really defined the Dead's early sound of the
60's -- where jazz meets jam. Perfect for Mr. Scofield, and he really
shined on this one. Out of a "Space" type jam, another skeleton from the Dead's closet emerged, the psychedelic 60's favorite, "Mountains of the Moon." This song was usually played acoustic by the Dead, and more often than not would lead into "Dark Star," with the band switching to electric instruments in mid-flight. Instead, it served as the meat of a jam sandwich tonight, as the band slowly worked it's way back into the second verse of "Dark Star."
Another of Phil's favorite things: playing Beatles' tunes. And we all knew it was only a matter of time before something from their catalog
made an appearance. Tonight, it was "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," a
number often played by the Dead in the 90's, as well as by The Q. What
really struck me on this tune was how Scofield seemed to find a place
to take some amazing solos out of nowhere. "Lucy" is not really a song
you think of as being, "jammed out," but that didn't seem to stop him.
As the night began to wind down there was time for one
last heatwave, which appeared in the form of the blues classic, "Turn
on Your Lovelight." Another tune the Dead and their members have been
playing for 40 years, and still somehow Warren finds a way to make it
his own. Some more amazing interplay between Haynes and Scofield here.
You can really tell they enjoy playing together.
For the encore,
it was another Dead-head anthem, "Not Fade Away." The guitarists taking
one more chance to get their kicks and trade licks; and the audience
getting one more chance to tell Phil what he already knows, "You know
our love will not fade away." Phil looked great, sounded great, and it
was a treat to see him back on stage where he belongs. Dropping bombs,
bringing back old memories, and bringing together old friends.
