Finishing up a four day run that saw this particular collection of Phil Lesh & Friends play Central Park and The Capitol Theater twice, Saturday’s outdoor show was an easy going celebration amongst the participants.
These days it is obviously all about who Phil plays with and this lineup saw that the New York City music scene was expertly represented on stage. While ringmaster Lesh and guitarist/singer Ross James hail from the west coast, NYC stalwarts John Scofield, Joe Russo and Warren Haynes created a fluid and powerful foundation. Percussionist Jordan Levine was on board (as was Scott Law for “Jack Straw”) dealing with early rain showers that gave way to blazing sun in the hot Central Park spring.
Opening with a jam has been Phil’s go to move when playing with friends and for most shows it simply gets the juices flowing; but on this night the opening jam, a stop, then a second following jam should really be listened to as show highlights. Clocking in at over 25 minutes the group coalesced around easy funky movements led mostly by Medeski and Russo as guitar lines and bass thumps pushed things back and forth. Solos were taken, smiles exuded, bright sounds emanated: a good time was clearly had by band and fans.
When the group dipped into song structure the Dead’s catalog took a back seat as only a few songs from their own catalog were played. Of greater success, two Traffic covers rang out with the second set “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” being particularly of note. Throughout the show the band seemed to balance their instrumental languid explorations with blues numbers for Haynes to shine on (“Night Time Is The Right Time” and “Death Don’t Have No Mercy”). While not the smoothest flowing of shows those pairings make for an easy listen, the playing was loose and Warren’s vocals were sharp.
The crowd thoroughly enjoyed the players tribute to the Allman Brothers via “Blue Sky” which received a loud cheer along with the first set closing Band jaunt, “The Shape I’m In”. A gorgeous encore cover version of Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” ended the show which was done early, allowing for the fans to filter into the center of the city on a sweet night. While Lesh still searches for “the sound” into his mid 70’s, his live musical interplays and inventions still sound fresh, honest and alive.
Setlist:
Set 1:
Opening Jam
Jam>
Dear Mr. Fantasy
Cassidy
Night Time is the Right Time
Blue Sky
Mountains of the Moon
The Shape I’m In
Set 2:
Jack Straw (w/Scott Law)
Minglewood Blues
Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys>
Caution>
Hard to Handle
All Along the Watchtower
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Midnight Hour
E: Into the Mystic
One Response
Excellent review. I was at this show and this author, although the review is brief, nailed what went down. In my notes I had the opening down as “jam > jam > Dear Mr. Fantasy”; you’re the only one I’ve seen so far who noted two separate jams on the setlist.
And can we all agree that when Warren Haynes is one of the Phriends, and Low Spark is on the setlist, that it will invariably be a highlight? And while Blue Sky started off somewhat tepid, the places Warren took it at the end– softer, restrained, not the usual Dickey Betts style crescendo– was sublime.