Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well – Santa Clara, CA 6/27/15 – Highlights & Lowlights (SHOW RECAP)

“Are we really here?” The amount of people overheard saying something to that effect on Saturday afternoon in Levi Stadium was astounding. The stoke factor from Deadheads, to the Levi’s Stadium staff, to anyone within a 10 mile radius of the first of five “Fare The Well” shows seems like something born from a 1960’s era psychedelic dream. With the Gay Pride Flag flying high atop the stadium signifying the love in the air, smiles, high-fives, impromptu conversations from politics to music, last night, all seem right in the world to celebrate 50 years of an American institution, The Grateful Dead.

HIGHLIGHTS

 –A Solid Start. Last night was far from “perfect”, but waves of brilliance were felt, and when the band came together in unison, there was an undeniablemagic. From the opening jam bleeding into a most appropriate opener in “Truckin”, to the surprise of “Casey Jones” to cap it all off instead of “One More Saturday Night”, the first of the five most anticipated shows of the 2015 summer was worthy. The band will get tighter and transitions will flow better as they keep playing together, but overall, after months and months of the intense media circus, last night was a proud first show.

–Noteworthy Production. The production last night was brilliant. With time spent down low near the stage, and up high in the nosebleeds, the screens delivered the experience throughout the venue well, the roses being handed out to greet showgoers upon entry was a nice touch, as was the fireworks to kick off set two. The ticket situation leading up to the shows will remain a sore issue for many fans, but last night the effort made by the promoter and greater crew was more than noticeable and helped support the undeniably beautiful vibration shared by most everyone in attendance.

–Exceptional Song Choice. With such a vast catalogue, what songs would be selected to celebrate 50 years from a band beyond description? Saturday night’s show was essentially drawn straight from the 60’s, but in an absolute sense never felt forced. We’ll have to wait and see what unfolds over the next four shows, but looking back at the first outing, there’s no better way to celebrate what one could call “Old School Grateful Dead” than what was played Saturday in Levi’s Stadium.

– Bob Weir. Plain and simple-  rhythm guitarist, vocalist and founding Grateful Dead member, Bob Weir was a major highlight last night bringing a sincere burst of energy to both sets. Before this run, many had wondered how the youngest member of the Grateful Dead would fare. While his guitar might be turned up a bit too loud in relation to the rest of the instruments on stage, Bobby’s vocals were poignant, his notes were clear, and it felt good to have the wild child of the Dead looking, feeling and playing so strong.

–Trey Anastasio. This band is not the Grateful Dead. What we have is the “Core Four” joined by Bruce Hornsby who played keys with the Grateful Dead for more than 100 show from 1990-1992 after the passing of Brent Mydland, joined by post Dead keyboard extraordinaire Jeff Chimenti. Trey is attempting to fill an unfillable roll, and while those that know his playing well will bet the first to tell you he wasn’t playing in his prominence last evening, Trey played more than well. “Big Red” barely missed a note, lead improvisational jams, and stepped up when the time and space was appropriate.

–Cream Puff War. There’s no denying that set one was jittery. The band seemed a little lost, out of time-as if they were searching for some glue throughout the just over an hour first of ten “Fare The Well” sets. The music was good, but in set one it wasn’t until “Cream Puff War” when the energy in Levi’s Stadium started to sore musically, and the chops of guitarist Trey Anastasio wowed those unfamiliar with his abilities.

–Taking Chances. This could be the biggest highlight of them all from night one. Five minutes renditions of classic hits? No way. The band took chances last night, right away, showing that there truly is a wide open canvas to paint a masterpiece over the next four shows. The exploration in “Dark Star”, perhaps the unofficial anthem and cornerstone tune of the Grateful Dead, was other-worldly.  More of the same punctuated “St. Stephen”, and while the improvisation didn’t necessarily land in any one place, going deep, taking the audience on such an adventure on night one was about the greatest thing this band could do to celebrate 50 years of arguably, the most adventurous band to ever play live music.

–Drums>Space. Pure, unadulterated Grateful Dead. There’s no denying that when it’s just drummers Billy Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart leading the show, it’s as if you could go back in time to a past Grateful Dead show, but the beauty of being in the present is reality. Literally dripping in psycedelia, with so many drums, toys, and sounds to make, combined with the inppecably produced screens, this was a very special, cosmic moment of the show.

–Other One>Morning Dew.  After a thunderous drums, short but out there “Space”, and what felt like a  purely organic delivery in bassist Phil Lesh singing “What’s Become of the Baby”-a song only played live by the Grateful Dead once, the final two songs of the second set reeked of Grateful Dead spirit. Offered in a way speaking to 2015, the combination of songs and the time and place left a glow with the crowd that was a special way to end a memorable second set.

–Double Rainbow. You can’t make this stuff up.  As the first set came to close last night a beautiful rainbow that morphed into a double rainbow, and ultimately exploded into an incredible sunset filled the sky. It’s no coincidence. A sign from the cosmos that we were all meant to be there, that this event was meant to be, and that all the effort involved in making these shows happen was worth it.

 LOWLIGHTS

 –Let Trey Sing, Turn Trey Up. As mentioned, guitarist Trey Anastasio played well last night, and as previously reported, his preparation for these shows was evident in his solid playing. That said, why not turn him up a few notches? Maybe he could add some more vocals? His voice was heard, and his guitar rang true on Saturday night, but both could find their way into the mix a bit more and not take anything away from show. In fact, it will most likely bring about a more full musical experience for all involved.

–Cohesion. It was the first night of five, and after the many months of hype, it’s understandable, but the band needs a leader. A sense of cohesion would go a long way, and while Bob Weir seemed to morph into that role as the show progressed, and Phil attempted to orchestrate at several points during Saturday’s show, various band members were looking to take a cue from someone at several points throughout the night.

–Where’s Bruce? Many fans were delighted to hear that Bruce Hornby would be on this bills playing the keys. He stepped up front for the final song of the evening in “Casey Jones”, but if there was one member of the band that seemed noticeably absent from both the playing and vocal side of things, it was Bruce. Hopefully that changes tonight and in Chicago, because after all, the magic that was on Saturday was uniquely special, and there are four more nights to go!

All photos by Jay Blakesberg