Last weekend Phil Lesh and Friends played their first of a five weekend residency at the storied Capitol Theatre, starting with a Halloween show. Highlights included spooky takes on “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and both versions of “Dark Star” with “Fire on the Mountain” sandwiched in between. An encore of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” ended the night, like the song did for The Grateful Dead in 1990 and 1991. The next night saw the band tackle “He’s Gone” which included an extended jam,”Mason’s Children” and a great encore of the run of “Help on the Way>Slipknot>Franklin’s Tower”. The two night run consisted of members John Kadlecik, Dan Lebowitz, Rob Barraco, Joe Russo, and Scott Law, while Nels Cline joined in on night two.
This coming weekend Phil will be joined by Eric Krasno, Joe Russo, and Chris Robinson Brotherhood featuring Chris Robinson, Neal Casal, and Adam MacDougall. This line up is surely to take the music towards a more psychedelic sound. The 2005 tour with Chris Robinson has been said to be one of the stronger line ups in the Friends history. Eric Krasno most famously played with Lesh and Russo in Central Park at an unannounced show almost exactly one year ago. The set last about a half-hour and consisted of primarily jazz-style improvisation. The theatre should be buzzing with feelings of the mid 60’s as soon as the band takes the stage on Friday November 7. Tickets are still availabe, but are limited in supply.
This five week residency is of course part of the deal that Lesh maybe with Peter Shapiro, owner of Relix, Brooklyn Bowl, and The Capitol Theatre. Although it looks like Phil won’t be performing 30 shows at The Capitol Theatre like first thought, he will be getting close after he closes the year out with help from Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. The PhilRAD shows take place on December 30 and 31 and are already sold out. At age 74 Phil Lesh definitely won’t be doing this for much longer, so if you have the chance to buy a ticket, take the ride and see the bassist when you get the chance.
Comments are closed.