Reviews
Hey folks --
We just shuffled back in from our first of 10 shows this tour, at Darien. As someone who saw the Dead more than 50 times, has seen Ratdog more than 30 times, has seen, Mickey, P&F (6 times -- 3 different sets of Friends), Hornsby, JGB, Vince/MMF, dozens of splinter bands and festivals, and more than 20 Furthur shows (11 in '98, 6 in '97 and 3 in '96), I have a little bit of perspective.
Yes, this is not your father's Grateful Dead. But then, what Dead are you talking about? The late '70's Dead? The stadium kings of the early '90's? Just what is it that fans want?
It occurred to me about midway through the show Sunday night that you must realize what your expectations are for these shows, and make sure your expectations can realistically be realized. Only then will you have the chance to come away satisfied.
If you want to see talented musicians doing their best to reinterpret and bring new life to Dead songs, then this is the place. Isn't that what Jerry and the Boys were trying to do each night, when you get down to it?
It's easy to see that hardcore Dead fans might be disappointed by the show at Darien and by Furthur in general. But then again, hardcore Dead fans are going to spend the rest of their lives disappointed -- if they're waiting for Jerry to come back, or they're seeking to re-capture some of that late '70's ''magic.'' It just ain't gonna happen that way again. Even more pathetic is this ''Phil is better/No he's not'' argument. It's quite obvious to anyone watching this little soap opera unfold what's really going on. Phil likes being leader of the band. The Other Ones don't necessarily want him to be full-time leader of the band. Phil takes his bass home and starts another band, one that lets him be the leader. Anyone wishing that Phil was along with TOO is sorely underestimating the importance of harmony between band members onstage, so don't hold your breath waiting for him to return to the fold.
As for the show itself at Darien, there were high spots and low spots, just like any GD show (especially from the '90s). The Other Ones are at a decided disadvantage, though. Whereas the GD played 80-plus nights a year, with plenty of time and opportunity to work out the bugs, TOO only has a month to pull it all together. You are just not going to see the same kind of energy and synchronicity that you get when the band plays and lives together for extended periods of time.
High spots at Darien: Drums/Space, without a doubt. It is so good to have Billy back in the fold. A few minutes before the band came on Saturday night, I was sitting on a bench near the restrooms on the far side of the stage. Billy K. cautiously walks out from backstage area, peers around, and sits on the bench next to me for about 3-4 minutes -- just soaking it all in. No one recognized him (I did); I chose not to bother him. Other high spots: Bruce and Bob trading lines on Terrapin, even with its overall lumpy texture; Bob, trying Jack-A-Roe (Bruce has picked up most of Jerry's vocals) with only little flubs; Mark's sweet vocals on Deal; bringing in Jorma (anytime).
I won't compare TOO with the various lineups Phil trotted out to support him. Why compare and choose? I'm happy to have choices.
It's very simple. You like the music? Go to the show. You don't like the music? Stay home, keep your grumbling to yourself, and let someone who's going to appreciate it use your seat.
I'm looking forward to the next nine shows. Yes, my expectations are different than they were for the Dead. It's not as if I would ''settle for less'' -- this is the only game in town, and I'm not going to miss out. There's just too much good music, too many good people, and too much good vibe to miss out on.
See you at Montage ... and Hartford ... and Continental ... and Nissan ... and Camden ... and Hampton, Greensboro, Suwanee and Lakewood.
Charlie W.
Overall, a fun show. It looked like Weir was calling the shots tonight. The opening jam was well-played, the highlight being the Other One. This would be the theme for the evening, as they kept poking around the Other One jam all night. Shakedown was nice, and the segue into Music was very tight. Mexicali and FOTD were kind of sleepers, not a lot of energy. The Way It Is was actually very hot. They actually went into the Other One jam after the first few verses of Way It Is, then Bruce finished the last two verses of Way It Is over the Other One chord changes. It sounded like Bruce and Alphonso were playing Way It Is, while the rest of the band kept to the Other One theme. This was one of the highlights of the evening for me. It was cool to see Billy and Mickey do their Drumz thing. There was no Space after Drumz, but a little Hornsby / Alphonso jam. Hornsby played a verse or two of My Funny Valentine, with Alphonso following along on the fake acoustic bass he had - this was cool. They launched into Preacher in the Ring, with Mickey standing up front playing the tar. This was OK, kind of a sleepy tune. After the Wheel, they jammed a good long time on the Other One - maybe a little too long, as the rest of the band kept looking at Weir as if to say, ''sing the second verse already''. He finally did, and then closed out with Sugar Mags, which was a good rocker. The Black Muddy River encore was nice - very sweet.
Overall, I had a good time, but the Other Ones from 1998 were a better band, IMHO. I don't think I'd want to see more than one show with this band, but I'm glad I had the chance to check it out.
Greg Poulos
First let me say that I had just about given up on the whole Further experience. I went to shows in '96 and '97. The greasers that went just to see the Black Crowes bothered me - I didn't feel like I could walk away from my backpack. The mood was all wrong.
I decided to go to this year's show at the last minute. What I saw blew me away. TOO isn't the Dead; they certainly don't look like the Dead, and they are far too polished to sound like the Dead. But they're a GREAT band - far better than Ratdog or The Range. I put this band in the same league with Phish. They are creative, spontaneous (by post-Dead standards), and playing absolutely in the moment (which the Dead often failed to do).
Personally, I felt Detroit drew the short straw for the set list. TOO played some of my least favorite Dead tunes - Truckin, The Music Never Stopped, Friend of the Devil. Of all the songs they played, only The Wheel ranked among the 20 or so that I consider my favorites. I really wish I had been at Alpine Valley.
I like the fact that Bruce has added an element of lounge piano jazz to the mix. For a while I was imagining TOO backing up Bryan Ferry for a tour the way the Dead backed up Dylan. I'd go.
If you hate Mickey Hart's oddball rap performances, I saw Wasserman play Sunday night with his band, Space Island, and his rap is worse. Wasserman is touring in support of his new album and it's almost all instrumental, but he has a tune which I believe is called ''Hippy Hip Hop'' which is awful. Rob needs to keep quiet or hire a singer. You can't bring a performance like that to the hometown of Kid Rock and Eminem. Space Island's instrumental work is excellent, however, and I recommend seeing them if you can.
David H. Lynch
Last night I went up to Pine Knob Music Theatre to catch the band, the Other Ones which is essentially what the Grateful Dead morphed into when Jerry Garcia died in 1995. Despite my infatuation with the Dead, I had gone over three years without seeing any Dead member perform and it had been a long dry spell for me. I really missed the unique feeling you get at a Dead family show. From the parking lot scene to being lost in the middle of some huge cascading jam. I had real high hopes for this show and I had been looking forward to it for months.
I showed up at Pine Knob early to check out the parking lot and soak up the scene. It had been a chilly day. All week had been hot and sticky, but when I woke up Labor Day morning, the heat had broken and there was a hint of the autumn that is just around the corner. I started walking around the lot and I couldn't help but smile as I was immediately offered a beer for sale. I accepted and walked around checking out the food, jewelry, t-shirts and other various wares for sale. I passed an enormous drum circle on my way to the gate. There were probably 30 drummers playing drums of every size and shape with a huge crowd gathered around them. Overall the scene was a lot smaller than the Dead's scene at its peak, but one of the problems with the Dead scene near the end was that had gotten too big. This seemed about right and had a great spirit to it. I got into the theatre, stopped at the Grateful Dead Mercantile booth to pick up the new Steve Kimock Band album and then found my seat. I had lucked out and was in about the 14th row, right in the center with a great view of the stage. My excitement was mounting as the opening act Ziggy Marley and the Melody makers took the stage. Ziggy had about 10 or 11 people up there with him including some of his siblings and they started right into ''Small Axe'' which is a great, but relatively unknown Bob Marley tune. Ziggy and Company conjured the spirit of Bob up, but still made the song their own. I love that tune too. ''If you are the big tree, then we are the small axe, sharpened to chop you down''. Definitely, revolution music. The crowd was small at first, but soon the pavillion filled up and everybody was on their feet dancing. Ziggy turned out to be a great warm up for the main attraction. There is a huge cross over between reggae fans and Deadheads and Ziggy got everybody moving in the cool evening air. The band was tight and Ziggy shared vocals with his brother Stephen and both of them look and sound so much like their father that it is eerie. They had three back-up singers who were really awesome too. They had handled the back-up and occasional lead vocals beautifully and had some fly dance moves and outfits to boot. They worked their way through a set of songs including ''Uncle Sam'', ''One Good Spliff'' and ''Could You Be Loved''. At the end of the set about five Marley grandkids came on stage and danced around the band. One kid in particular who was about 7 or 8 was mugging the spotlight and looks to be the next heir to the Marley throne. The band left the stage too soon to a wave of applause and good vibes. I hit the bathrooms in preparation for what I knew would be a long set by the Other Ones.
At about 8:00 the band meandered on stage quietly. That is one thing I always loved about the Dead. They didn't drop on to stage on ropes wearing capes or blowing fire out of their mouths. They just sort of appeared on stage one by one and picked up their instruments. The band started tuning up. When Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann climbed up on the drum riser behind their huge complex of percussion instruments, the crowd went wild, ecstatic about the return of the Rhythm Devils to the concert stage. Kreutzmann had been laying low in Hawaii for the last five years since Garcia died and this tour marked the return of the Hart-Kreutzmann one-two punch.
Keyboardist Bruce Hornsby played a crazy little ditty at top speed on piano to warm up his cold fingers. Soon rhythm guitarist Bob Weir looked around at the band to signal the beginning of the opening song which was ''Truckin''. The band ripped into the groove of this archetypal Dead song and the crowd went nuts, Bobby hit most of the lyrics in time with Hornsby and guitarist Mark Karan sharing the back up vocals. The crowd was now a familiar sea of dancers. There is something so gratifying about singing ''What a Long Strange Trip it's Been'' at the top of your lungs with 8,000 other people. As the band entered the jam at the end of ''Truckin''' it was obvious to me that this was really a band and not just a collection of musicians thrown together. They weaved around the ''Truckin''' rhythm for a while with guitarist Steve Kimock hitting some sweet notes. Soon the music evolved and grew darker and more ominous sounding. Weir and Kimock began throwing the distinctive beat of ''The Other One'' into the mix. At one point Kimock walked behind Karan and bassist, Alphonso Johnson to get closer to Weir and lock eyes with him to create their musical palette. The jam reached a fever pitch with everybody wailing and then Weir went into the first verse, ''Spanish Lady Come to Me?''
The crowd was going crazy at this point and after the first verse of ''The Other One'' and a bit more jamming the band slowed down, executing a perfect segue into ''Loser'', A Hunter/Garcia tune about an outlaw gambler, now sung by Bruce Hornsby. This has always been one of my favorite Dead songs and Hornsby really did it justice. The jam in the middle was great with both Karan and Kimock taking turns soloing before the band finally brought the song to a huge finish leaving the crowd gasping for breath.
Next Mickey came up to the front of the drum riser as Kimock and the rest of the band began playing Mickey's ode to fallen heroes ''Down the Road.'' Kimock played a cool introduction on slide guitar that was reminiscent of something you would hear on an Allman Brothers album. Mickey sang/rapped the Robert Hunter penned lyrics about the legacies of Robert Kennedy, Joe Hill, John Lennon and Jerry Garcia. I originally saw Mickey play this tune with his band Mystery Box and it became a favorite of mine right away. The last verse about Garcia always gets me too, no matter how many times I hear it. As they ended the song, Hornsby led them into a great vocal jam based around the chorus of the song. Mickey, Mark and Bob all joined in the gospel rave-up. This part of the show really reminded of some vocal jams I had seen Phish do in the past. It was obvious that the band was having a really good time here too.
Next up Weir started into the intro to another Hunter/Garcia chestnut, 'Shakedown Street''. This comes from the late seventies and is a disco/funk work out that always gets the crowd going. The band pulled it off very well. Kimock and Karan relished the funky leads and Weir laid down lots of cool wah wah-like rhythm. I am constantly impressed by Bob Weir's guitar playing. He just plays so uniquely and creatively. The crowd sang along to all the verses of ''Shakedown Street'' and was dancing hard as Bobby pulled off another great segue into ''The Music Never Stopped'' which drove the crowd to another peak of excitement. The band nailed the changes and the jam was inspired and tight. This song is so symbolic of the Dead and their whole scene and I found myself getting goose bumps during ''The Music Never Stopped'' line.
Next up, everybody left the stage except for Weir and Karan who both strapped on acoustic guitars. Weir looked over at Karan mischievously and began to strum the intro to his cowboy polka, ''Mexicali Blues''. It was cool to see this song in an acoustic setting. Weir's voice was strong and he nailed the lines perfectly. Karan can play really cool country licks and he shined throughout the song. About halfway through Hornsby came back on stage with his white accordion and played a solo or two. Next Alphonso came back out to play his big, red, stand-up bass and Billy got back behind his drum set for a very Bluegrassy ''Friend of the Devil'' which featured a great solo by Mark Karan.
The rest of the band came back to the stage and went back to electric instruments as Hornsby played the intro to his eighties hit, ''The Way It Is''. I had been a fan of this song before I even heard of the Dead so it was weird to see it played in this context. I had always wondered how the Dead would have treated this song during Hornsby's tenure in the band, but they never tackled it. Now I found out. The song was given a more powerful arrangement and the guitar players led a huge psychedelic jam with hints of ''the Other One'' in it during the middle of the song. The band was clearly improvising and listening closely to each other. Hornsby was stretching the song out as much as he could and him and Kimock really locked up during the jams. At one point it looked like Bobby was trying to bring the band into something else, maybe a full scale ''Other One'' reprise when Hornsby pulled them back into ''The Way It Is''.
As the jam wound down, Billy and Mickey beat out an aggressive rhythm signaling the beginning of ''Drums''. Alphonso stayed out while everybody else except the drummers left the stage. The rhythm section was obviously having a great time jamming and Alphonso was all smiles as he also left and gave way to the Rhythm Devils. The drums segment was very intense for me. It was good to hear these two men who are sort of like Siamese twins of drumming back together. They took the percussion really far out there this night and the crowd was into to it. I realized that the Hart /Kreutzmann rhythm is with me always, setting the beat for my stride, pushing air in and out of my lungs and pumping my heart. I have listened to these guys play so much that I have internalized their beat and it has become part of my own personal rhythm. Sounds goofy I know, but I swear it is true.
As Drums wound down, Bruce and Alphonso came back out, Billy left and Mickey came up front with a hand drum. Hornsby and Alphonso played a beautiful piano/bass duet for awhile before segueing into Bruce's song about faith, ''Preacher in the Ring''. Mickey beat out a subtle rhythm, while Alphonso played the bass lines and Steve Kimock joined too, playing some understated slide guitar. It was a cool moment seeing the band breakdown into smaller components.
The rest of the band came back out and they all started some free form jamming that Weir brought into ''The Wheel''. It was great to see this one live again too and the band played a nice version of it that melded back into an intense ''Other One'' reprise featuring the second verse. The jam out of this one got pretty crazy too with Alphonso taking a cool bass solo right before Weir started playing the chords to ''Sugar Magnolia''. The crowd was into this one too and the band played it very loud. Karan had some great leads on this one and everybody was singing as it led into the ''Sunshine Daydream'' ending. I actually saw Bruce play his piano with his right foot during this part. The song came to an explosive ending and the band left the stage to huge applause. I think they were fighting the curfew because they came right back on and Bruce started playing the intro to ''Black Muddy River''. This is the last song I ever saw Garcia sing and it was the last song he sang in public. It has been five years since I saw that last Dead show at Soldier Field and over 10 years since I saw my first Dead show. I had no idea how much either of those events would change my life.
I came to this show hoping to recapture some of that old feeling. If you have been there and ''got it'' you know that it is the best feeling in the world. The Grateful Dead world has been in some turmoil since Garcia died, but the Grateful Dead or whatever you want to call it is bigger than Jerry, Bob, Mickey, or Bill. It's bigger than Phil or Alphonso. It's bigger than Bruce or Vince. It's bigger than the Zen Tricksters, the Dark Star Orchestra or even Phish. It is an underground beast that enters our dimension when conjured by the right shamans. It's pure energy and it's like catching lightning in a bottle. I came to the show to see if the beast was still alive and I am happy to say that, yes, it is still alive and I think it kicked a hole in the stable door last night.
Jeremy Baldwin
Since no one has posted as of yet, I will take the liberty. This show was hot from start to finish. Truckin->Other One was phenomenal with a flawless segue. They really got jammin' on this Other One, which I thought was much hotter than the 98 versions I've heard. Loser was nice, some lyrical flubs, but nothing too bad. Down the Road..no comment. Not big on Mickey's tunes at all. Then boom! You could see it coming from a mile a way and they didn't disappoint...SHAKEDOWN!!!! On fire sliding effortlessly into Music Never Stopped. Why didn't the Dead use this combo? It was by far the highlight of the night. Mexicali was a nice tour first and FOTD was a repeat from Columbus as was The Way It Is, but who could ask for two better repeats!! Then things got a little strange with everyone a little too Other One happy all the way through The Way It Is->Drumz->Preacher->Wheel (which was smokin')->Other One. They took FOREVER to get back to verse two and I was not happy at all with the way it was pulled off. Still, no letdowns, they've only played together for a month and they take more chances then 90's Dead ever thought of. Sugar Magnolia was completely raging and Black Muddy River could only make me think of Chicago '95 when Jerry sang his last song. A very nice song selection and for the most part (minus Other One overkill ala Ratdog) an incredible night. Whatever you do, do not miss this band!! Those who have open minds will surely enjoy.
Dan Robertson
overall, this show sucked. you'd think if this band was going to take this show on the road, the least they could do would be to learn the changes in Truckin. sure, it had it's moments, and watching mickey and billy play together again brought back many fond memories, but I for one will probably never go to another furthur festival again. i've seen dead cover bands play better shows - these guys were seriously lacking - where were the high harmonies? why did bruce have to give major hand signals to the band when he wanted them to play softer...very sloppy show, and an insult to dead fans...sorry to be harsh, but i feel it's well deserved.
(not)Alwysgrovn
I don't know what show these people were at but with hundreas of shows under my belt since 1972 this show rocked. Samson was huge Terrapin was mind blowing. Mark won me over this show and Steve wailed. Best moment was handing big Jorma the keys and letting him drive the big machine. Get a ticket and see these shows. Don't believe these mutts who would not know a great time if it slapped them in the face. LONG LIVE THE OTHER ONES
Mark Hitchcock
I just caught the Other Ones Monday, and I must say that the show was amazing! I am a longtime Deadhead and was cautiously optimistic about this tour mainly because no Phil. I knew Alphonso was great but Phil is the man. I loved TOO in '98 when I saw them, and for me that was the ultimate tour by any band since Jerry died. I love RatDog, MHB, Phil & Friends, but that tour still had been the best. I had just caught Phil & his latest batch of friends at Pine Knob and thought that the show was smokin'. Now, I have always been a big fan of Weir, but he really stepped up big Monday night. He was huge. I've always been a Kamp Kimock guy. He was the best thing musically about this show. When he went off this show shredded. This band had alot to live up to after seeing Phil tear up the joint a month ago. Though Phil would be nice in this band, AJ did awrigght. Bottom line is, Truckin'>Other One was as intense a vibe that I've heard in days. The band raised the bar even higher with the best Shakedown I've ever heard (sorry Jerry) into an unbelievable rendition of Music. When I heard that TOO played this in Washington, this was my big ''wish'' song for this gig. Not only did they play it, they killed on it. This duo was clearly the highlight of the concert for me. Acoustic Mexicali that followed was something out of a dream. Another inspiring moment was when they melted The Other One into the last part of Way It Is. This was absolutely sick. Nice job guys! DRUMZ was more trippy sounding than anything I've heard in quite some time. Preacher did bring the vibe down somewhat. Hey Bruce, ya mind not putting everybody to sleep with all your slow song selections?! The transition back and forth between the The Other One and the Wheel was truly the bomb, I've never heard a band do that tightness before. The Wheel was very inspirational andwas yet another highlite. Sugar Mags rocked like always, more than any Dead version I ever saw. In close, this band is already better than any thing Phil is trotting out there and that's saying alot. Phish might as well go lay down because they just can't hang and I don't care what anyone says on that. Kimock rules, out!
T1975y