Reviews
Sick, unbelievable show in Boston... the energy in and around the Fleet Center was there long before the band hit the stage, and by the time the lights went down the crowd was going nuts. There were plenty of highlights... the whole show pretty much was one. Flawless. The Other One Jam was monumental, Down the Road got folks all riled up, the Dark Star Jam and Jam--with plenty of Other One within it. Bruce and Mickey were ON during the drumz segment, and Mickey followed with a jam on kalimbra, joined by Kimock, Bruce, and Alphonso. Mickey was in Steve's face as they played off each other, nice then Bruce began singing Gasoline Alley once the whole band was back.... I dunno this song but it was sure random. Then they busted into Other One--nice though Bobby forgot the words for a minute.... A great Wharf Rat.... eventually back to Dark Star, then oh yeah the post Lady With a Fan part of Terrapin. A scathing Sugar Mag (with Bruce playing with his right foot by the end of SSDD) and a perfect Ripple and everyone was salivating. Smiles across the board on stage... especially between Alphonso n Billy and between Mickey n everyone. Oh yeah on the way offstage after Ripple, Bruce acted like he was throwing his accordian into the crowd and lost his balance, knocked over a mic and stumbled off stage; a good laugh for everyone including Bruce. The scene outside was beautiful--untouched by the police (were there any?) and a drum circle still going strong a couple hours after the show. Hot hot hot, and I'll be shocked if anyone could have come out of that show with anything but positivity surrounding them. Woohoo!!!!!
Dave
One of the best shows I have ever attended. I know we are not supposed to compare, but I must. It was like a Phil show with a Bobby edge. A night of jamming, jamming and jamming. No rushing. Hard, loud rock & roll! The marriage of Dark Star and The Other One was consummated at this show (and several times at that). The overlapping of the two basic themes from each song worked incredibly well and I dare say that their child was Terrapin. Although there was some dissent, most of thought the very slow Loser was a winner. Dk Star > Terrapin > Other Jam > Loser took almost an hour. What a change from Hartford which is the only other of the current shows I saw. I didn't care for the Hartford show at all. Billy was the star of Drums tonight going berserk as Mickey laid down a deep, deep groove for him to play over and around. We believe the ? in jam > ? > Other One was ''Gasoline Alley'' (played by Small Faces, but we think it may be a traditional song). Other trivia as seen from the second row 8^): Bobby shrugging to Bruce after Blackbird which I though was very pretty. Bobby's smiling face spinning toward Bruce as Bruce teased Victim in one of the jams. Bruce grinning and wailing on the high end of the piano with his right heel at the end of Sugar Mag. The band synergized and exceeded all my expectations last night.
Clarkie
This show was mediocre at best, comparing it to TOO show I saw in Hartford in 98. The sound in the Fleet Centre was full of treble and the drums were barely audible. There were no highlights from the show, although the recurring Dark Star, Other One, Terrapin theme the entire show gave it that Old Dead feel. I honestly believe this would be a much better band without Mark Karan.
Brian S.
To me it was the show of the tour! The energy was amazing - everyone in the band was putting out 110%.The music swayed me all night, if Jerry was watching he would have been impressed! It will be hard if not impossible to top this show.
Scott
What a show! I was hoping for Dark Star, but who would have predicted they'd open with it! This Dark Star started off with some spacey jamming before leading into the first verse. Though well played, the X-factor
was still yet to emerge. The segueway into Terrapin Station was great, and the telepathic interplay between Kimock and Karan really starting taking off during Terrapin. The jam then lead into an instrumental Other One that featured the first of several over the top, high intensity peak moments of the show. By this point, everyone was all smiles. Dark Star > Terrapin > Other One, who woulda thunk it!?
The Other One jam wound down and then proceeded into a very nice Loser. Instrumentally this Loser excelled. It reminded me at times of the great Loser from 10-21-83 Worcester Centrum. The band carried Loser to high points nearly equal to those during Terrapin and The Other One. The only drawback, for me, was that Bruce was often a little late on the vocals, compared to the Dead's arrangement of the song. In fact, Bruce was very laid back and slow in his vocal delivery throughout much of the show. I thought this detracted somewhat from the overall high quality of the night's music. However, in light of the band's intense performance, it was only a minor annoyance. Bruce did fill in very nicely in the jams, and had several very nice mini-solos throughout the show.
Down the Road was very well played, and Mickey's vocals were heartfelt. It was much more enjoyable than I anticipated. West L.A Fadeaway was also very well-played, and perhaps featured the most ''Dead-like'' delivery in terms of arrangement the entire evening.
A defining feature of this show was how the band returned to the unfinished parts of Dark Star, Terrapin Station, and The Other One towards the end of the show. The segueways were very tight and smooth, and the band rocked with an intensity beyond my expectations. The synergy between Kimock, Karan, and Weir was telepathic during the best peak moments. Sure there moments of directionless noodling, but the peak jamming moments more than made up for these.
This was the best ''post-Jerry'' show of Dead alumni I've yet seen. I saw a few Phil and Friends shows that approached this level, but overall, this incarnation of The Other Ones wins big time. Alphonso Johnson fills Phil's shoes very well. His bass is nearly as deep, and his groove is definitely funkier. Of course, another highlight was seeing Bill and Mickey together again! The drums were grreeeaat! Powerful.
I forgot to mention how good Kimock was on pedal steel. His pedal steel playing added a lot to Dark Star and several other songs.
If they release only one complete show on CD from this tour, I hope it's this one, and I hope they call it ''Baked in Beantown''. Thank you, for a really good time...
Mark
After seeing them in Hartford, last night's show renewed my faith in this band. Dark Star and Terrapin were ok. The Other One jam was incredible. Showed their potential as a band. Alphonso is great on Bass but it would be nice to see Phil back. They need his influence on the band, songs chosen and order played. After a good Loser the monentum and energy that was building was lost. Mickey and Bill are as good as ever. Mickey should stick to drums. Does Steve really want to be there? Mark can do the job. Too much acoustic and too many Bruce tunes. Slowed the rhythm and pace of the show. It takes the crowd out of it which in turn reduces the band's energy. Instead of the momentum building were a few high points to the show and some dull times. They need to play more rockin' and rollin' songs. The crowd didn't have much to noodle or dance to until the end. Not a sell out. About 11,000 in attendence.
Dennis Godt
The show was strong. Dark Star, The Other One, and Terrapin are just so powerful for one show. And then seeing Wharf Rat and Sugar blowing through like a tornado... It was great and I had so much fun.
Andrea Levy
I don't think I've ever been more ambivilent about a show before. On the one hand, they went into Dark Star three times (once as a jam), but it seemed like they rushed through the spacey part leading up to the first verse. Songs were generally well-played, but lacking a verve seen at either Further '98 shows (with Phil) or a Grateful Dead concert. Did I have a bad time? No, not at all. Basically, the show before Drums was really slow tempo and boring. The crowd of roughly 11,000 was listless. The highest energy song was Sugar Magnolia. A big problem for me was that I had a hard time hearing Steve Kimock except when he played Lap Steel (many for the accoustic numbers). For me, Mark Karan is a solid guitar player, but not even close to Steve. I've seen Steve break two strings at once, so please don't tell me that he can't play! It is such a waste of talent for him to be holding back, playing second fiddle for Karan. Alphonso Johnson is a seasoned professional but he was not playing with enough gusto. I know he can do it as I've seen him really kick it up a notch with Jazz is Dead. What did I like about the show? I thought the lights were fantastic - as good as anything seen at a Dead show (props for Candace?). Drums was great, especially to welcome Billy back into the fold. Highlights for me were Loser, Blackbird, Wharf Rat, Sugar Magnolia and Ripple. While I applaud the daring effort of breaking Terrapin in two, the concept was better than the execution. Dark Star and the Other One were long, the jams seemed an effort to extend a song without necessarily determining where they would go. It was jamming for the sake of jamming.
Dan Kurtz
The song in question after Drums is ''Gasoline Alley'', an early Rod Stewart song. Bruce and Steve were kicking around the melody during the jam out of Drums, and Bruce sang two verses of this obviously unrehearsed song,as the band had problems keeping it going and Hornsby was making wild hand gestures during it. Mark must have really gotten a kick out of this because he continued jamming on the theme during ''The Other One,'' really stretching out on it. This happened again during the Dark Star reprise, which I thought was a bit overkill but hey,who says these guys can't have a little fun :-). This was my first TOO 2000 show and I was mightily impressed. Strong, confident jamming all the way through. I enjoyed the ''reggae'' version of ''West L.A'' and the acoustic portion had some great moments as well. Although Steve didn't step up as much as I would have liked, I thought Mark was greatly improved as a player. Bobby looked great and did a good job ''coaching'' the band. I remember reading an early review from this tour telling us east coast fans that this would be a well oiled machine when it hits our shore. As the band jammed into ''Terrapin'' I thought to myself how right he was.
KEM
Awesome show last night-
Dark Star was incredible followed by an intense Terrapin. Highlight of the show was Looks Like Rain and Sugar Mags at the end followed by Ripple.
You must check this out if you have the chance
SSBZ
This was definitely a sick show. I've never seen The Other Ones. I did Phil and Friends tour this summer, but really haven't had a chance to see all the other guys in action. I was so impressed. There is not much that compares to seeing Terrapin Station. If you haven't had a chance to see these guys you better get off your ass pretty quick.
Almost headed down to Pensylvania to check out Phish instead. Glad I didnt do that.
Bill Leonard
Without getting too involved, I was thrilled to see the boys back at it. Uncle Bill and Mickey were spiraling tight, Bruce was all smiles, jangly and happening, and Weir is ever the quarterback... all tunes approached with real passion.... Did anyone besides myself catch the ''Greatest Story'' tease during ''Sunshine Daydream''? Bill Walton himself would've been most thrilled with this show.
Dknows8
It was great to see many old and new Deadheads hanging around what used to be The Boston Garden, now the Fleet Center. It brought back a lot of memories from when Jerry was with the boys. When the band hit the stage the energy level in the crowd was high. When they started w/ Dark Star the place just went nuts. From there it was great song selections thoughout the night. Highlights from the show were Terrapin, LL Rain, Drumz and Sugar Magnolia was flawless. It was great to see Billy back behind the drum kit! The only problem the whole show was the sound! It was very distorted, especially the 1st 3 songs, although it did improve as the night went on. These guys played their hearts out! You people who say that Mark Karan should go are crazy! He had so many great solo's and he knew when to step back and let Steve K. shine! Although there are pros and cons to this tour vs. the 98 tour, it was great to hear the guitarists take their leads and not have Dave Ellis and his sax drown out the sweet sounds. I only hope The Other Ones continue their journey and maybe tour a little more often! They truly are a band beyond description....
Steve C.
This is by far one of the most dissapointing shows that I have ever been to. The show never got off the ground. Slow start with Dark Star. I mean I love a good Dark Star just as much as the next guy, but they just didn't have it tonight. All the Jams seemed pointless and boring. Sure these guys can play but they didn't in Boston. This is the first Furthur show that I have come away from dissapointed. Sugar Mag should have been played first to get those guys going. Drums was great, but other then that it just seemed like the boys couldn't decide what the hell they wanted to play. The Final part of Terrapin was good, but i would rather hear the whole Lady With a Fan/Terrapin as a whole rather then sandwich a bunch of other tunes in it. Big Disapointment.
Mike
Drove down to this one from Canada in a '69 VW Bus with three friends. Got searched at the border, engine troubles all the way down. Broke down on the Boston freeway at 5:30 and got towed to the venue by a nice stranger. I say all this because I worked hard to get to this show and it did not disappoint. Musically TOO were on fire. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Second Dark Star was beautiful. Bruce was great on Loser and Wharf Rat although for people that don't already know the words of the songs Bruce can be a little hard to understand (It suited me fine). Bobby was on fire. Other reviews mentioned pretty much everything except West LA Fadeaway. I have a new appreciation for this tune now after hearing it done so well live. One more thing, Steve Kimock is incredible, he really stood out as a leader on stage. If I could say one thing to the band I would tell them to go to the Tweeder Center next time as the Fleet is a horrible place for any kind of vending, dancing or mingling. It doesn't matter though, they made up for the venue with the music which is what I drove down for anyway.
Greg
Victory at last...Boston show was a treat before Halloween. The buzz in the crowd and city was alive and re Forti-Fried with a Dark Star Opening (YES!), to signal that YES tonight will be a Good one. Co-mingle the set with a little Dark Star/Other One throughout and Voila! Bought me back and throw me out again with a Smokin Drumz! Cap it off with a Spoon Full of SugarMags and WEIR in like Flynn of Boston. One of better of three shows I caught - as the people say ''It's all Good''
Jeremy L.
TOO wow... Fri night Btown was riding the wave :) At bout 3pm that afternoon while listening to Here omes unshine :) the sun pops out 'n' I go 'this cozmic energy will be jammin tonight.' It was great to see family again: a drum circle; cool vendors; even usual eateries sellin there wares :)
Dark Star, TOO, Wharf Rat, Drumz. It's a truly beautiful thing. Alphonso really complemented the band 'n' hope he stays a while 'n' I hope TOO decides to tour more than just Furthur. ((Bruce 'n' Bob combos)) (((Jerry G))) your light came shining down on me. Peace, family.
JP
A quick addition to notes on the Boston show: no one has yet mentioned the repeated quotes from 'I Want to Tell You' (Beatles) played by the guitarists on Wharf Rat/Valley Road/Dark Star/Terrapin. Overall, a fantastic evening!
Dan Spurling