Furthur / The Dead / The Other Ones | OtherOnes.Net

I first saw the Dead at the mammoth Watkins Glen concert in 1972. Thirty years and many shows later, I was excited to be seeing TOO. I gathered a bunch of old Deadhead cohorts and off we went to our nosebleeder seats at the Hartford Civic Center, a regular stop on the Dead tours. The stadium was packed to the rafters with old dudes like us and youngsters alike. The boys can still sell out the house!
The first set brought back long-forgotten memories, especially "New Speedway Boogie," a seldom-performed favorite. After "Dire Wolf" and "Boogie," we were hoping for many more from "Workingman's Dead." The band seemed tight and Jimmy Herring was stealing the show. Susan seemed a bit lost, and we couldn't hear her few vocals in the first set. A very nice set that got the crowd pumped up for the rest of the show.
And then came Hunter. With all due respect for his songwriting abilities, this guy cannot sing or play the guitar. He played for almost an hour, deflating the momentum the band had built up. Would he ever leave the stage?
Hunter was forgotten as Phil sang one of my favorites "Unbroken Chain," another seldom-performed tune. I guess it's difficult to perform live, with all the tempo changes. Then the boys finally let Susan rip with the highlight of the show--"Big Boss Man." Bob, Phil, Mickey etc.: This girl can sing! You gotta let her do more.
The second set chugged on with a spirited "Casey Jones" and "Help on the Way," but then bogged down big time with the obligatory "Spac.e. Guys, we love the drums, but no one really likes "Space." Why do you think the bathrooms are so crowded at that time? Another long jam between "Heaven's Door" and "Hard to Handle" also had people making a beeline to the concessions and bathrooms.
The band recovered with crowd favorite "Slipknot" to "Franklin's Tower" and went out on fine form, Jimmy Herring again stealing the show. The "Truckin'" encore was a bit standard - but what the heck. We had a great time and look forward to the summer tour.

The first time I saw the Dead in Hartford I was seven years old. (I think it might have been one of the last times they played there). Twenty years later I found myself back in the Civic Center seeing the reincarnation of the species and enjoying every minute of it. When we arrived and paid to park across the street I asked my roommate what he wanted to hear, a fantasy Other Ones type thing…. He told me anything would do. We sat down in pretty decent seats, thanks to the folks at GDTSOO, and strapped ourselves in for lift-off. Dire Wolf was amazing, Eyes very tasty and New Speedway Boogie/Mason's was the icing on the cake. Somewhere Jerry and Pigpen are still smiling ear to ear. Susan Tedeschi is a nice addition… she brought a warm touch to all the tunes…. Robert Hunter came out between the sets and strolled the stage with a Madonna-like headset. The man teased us.... My roommate leaned over during Terrapin and said that it would have been nasty if the members of the band filtered in one by, umm, other one, to join him… It would have been cool… a fugue to treat the audience. Terrapin pulled at my heart... hearing people sing along was amazing.If they started with Terrapin in the second set, I would have wet my pants. Alas, Unbroken Chain suited me just fine, and Casey Jones was nice. Then it happened, the sacred trilogy, well, sort of... Help/Slip > Drums/Space… Susan wailed…. If I had been on (fill in the blank), that lightshow would have blown my skull. When they moved into Knockin' on Heavens Door and then Hard to Handle I lost it, then dropped back into Slip then to Franklin's. Truckin' was a nice Encore…really nice. I’m glad twenty years didn’t change the boys at all... Many thanks from those of us still on the bus.

Hartford finished off a week of shows for me, and i was both impressed and appalled by what went on this evening. Out in the lot the Hartford cops decided it would be a good a idea after they busted someone to cuff them and start beating him with thier batons and spraying him with pepper spray. This caused an unneccessary and angry vibe on the lot that end up in mini riot. This put the night off to a bad start, but the first notes of Stranger seem to fit perfectly. What happened outside just got stranger from the beginning so for me it was a fitting opener. Dire Wolf slides in and relaxes the tension built up from agression. Susan could barely be heard during Only the Strange Remain and it set the crowd into an even more laid back mood. This continued with the beginning of BTWind (though it was much appreciated). The transition and build up to Eyes was one of those magical moments that is like the lifting of a fog. Something clicked during the song between the band and the crowd making the evening escalate in energy that was driven home by the start of New Speedway. The Mason's that followed had the energy of an eight-headed beast that just tore its way through the venue and blew minds left and right. I'm not a big fan of the song, but it was an outstanding performance; now it leaves some different connotations of what the song can do in my mind.
Once again Robert Hunter at setbreak. Same routine different songs. Except this night he seemed to forget the words to Terrapin or he just wanted to get the crowd involved. Either way the troubadour was on the stage and we listened to the stories he had to tell. This was definately the most animitated version of the poet i saw on the tour. The second set began with a heartfelt version of Unbroken Chain that reenforced another laid back groove for the set. Hunter had diminished the energy of the first set and this gave the crowd a chance to realign with the band and the energy. Big Boss Man was nice to hear, and Susan's voice could actually be heard and it fit well. Then Casey Jones appears and after the one at Alpine there is nothing left to do to the song and it has lost most of its zeal for me. The Help Slip that followed got me moving again and built up an intense energy. But why drums space out of it? Drums was nice... Mickey and Billy are just so amazing to watch, but it kills the crowd and the flow. especially in the middle of what people want as a trilogy (Help Slip Franklin's). It felt like drums and space were abnormally long tonight and the Knockin that followed put half the people around me to sleep, and the other half rushed to the bathroom and beer lines (which got closed right in most of our faces). The jam between Knockin and Hard to Handle was an attempt to build some energy back up into a half-lethargic crowd. Then there was the culmination of the set with them kicking back into Slipknot and moving smoothly into Franklin's. This got the whole crowd going again like a shot of adrenaline into our hearts. This ended the second set with bang and then there was Truckin. Well played, but hearing it twice in a week of shows was more then I needed. The show as a whole was well played, but could have been arranged better. Yet, it still left me wanting more....

Came into Hartford around 5:30 all pumped for the show. Stopped off at Black-Eyed Sallies and I knew it was going to be a great night with good vibes everywhere. Being in section 104 I had a great view of the boys & girl as they were all smiling and raring to go. I was Phil side and his bass was very clear. Just hearing them tune up gave me chills.Stranger kicked the night off and it was excellent. Jimmy was right on with this one. It looked like they were going through the motions on Dire Wolf. I noticed Rob and Bob had some miscommunication on that tune. Only the Strange Remain was a pleasant suprise. Never hearing this song live before, Mickey impressed me. I think they got it just right on this night. After Strange Remain Bobby reached back and pulled out the acoustic... BT Wind!!!!! It was my highlight of the first set. Bobby's vocals were great on that tune, then into Eyes > New Speedway. You can never complain when you here an Eyes of the World. It looked like Bobby was playing with the crowd on New Speedway. I bet you nobody in the whole venue was expecting Mason's Children. But, it just fit perfectly into that first set. The first set was very energetic. I knew it would be tough to top that in the second.
Robert Hunter came out for setbreak. I heard a few of his songs including Terrapin which was very interesting because he kept asking the crowd for the lyrics. Hunter closed w/ Box of Rain>Ripple. But, I was ready for more TOO.
If I were a betting man I would have put money on Help>Slip>Frank as the set 2 opener. But, they opted for Unbroken Chain. Thats why I don't bet. Jimmy has basically mastered Unbroken Chain, especially with all the time he has played with Phil. They were off jamming... I thought Susan did a excellent job on Big Boss Man. It's great to see her up there almost throughout the whole show. Then I was very surprised to here Casey Jones. I am not a big fan of that song. Didn't help that I also thought they played it somewhat slower than usual. But, then it came, what! I was waiting for -->Help>Slip!! The place became revitalized. It wasn't a perfect version but it got me going again. Interestingly enough they opted to go into Drumz during the Slip Jam. Mickey and Billy still impress me with their creativity. They still got it. Knockin was a suprise out of space.... I was trying to pinpoint the song from the space but I couldn't. This Knockin is a little different but yet refreshing. The Jam out of Knockin again confused me. After a lot of noodling I heard many different teases in there, especially a Baba Jingo tease. I heard a few hints of Hard to Handle, then it went away, but they did in fact pull into it. Hard to Handle was again a suprise. But I guess they were staying with the early 70's theme. Then I could hear within the Hard to Handle outro hints of Slipknot coming back... sure enough there it was. We all knew Franklin's was coming. Too bad it was the set closer. I didn't want them to stop playing. Truckin encore was a little disapointing.... I would have rather heard and seen an Around & Around.... Have The Other Ones ever played that tune??
The show had influences of Phil & Friends and RatDog which is kinda cool bringing those two types of sounds together. I highly recommend getting the tapes for the whole tour!! I left Truckin a bit early because I wanted to beat the traffic. I traded some CDs for a veggie burrito and I was off.... GREAT night!! I was glad I got out of there when I did because I heard that the cops were really cracking down after the show and in fact arrested some people. Unfortunate, especially on such a good night. I hope they come back with a tour in 2003. I think they are just getting comfortable playing again (especially with Jimmy on guitar). Wanted to thank you guys for this site. It is really a cool thing! I just wish I was doing a little better in the Fantasy TOO! ;-) Take Care

This is a night I will personally cherish for many years to come, all the reasons personal. On the same night my sister Pam would be seeing Bob Dylan for the first time (at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA), I took my visiting brother Jimmy to his first-ever concert! Now, Jimmy & I share some interests, but music isn't one of them.
Then again, I was also taking him to a concert related with the Grateful Dead, another animal altogether. I was concerned the sight & smells of pot smoke--very common at Dead shows--would be a deterrent, but I warned Jimmy when I picked him up at the Amtrak station in Worcester. That said, Jimmy was a trooper and enjoyed the show: It also helped that our tix were front row-balcony seats, as Jimmy is around 5' 6". When a song started, I would tell the song title to Jimmy and that's it: Instead of "selling" the band, I wanted to let the performances speak for themselves. That said, The Other Ones delivered a fine, tasty show with plenty of chances taken among a fine song selection.
The first set started with a Dead opening staple, the funk-flavored "Feel Like A Stranger," where Jimmy Herring's guitar tone was quite reminiscent of the envelope filter effects Jerry Garcia would use but also had its own identity. In terms of ensemble play, they were solid from the get-go, and would get better as each set progressed. While Rob Barraco did a fine job with the vocals on a playful "Dire Wolf," Mickey Hart's "Only The Strange Remain" gave way to a slithering, slimy jam. Near that jam's end, Weir donned the acoustic guitar for one of his best songs, the whimsical "Black-Throated Wind" where the final vocal raveup was inspired. The song's final crescendo gave way to another Dead favorite, a grooving "Eyes Of The World," sung as a duet by Barraco and the inimitable Phil Lesh. The song's closing jam slowed in tempo and gave way to another Garcia nugget, "New Speedway Boogie." Originally about Altamont 1969, this song has been applied to other dark times. In this case, I certainly thought about all the horrors from September 11th and such, as the band harmonized on the final choruses, "One way or another, one way or another, one way or another, this darkness got to give...."
However, the set ended with a bang.... As the band cruised to the New Speedway shuffle, Lesh initiated the charge into the very rare "Mason's Children." Played approximately a dozen times by the Dead, this much-underrated rocker was given a rousing, driving treatment to close a fine, winning set.
Set two started with another Dead-underplayed gem, Phil Lesh's "Unbroken Chain." Originally on 1974's From The Mars Hotel, the Dead didn't play this until 1995, when Garcia was being conquered by his demons. While Lesh has played this numerous times with his band now, there was something special about seeing The Other Ones handle the jazz-tinged changes and tempos. However, this version will remain special to me for one simple reason. At the end of the song, Jimmy & I had this simple conversation:
Jimmy: "What was the name of that song again?"
John: "Unbroken Chain"
Jimmy: "That's my favorite of the night so far."
From that point on, I couldn't stop grinning!
The second set was a winner too, especially in its juxtapositioning of given songs. While Susan Tedeschi applied some fine vocals in a fun take of Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man," the energy picked up with a cranking "Casey Jones." However, instead of the big ending, the band perfectly executed the first power-chord notes of "Help On The Way." A solid rendition--for the Other Ones, as I'll always prefer the Garcia versions. The band started to explore the "Slipknot!" theme, an instrumental that traditionally bridges "Help" and "Franklin's Tower". Now, take a look at the setlist again, and you'll see that this was a rare case where this triplet was separated. Thus, a few minutes into "Slipknot!" the stringed players & keyboardists relinquished the stage to the drummers.
Because there was no curfew, the drummers laid out an inspiring drum solo with different sections. First, Billy & Mickey started with an uptempo duet on the traps. Jimmy chuckled from his seat, as I boogied immensely. However, Jimmy's attention was clearly on the drummers, as he would become mesmerized by the various percussion and wide variety of sounds. At this point, Billy, then Mickey, proceeded to the percussion area behind their kits, and using a variety of MIDI technology and various percussion, took 17,000 strong into a World Beat trip. There is no description I can provide to the sounds & tropical moods created.
After a short, lilting space, Weir donned his acoustic guitar and led The Other Ones into a Dylan staple long coveted by both the Dead and Jerry Garcia Band, the timeless "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." Sung with conviction and gruff by Weir, the band spiraled into a driving, suddenly dissonant jam completely outside the song, then sliding into a chunky rendition of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle." Sung with punch by Tedeschi and Barraco, this was a late 60s/early 70s staple in the Dead repertoire sung by Ron "Pigpen" McKernan.
There was still unfinished business, and after the last gritty blues jam, the band veered into a soft space, slowly returning to the "Slipknot!" theme and improvising for several minutes before giving way to the closing melody. There is something special about the way on a good night, the Dead used to slam into "Franklin's Tower," with the Deadheads in rejoice. A damn good facsimile followed, and while never the same as with Garcia, the band applied plenty of spirit and Weir's gruff vocals serviced the song appropriately. A fine way to end a tasty, adventurous set.
While it was a repeat for me, I was glad to hear one of the Dead's most famous songs, "Truckin'," as an encore, just for Jimmy to experience. A solid rendition that didn't quite reach the resounding peaks as it did in Boston, and complete with a Weir vocal flub midway through: A grand tradition in the Good Old Grateful Dead! Jimmy enjoyed the show, noting three key things. One, he was amazed at how the audience was "so INTO it". Second, he truly enjoyed the drummers and their overall intensity. Third was the overall energy shared between band and audience. He finally noted, "next year when I come up, another show would be fine!"
So...were The Other Ones really The Grateful Dead? Without Garcia, my answer will always remain a firm NO! However, "If it isn't the real thing, it's close enough to pretend." Pretending still feels pretty damn good!

Got there with not a moment to spare, quickly made it in, and positioned myself not 30 feet away from the Billy side of the stage. The speakers were mostly blocking the keys, but I was in full view of Billy + Mickey. Phil's back and Bobby's side were to me, but since Jimmy was turned to face the others guys I got a direct view of him much of the show. Very sweet.
I want to take a moment to describe the pre-show ritual. Jimmy would usually be the first out, holding his axe and doing warm-ups, and maybe having a cigarette. Slowly, the band members would join him, in the back corner of the stage, Jimmy-side. They'd be chatting or looking out over the crowd, and then form a circle, just like at the end of the show at Alpine. I don't know exactly what occurs in the pre-show huddle, but they seem to reach some sort of conclusion, give a "group hug" and head out to the stage. First Bobby, then Jimmy following (instruments in hand), with the keyboardists walking up to their stand togther; the drummers taking their seats, and finally (always last) Phil walking slowly onto stage and picking up his bass. The faint sounds of noodling come from everyone... and we're ready to take off....
Back to Hartford... with a frill of the synthesizer, The Other Ones launch into Feel Like a Stranger. Opening with this was a real treat; this is always a favorite funky Bobby tune. The boys tore into it with fervor. They had seemed a bit tired on Wednesday towards the end of the show (it was their third straight date) and their day off did them well. They seemed well rested, and Stranger was firing on all pistons. Susan was out for this opener, and she really hit the background vocals nicely. The energy in this small venue was already through the roof, and the boys NAILED the outro jam after the nice loose improvisational pass that's become the Stranger standard. The band tried to quickly move into Dire Wolf, but (this being its first apperance on tour) Rob had to school Bobby on the rhythm. But they went into it, and Rob won some new fans. Not just impressed them, but really grabbed them by the cajones! He did the vocals masterfully in his impassioned style, and took a positively inspirational piano solo, making the jaws of everyone around me hit the floor.
Only the Strange Remain came next. I really didn't like this tune before this tour, but it began to grow on me a bit. There's an odd, feedback-driven intro; Mickey's rapping is faux-haunting and strange. The vocals in the chorus are OK--Susan adds a nice touch. Strange ended, and Bobby picked up his acoustic. He began to strum those familiar chords that could open up any one of a number of tunes, but then Jimmy takes a step forward, and plays those buttery notes that signal the beginning of the beautiful Black-Throated Wind. This was amazing--in hindsight one of the best tunes of tour for me. Bobby belted out the lyrics with all of the passion he always has; but the real star here was Jimmy. He so tenderly and beautifully emulated the slick, lonely lines that Jerry used to play, but did so in a way that made it all his own... I was ready to cry. This was just a gorgeous rendition--sure beat the pants off of Ratdog's version. Bobby on the acoustic was wonderful--he was able to really pour out his chords emotively, and he took a REALLY nice solo on the acoustic which was a great treat! And Mickey + Billy were appropriately restrained. After this beauty, Bobby jammed around a bit, leading everyone else, and found the opening chords of Eyes. Now I was very critical of the DC Eyes--I just thought it was poor. But this Eyes was a completely different story. I still do think that the chorus needs some work (it sounds very plodding), but the solo breaks were just transcendent! Susan provided some nice backing vocals at times (they should let her take the lead vox though).... Anyway, Rob took a great solo break, and Jimmy really soared with huge lines that were quick and precise and just flowed out of him.... There was some fantastic group improv in the outro jam; this was a wonderful extended jam that really showed the band flexing its fledgling groupmind muscles.
This slowly wound down into the funky bluesy tones of New Speedway Boogie. The resurrection of NSB has been fantastic- way better than even when the Dead did it (and I've heard some older Heads on tour say the same thing). Bobby handles the vocals very well--adds hints of irony and inflection in places that it never was before. Jeff gave some great fills on organ. Just a nice funky NSB... there was a nice vocal jam at the end, which went into a very exploratory, ballsy, and bluesy jam.... Jimmy was playing in the spaces and it was beautiful. Eventually this jam is steered (again groupmind) into Mason's Children. Now I think P+F's Mason's beats the hell out of TOO's.... Theirs needs a bit more work. However, it is a nice tune to hear. Bobby tears into the chords with vigor, and the enhanced rhythm section helps propel the tune at a quick pace. Not much else to say about it except that it's a great high-energy tune to close such a KILLER first set with.
Setbreak--regroup, find compadres, unwind.... Second set is coming.... We walk towards the place we decided to chill and I say, just fucking around, "Wouldn't it be great if they played Unbroken Chain?"
Sure enough, we get in, and from a loose tuning they start to meld their quiet jam into the opening notes of... Unbroken Chain. Wow... I went nuts. To finally hear this from TOO was amazing--the first one all of these guys had played since '95, and it was HOT! The presence of two drummers was a welcome addition to the tune, and of course Phil stilled handled the vocals nicely. Having some actual rhythm guitar, which rarely occurs in P+F, from Bobby was very nice, it gave the song a more palatable feel. And the breakdown jam--WHOOOOOOOO!!! IT sounds *FANTASTIC* with two drummers and Phil locking horns and going at it while Jimmy WAAAILS above it all... just amazing! This beats the P+F version; this was probably the highlight of the whole freakin' tour for me, or at least amongst. And the quiet jam to go out of it was just sublime... this was totally awesome... can't say enough about it. As I regained my sanity, Susan came out on stage, and Bobby started hitting the opening notes of Big Boss Man! A great ol' Pigpen tune for them to bring back! I totally dig the idea of Susan taking on old Pig tunes, and this was a smoker! Nice thick blues, with Bobby and Susan sharing the vocal duties. Jimmy took some great deep blues solos. Who knew he'd be such a great blues guitarist?? Anyway, Boss Man went into a fairly average Casey Jones. Whatever. Done in greatest hits style... getting faster and faster at the end until the band practically trainwrecks.... They wander around for a little bit, and I start to think how unfortunate to derail a great set with that when I hear... duh-nuh! duh-nuh!!! The opening chords of Help on the Way!!! OH YEAH! A nice hot Help on the Way.... I can't quite recall (memories from the second set become hazy) but I believe that Rob and Bobby split the vocals on Help. Anyway, Jimmy masterfully hit all the notes that Jerry wrote. Every intricacy of Help>Slip! was picked up on by Jimmy. Slip went off into a spacey jam, which resulted in Drumz. Jeff stayed on for a while in drumz (hitting keys), and then left.... The drummers took over, had their fun, Space arrived, and Susan came on for a while, doing some pleasant wailing. It was a pretty addition to the cacophony. Then, the big buzzkill: it goes into Knockin' On Heaven's Door. Ugh... absolute wrong time for this tune.... It was too long, too plodding... blah. That went into a nice jam, however. There was some very pretty improvisation on the slow, lilting chord progression of Knockin', and Jimmy and Phil really got together for portions of it.
And then the drummers kicked off some ticks and Jimmy slammed into the opening riff of Hard to Handle! YEAH! Susan was GREAT on the vocals for Hard to Handle, really getting all of the raunch and intensity that Pig put into it, with some great trading of licks from Jeff and Rob. This went back into a brief Slipknot! with some free-form jamming which was very cool. It was almost like having a Space jam, except the drummers were still on. Very free-form and very loose. There was some beauty created in that chaos. This went into a SMOKIN Franklin's Tower. Vocal duties were shared, and Jimmy just tore it up on the breaks, with Rob also taking a really nice solo as well. This was a great way to end this great show, just slamming it on home with all of the force and energy TOO could muster up.
Truckin as an encore was almost superfluous. It was fun to hear but really unnecessary, (and I would've rather they saved it for a jamming situation anyway).... I didn't pay much attention.
Anyway... the first set was amongst the best (there were some GREAT first sets, so this can't be THE best, but definitely up there), and the second set was approaching being the best. Highlights are the whole first set and Unbroken Chain. Hartford was the peak of a weekend which sort of slid on a slow downward plane from there.