What a night. Acoustic Hot Tuna opened exactly at 6:30 P.M. Jorma and Jack were in perfect sync as they warmed up the crowd with their unique and special sound. Their set included highlights such as "Embryonic Journey" and "Good Shepard." Following Tuna, Medeski Martin and Wood played. It was my first time listening to them and they set was tight and provided the perfect musical set-up for The Other Ones.
The Boys took the stage right about 10:00 P.M. and busted straight into "St. Stephen" > "The Eleven." They were right on from the start and the sound was tremendous. Phil's bass shook the arena, while Jimmy's guitar sang out the familiar trail as well as it has ever been played. They followed with "Jack Straw" which always gets the crowd worked into a frenzy. The big bust out for the night was "Unbroken Chain" > "Playin in the Band." "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire on the Mountain" closed the set nicely.
As the midnight hour approached, there was a history of the New Year's shows given with video support. Some interseting facts werer pointed out about the New Year's Eve Tradition and who was where when, etc. The second set started at about midnight with the release of thousands of balloons while the band played "Sugar Magnolia." (Happy New Year Bill Graham, wherever you are!) As the balloons disappeared, the band welcomed in the new year with "Shakedown Street," one of my personal favorites and the one tune I really wanted to hear. The funky groove of Shakedown had everyone dancing, and you could feel the energy and good vibe passing through the crowd. From Shakedown they went into "Cryptical Envelopment" > "The Other One" > Drumz > Space. Out of the Space came the traditional New Year's "Terrapin Station" with a twist. Right at the very pinnacle of Terrapin, they broke into "Dark Star" much to my suprise and delight. They came back into Terrapin and finished the set with "Throwing Stones" > "Not Fade Away." The audience clapped them off the stage as the music slowly faded from the building. The set was almost two hours long and they gave it all they had. A tremendous performance and we weren't done yet. After Phil spoke to the attendees urging for organ donations (a wonderful thing to do if you haven't done so already), The Other Ones returned for an encore that I considered to be more a third set.
It started with a Caution Jam into a ripping "I Know You Rider" > "No More Do I" > Dylan's "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" into a heart-wrenching Insrtumental "Stella Blue," a tribute to the everlasting memory of Jerry and a gift for the crowd. I'm glad I made the journey down. (I'm located well northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska.) It was a wonderful night filled with love, good vibes, friends, and family. I wish you all could have been there. HAPPY NEW YEAR
Howard Mermelstein, Manley Hot Springs, AK
First I would like to say "Wow." It has been a long seven years since I last saw the group play. Of course, at that time they were the Grateful Dead, but after the New Year's Eve show, I am convinced that they could sell out 3-night venues here in the Bay Area under ANY NAME! I had seen the Furthur Festival, and indeed I was impressed, but the energy put out by Bobby, Mickey, Billy, Phil, Rob, Jeff, and Jimmy was far greater. Hot Tuna was, naturally, incredible. Medeski Martin and Wood were quite impressive, too. I am on the search for some of their recordings right now, actually. Very impressed with the drummer, and the bass was almost percussive.
First set:
St. Stephen - I "almost" anticipated this would be the opener. I half-expected Estimated Prophet would kick things off, but this was awesome. The crowd responded with immediate applause once we knew they were playing this classic. The song overall went well. I heard one or two minor flubs as they crescendoed into "The Eleven," another timeless classic that drew loud cheers from the Heads in the crowd. (It seemed there were a lot of newcomers at the show... maybe because of the occasion.)
Jack Straw was great - It immediately took me back to the early 90's versions of the song. This time it seemed there was a bit better harmony in the vocals than some of the past Jack Straws I witnessed.
Unbroken Chain - never one of my favorites. Phil could have toned down the lyrics a little bit... seemed like he was trying a bit too hard to nail it. Great jam though. The bridge is one of those very memorable classic Dead riffs.
Playing in the Band - seemed to fall apart a little bit. In fact, I don't think they covered the whole song. They jammed it out a little and then went into:
Scarlet Begonias - One of the most impressive Scarlets I have EVER SEEN. Phenominal Begonias. This one got everyone back on their feet; and looking around I saw many many people smiling, dancing, and singing the words together.
Fire on the Mountain - the transition went okay, but I think Mickey put a little too much into the vocals. Don't get me wrong, I love this song, it just seemed a little more "produced" than in previous years.
Overall, the first set was a success. Everyone was talking about the set during intermission. I heard mostly good reviews from some familiar faces.... Other people seemed rather unimpressed. Having seen over thirty shows, I was impressed. After all, I got to see St. Stephen, which I have waited my whole life for.
Second set:
The crowd was really happy that they came out with Sugar Magnolia to kick in the New Year. I kept hearing folks saying "they're BACK." The enthusiasm was great, and everyone stood to dance, hug, and get that New Year's kiss in.
Shakedown Street - One of my favorite songs ever. Bobby put tons of energy into this one. The guitar was not as prominent as in past years (duh), but Jimmy did really well with the funky wah-wah sound. The energy continued with this one, and the lyrics seemed modified... drawn out a bit more on the chorus. Loved it.
Cryptical/Other One/Drums/Space - AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. "Drums" seemed shorter to me than they did in the past but it was great to see Mickey beating the hell out of the giant bass drum while Billy rocked the xylophone. Then when Mick jumped on the Beam, Billy laid out a brutal "Techno" beat that fit really well. I heard sounds eminating from the soundboard and wondered who was back there.
The high point of the show for me was (my favorite Dead song) Terrapin Station.... They cut the song right at "Inspiration," and we know how that line of the song now brings tears of joy to Deadheads. I was perplexed that they skipped that line and jammed it out into Dark Star (my first ever) and I was blown away.... Then somehow, in the middle of all the confusion they came BACK into Terrapin... you guessed it, right at "inspiration"... OH MAN. I had to hold back the tears.
Throwing Stones was supercharged... loved it. Not Fade Away, fading into the crowd almost whispering the chorus while clapping, was reminiscent of the old days. In fact, we kept the timed clapping going until the whole band left the stage.
Encore:
The encore set was great. Still not used to a song or two there, but Rider and Baby Blue were awesome. The whole crowd got into Rider and we were all very pleased.
Stella Blue Instrumental: Typing that just now gave me chills. This was the most moving song I have EVER heard live in my entire life. I felt a bit foolish as the tears rolled over my cheeks, until I looked behind me and saw the entire row of people behind me were also crying. The impact Jerry had on my life, the band's lives, the fans' lives, all showed with this one. I had immediate respect for Jimmy on this one. He put so much soul into it, and played every note dead-on (no pun intended). I would love to meet him and shake his hand and thank him, sort of like I did when I stumbled into Jerry Garcia in 1992. Thank God they did not put Jerry's image up on the video screen during this last song.... I don't think I could have handled that. My group of friends all agreed that Buddy Guy's "Little Stevie" and SRV's "Little Wing" were the only other two "tribute" songs that ever touched our lives quite like Stella Blue did on New Year's 2003. A friend I was with summed the whole thing up with one word. "Wow"--and I wholeheartedly agree.
Thanks. Can't wait for the next tour dates to be released.
The Critter, San Francisco, CA
