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

This was the real deal. I believe that if you weren't there that this show will be fondly looked back on as one of the best of this or any tour. They stepped on stage and stepped on the pedal, zoom zoom zoom. The opening jammed out Stranger signaled good things. A 2nd song slot for Crazy Fingers screamed out good taste and a respect for the venue and its historic surroundings. That the actual execution of the song was simply beautiful makes the selection that much more delicious.

Cumberland roared thru to remind us that they are still the premier interpreters of American music. The Bird Song/Cassidy combo were really two of the better versions that I've witnessed by this band, John leading the band with his exploratory and exemplary guitar playing on this particular evening. They had a menacing tone to much of the playing and I love when one of my favorite bands get down and dirty like they did tonight.

Like on the Big Bad Blues, I song that I had shared with my peeps before the show that I was hoping to hear during one of my four shows to be attended on this tour. They rocked it, Just like the set-ending PITB, this one was one of the more howling versions I've heard this band perform and a fitting and celebratory way into intermission, definitely a joyful vibe thru and thru.

The 2nd set opening Music was made of some very serious JK leads and some very impassioned vocals by Bobby, who looked seriously buff and in shape as well as Phil, who continues to be a medical marvel and a musical machine. The Golden Road that followed reminded me of what it must have felt like back in the Summer of '67 and hearing this song blast out of a radio. Oh, and it, too, rocked the house out.

Eyes was delivered passionately by Phil and the rest of the band was extremely complimentary in their playing behind him on this most celebratory of versions, you could sense the the venue itself was smiling. I know that everybody 'round me was...:-wink/smile.

And now it delights me to state that my highlight of the show was the absolutely musically perfect Help/Slip/Eleven. It was without a doubt the finest version of Help/Slip that I've ever been privileged to be in the building in by any incarnation of the GD or otherwise, not a single note wasted from beginning to end and it sizzled like bacon on the frying pan. This is what I come to shows for, the amazing displays from each of the musicians forming an largely unspoken interplay among each other seemingly too good to be true to be made improvisationally on the spot and when all is said and done, musically and blissfully perfect. That they chose to follow it with the jam vehicle known as The Eleven only further signaled that they meant and were all about the business of not leaving anything musically on the table and to continue to demonstrate that they are still one of the premier jam bands of all time and I really don't know if they could have been more inspired than tonight. Simply stunning.

Well, the fairy tale had to end sometime and the Franklin's Tower seem to begin the wind-down to what had been an magnificent show but they had one more gift up their musical sleeves for the assembled faithful by serving up such a sweet version of Comes A Time that my words will not do justice to it, suffice to say that you could almost hear a pin drop during this version, the folks inside the house seem to understand perfectly the gift that the powers that be had bestowed upon its humble listeners and it finished with a beautiful, breathtaking and truly majestic guitar flourish from JK. His and Sunshine's vocals are a must-hear. Wow.

Now the fairy tale ended, definitely signaled by One More Saturday Night but if that was the worst they could do, I will take it every day with a yes sir, thank you sir and where do I sign up for more, sir! Same with the US Blues encore, a final spirited rock and roll romp.

Thank you Bethel, thank you my peeps Jose and Luisa, thank you my new found friend Lindsey and thank you the ghosts of Woodstock, for they surely were the driving force behind how a bunch of old geezers could perform on such a high and consistent level from start to finish at this point of their careers. IMHO this is bonus time out of them and I for one am beyond gratitude to be able to still witness such musical brilliance from one of my favorite bands. Go Furthur. Indeed.

Peace,
Alex

Peace,
Alex

This was my first show since The Dead Spring '09 tour and my first visit to this venue - all I can say is two days later I'm still all smiles!

The setting for this wonderful venue is nothing short of magnificent - there are tall trees and green hills in every direction! The weather was beautiful and made for a great pre-show tailgate experience.

The band was spot-on all night. I won't go through the sets song-by-song, but first set highlights for me were the deeply jammed out Cassidy and Playing in the Band. The chemistry exhibited between the band members was impressive. The inspired playing carried through the 2nd set. The long Eyes through Help > Slip > 11 was fantastic and led into the highlight of the evening for me - Comes a Time. I'm telling you, John Kadlecik was channeling Jerry from the Spring of '77 for this chilling and soulful rendition of this underplayed Garcia/Hunter masterpiece. Download the show and listen, words can not do it justice.

I'm going to make a concentrated effort to see this band more often in the future.

Every song from both sets was put together magically.. Probably one of the best shows iv'e ever seen since further of 98.. Thank you Bobby, Phil, John and the rest of you <3 Such a grate time and what better place to hold it then the holy ground of Bethel Woods:)))
Peace and Love,
Moye

Not going to add too much to what was already said above, except to say that once again, the band appears to be going further than its gone before each time the wheel turns round. This has been happening since Fall '09, but the last two east coast tours in particular they seemed to be really hitting their stride, and on Sat night at Bethel there were several points where they really seemed to have taken the playing to a whole other level - the kind of level that people reviewing "Phish 3.0" shows seem to be complaining is missing from that band's recent offerings.

As mentioned above, "it" really kicked in during Help/Slip, which far from being the inescapable/predictable repeat it had started to become, turned into the highlight of the show. And just as they hit the final crescendo on Slipknot, and the intro was set for Franklin's, the bottom dropped out and they went masterfully into the Eleven, another tune which has never seemed to gel completely for me, but which they nailed on all fronts tonight. Franklin's was Franklin's, and of course the new light show visuals added a new dimension to the whole thing, but the Comes A Time was the highlight of the show. John did indeed channel Jerry in a way I had never seen before, and totally owned the song, but it was also all about Sunshine too. Her harmonies were celestial, and this was as good as it can probably get in 2011.

Stephen rocked naturally, and the segue from "what would be the answer to the answer man?" and OMSN was good ol' grateful humor. US Blues continued the same vibe, and then it was time for the tortuous trip out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. The venue was very nice, with the leafy green of summer in full regalia, and the moon came up in honey during Music Never Stopped over the field I later learned was the site of the original festival. Not a bad setting at all, even if it made for a drawn out departure. Next time I think we'll camp at one of the many houses offering up their lawns on the road, and walk in instead...

I am going to be 60 this year and saw my first show in 71.Plan to go to Frisco for NYE if it happens. Have loved every version of the band and have seen Furthur at least 6 times(and countless dead etc. shows) including the vibes last year. I will download this show based on the reviews, but since the last reviewer opened the door; I saw phish for the first time in Worcester on 12/28 and again in Mansfield in June. They completely blew me away and I can't stop listening to them. Relish the Furthur that is available but if you have a chance check out the Phish - you won't be sorry.

It is hard for me to be objective about this show. It occurred at the same place ('up the hill', so to speak) from where I saw the Dead for the first time on August 16, 1969. So I was returning to the site of Woodstock for the first time in 42 years. I saw the Dead in four decades and have kept up on the various iterations since. I have seen Furthur eight times in 18 months, and each time they get better! Also saw Mansfield and the Vibes this past weekend. . . vocals are so strong, the tunes are tight and loose at the same time. Bob and Phil are having the time of their lives . . . and we all get to be part of the party. Are we &^%$# lucky or what???? (Comes a Time WAS sweeter than honey, wasn't it? As was Bird Song and Crazy Fingers . . . all the sweet, tender tunes that get dwarfed by the rockin', sockin' tunes like The Eleven, etc.)

I love this show so much I just had to come back and post that after finally hearing the playback, it sounds as good and even better than when it was real rather than memorex. Special kudos to Phil's singing, perhaps the best I've ever witnessed, he nailed Eyes. So when IS the Fall East Coast tour?

Peace,
Alex