Good solid show though my overall experience was probably tainted by being on the lawn. Stood in a couple of spots and just couldn't avoid being generally surrounded by folks that, rather than listening to the musical dialog occurring on stage, insisted on talking among themselves while the music was playing and it definitely detracted from both the overall sound and overall enjoyment of the show as it was a constant struggle to hear the music over their personal conversations. Why people pay for tickets for a show and then spend most of the time talking has been an age-old problem that just seems to be getting worse and has caused me to want to attend less and less shows because of it and makes me realize that when I get good neighbors 'round me that get "it" such as in Bethel and Philly that it is a increasingly rare thing nowadays and makes those shows that much more special.
Regardless, the band rocked the PNC on what turned out to be, considering the recent heat wave, a pretty nice evening for a concert. Everything in the 1st set was well fleshed-out musically, including the rare-as-a-set-ender Stranger though the segue into it was a bit on the rough side and the song itself might have been played at the slowest tempo that I've ever heard it played, a little disappointing after it being preceded by a rocking Alabama Getaway.
The Wheel to open Set 2 was sweet, Samson reminded us that it was Sunday and Eyes was strong. Watchtower made a rare appearance and though this one sizzled, I still feel that this is one of "those" tunes that belonged to Jer and still don't quite think that either JK or this band has captured the spirit necessary to win me over with its performance though Bobby sang the last line of the song in such a sinister way that I couldn't help but smile wide at that moment.
I had a sneaking suspicion that Terrapin might be on the musical menu and, lo and behold, it was and was one of the more passionate versions that I've heard, the band taking its time with it and wringing it for all it was worth.
Unbroken Chain is always welcomed to these ears and did not disappoint. After it, there was a rather lengthly back and forth between Bob & Phil talking to each other thru their in-ear monitors, maybe they realized at that point that the set list in front of them was going to be unattainable, time-wise, as there were sharpies over two songs after they posted it after the show. Quite frankly speaking, I thought the Dew was coming but instead they allowed me to personally witness my first I Love You live and it became the highlight of the set though the placement of it, especially with the pregnant pause preceding it, did feel clunky at best. And I felt the same 'bout the Throwing Stones, to my ears it doesn't work as a set-ender but end the set it did.
The venue has a "hard" aka inflexible 11PM curfew (why, I don't know, it's in the middle of nowhere isn't it, LOL!) so I was surprised by the Touch of Grey encore starting at 10:54PM and when all was said and done they walked off the stage at 11:03PM. Wonder how much the venue had to pay for the overage.
End of the road for me, four shows attended, Bethel the clear winner to my ears followed by Philly, PNC and Jones Beach.
Those of you catching shows on the rest of the tour, enjoy! They're still very capable of whipping up some magical musical moments and playing at a very high and passionate level. If you get confused, listen to the music play...:-wink/smile.
Peace,
Alex
Alex, Sunnyside, Queens, NY
A HUGELY enjoyable show.
As usual I'll follow Alex (good friend that he is) by agreeing with everything he says (happens way too often). The quality of the performance and the sound was top notch last night.
The first set rocked, the second set smoked, and my son and I went home very satisfied.
Peace - until the next show....
Eric
Eric, Nutley, NJ
Coming off a poor show in Philly that can only be chalked up to the blistering heat, Furthur gave me what I wanted out of this show - upbeat, sing-along, dance-along tunes that had everyone standing up and feelin' it. Alabama Getaway was my winner from the first set.
After the set break Bobby and Phil paused to listen to the crowd gear them up for a great second. It started off with a nice Wheel that the crowd definitely liked.
Again, somewhere in the second set Bobby paused to listen to how loud and grateful the crowd was for the show so far, but the final songs were not to be.
Unbroken chain, we love you and throwin stones should not have been played at this show - the crowd and the band were ready for something else, something special. Very good show, not great. But, Touch of Grey was a perfect way to end my 30th or so show over the years at the PNC.
Mike, Westfield, NJ