10/31/07 Phil Lesh & Friends @ Nokia Theatre, New York, NY

10/31/07 • Nokia Theatre • New York , NY
Set 1: Shakedown Street > Loose Lucy, Don't Let The Devil Take Your Mind1, Candyman, I Put A Spell on You1 > Story of the Ghost > Casey Jones
Set 2: The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe, Cryptical Envelopment > Boris The Spider1 > Caution (Do Not Step On Tracks) > Voodoo Chile1 > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment > New Speedway Boogie > Fire On The Mountain, Sympathy For The Devil1 > I Know You Rider
Encore: Donor Rap/Intros, Werewolves Of London
1 first time played

For all the emphasis placed on Halloween in the live music scene, this remains one of the only shows I've seen on that particular day. This kicked off an extended run by Phil Lesh's latest group of Friends in the heart of Times Square.

The setlist included numerous tunes referencing the appropriate spooky epherma of ghosts and devils and such. The second set opened with a spine-tingling jam while Phil read Poe.

I also caught one other show on this 9 night run, but I can't remember which one. However, I do remember seeing Mike Gordon in the balcony.

07/01/06 Phil Lesh & Friends/GRAB @ PNC Bank Arts Center, Homdel, NJ

Phil Lesh & Friends
Set 1: Jam> Truckin'> Cumberland Blues1 > Big River1 > Stagger Lee, Sugaree2
Set 2 : Playing In The Band> Eyes Of The World> Magnolia Mountain > Turn On Your Lovelight, Help On The Way> Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower3
Encore: Donor Rap/Intros, Going Down The Road Feeling Bad3
1with Mike Gordon (electric banjo)
2no Osby
3with Trey Anastasio (guitar, vocals)
Band: Phil Lesh (bass, vocals), John Molo (drums), Rob Barraco (keys), Greg Osby (sax), Joan Osborne (vocals), Barry Sless (pedal steel), Larry Campbell (guitar, fiddle, mando+)

GRAB
Set 1: Plasma, Drifting, Mud City, Trouble, Goodbye Head > Sleep Again, Get Back (The Beatles), Shine, Suskind Hotel, Coming Up Roses (Elliot Smith), Host Across The Potomac > Mr. Completely > Dragonfly, Communication Breakdown (Led Zeppelin)
Encore: Tuesday

This was a rare occasion when I was able to convince my friend to drive out to Jersey for a show.

Sadly, I remember very little of what went down due to another friend providing some Klonopin. If you ever want to not remember a show, take benzos.

From what I can recall, Trey and Mike with the Benevento Russo Duo was decidedly lesser than the sum of its parts. No Phish. Very little Duo. Mike and the Duo would've been much better. Later we would learn that Trey was on quite a bit of pills himself during this interstitial period.

I vaguely recall falling asleep on the lawn during Help>Slip>Frank and I have no recollection of any sit-ins.

02/15/06 Phil Lesh & Friends @ Beacon Theater, New York, NY

02/15/06 Beacon Theater, New York, NY
Phil Lesh (bass, vocals), Joan Osborne (vocals), Larry Campbell (guitar+more)
Rob Barraco (keys), Barry Sless (guitar, pedal steel), Jeff Sipe (drums)
Set 1: Passenger > Doin' That Rag, Stagger Lee > Mr Charlie, The Hardest Part > The Weight, Cosmic Charlie
Set 2: Jam > Shakedown Street > New Speedway Boogie, Cats Under The Stars > Magnolia Mountain > Uncle John's Band > Morning Dew, Truckin' > Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion
E: I Am The Walrus

My first time at the lovely Beacon Theater, as well as my first time puffing with the old man. Here's what I had to say about it at the time.

Oh yeah and in regards to that blog about my dad and drugs, I finally smoked with my old man for the first time. I'm pretty sure I was talking with my friend Anna about this a few hours before it happened. I was lying on the couch minding my own business when my dad called and offered to treat me to the last night of (former/current Grateful Dead bassist) Phil Lesh & Friends at the Beacon Theater. I'd never been there and I can't ever say no to a free show so I hopped on a train and met my dad there. We got tickets at the door and had front row seats in the upper most section for the first few songs. As soon as the music started, joints were being passed left and right (gotta love hippies!). Although my dad told me he had a joint rolled (and that he smoked on the way down), I passed to him first (courtesey of the baby boomers to my left). It was, predictably, a little awkward (I tend to get paranoid and introspective when I'm high, not exactly the mindset you want to have around your parents), but it had to happen sooner or later. Better sooner than later, plus I got a free show out of the deal. As for the music itself, it was a delightful array of Grateful Dead classics (Shakedown Street, Truckin', Uncle John's Band, etc.) and classic rock stalwarts (The Band's "The Weight" and The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus) played with an astonishing level of musicianship by some of the best in the business. Joan "What If God Was One of Us?" Osbourne was on vocals. The Beacon Theatre, which I had heard of, did not disappoint. Perfect sound and sightlines from everywhere in the joint (pun intended), plus stunning art deco decor. I can't wait to be "Peakin' at the Beacon," by which I mean tripping face.

I'm sure there's more to be said, but it'll have to wait for the next time I get motivated to record it all (when it rains it pours, folks).