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.

06/26/06 Atmosphere/Brother Ali @ Irving Plaza, New York, NY

This show featured two heavy hitters of Minneapolis' unlikely hip hop scene.

I inadvertently offended my black friend when I attempted to discern the differences between "black hip hop" and "white hip hop."

Brother Ali is notable for being albino and Muslim.

Atmosphere (rapper Slug and producer Ant backed by a small band) was OK, but it didn't live up to my expectations. "Guns and Cigarettes," however, remains one of my all-time favorite tracks.

05/??/06 Mike Clark Trio @ Lucille's BB King's, New York, NY

This show featured Mike Clark of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters performing with a trio featuring local organ whiz Jerry Z, who I had met when he palyed with Melvin Sparks.

I ran into the hippie duo from my Green Apple adventures and we parked at a table right in front of the stage.

At one point, I drunkenly yelled out a request for "Watermelon Man" which Mr. Clark begrudgingly obliged, but not before sarcastically offering to play the Herbie composition as a 20 minute drum solo. The joke was on me because the song I meant to request was "Chameleon."

05/??/06 DJ Le Spam and The Spam Allstars @ SOB's

DJ Le Spam and The Spam All Stars are a collective best known for being the illustration in Vida Blue's The Illustrated Band, one of the best of the Phish side project releases. Their Cuban-tinged funk fusion fit in perfectly at the world music enclave of SOB's.

05/20/06 Daptone Super Soul Revue @ Irving Plaza, New York, NY

At the time, this show seemed like the penultimate celebration of the soul revival spearheaded by the Daptone label intent on vintage analog equipment and a decidedly retro, yet fresh take on the genre. The showcase doubled as a 50th birthday celebration for the former corrections officer turned neo-soul superstar, the inimitable Sharon Jones. It featured nearly every artist on the label, from Jones' backing band The Dap Kings to funksters The Budos Band to gospel revivalist Naomi Davis. Several years later, however, the soul revival has burgeoned even further with the success of acts like Amy Winehouse. Sharon herself has reached higher plateaus with headlining gigs at The Apollo Theater and a much-ballyhooed stint as back-up vocalist for Phish's 2009 Halloween interpretation of The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street that also featured several members of the Dap-Kings horn section.

05/13/06 Dark Star Orchestra @ Nokia Theater, New York, NY

1: WRS Prelude@> WRS Part 1@> Let It Grow, Half Step, Jack Straw, West LA Fadeaway, Cassidy, Run for the Roses, Esau, Hey Pockey Way> Deal
2: China Cat> I Know You Rider, Dancin', Liberty@ , Sailor@> Saint@> Drums> Space> Other One> Stella Blue> Lovelight
Encore: Box of Rain> Saturday Night
Notes: Special guest keyboardist Dan Klepinger - @Eaton on acoustic

This show holds a special place in my heart since it was the night I met my girlfriend. We were both working at the Lifebeat table and we hit it off immediately. Curiously, she knew nothing of the Grateful Dead prior to that fateful night.

Several years later, we are still happily together and she is now a converted 'head.

05/12/06 Dark Star Orchestra @ Nokia Theatre, New York, NY

10-08-1989 Coliseum, Hampton, VA
Set 1: Foolish Heart> Walking Blues, Candyman, Me & My Uncle> Big River,Stagger Lee, Queen Jane, Bird Song> Promised
Set 2: Help> Slipknot> Franklin's, Victim> Eyes> Drumz>Miracle> Wheel> Gimme Some Lovin> Morning Dew
Encore: We Bid You Goodnight
Filler: Marriage Proposal, TLEO, Good Lovin'
Notes: Special guest keyboardist Dan Klepinger

This was a reinterpretation of one of the legendary Hampton '89 shows, during which the Dead were billed as Formerly The Warlocks. Unfortunately, DSO did not choose the show that included the Dark Star bust out.

The most memorable part of this show was the post-encore marriage proposal. She said yes.