4/24/01 Phil Lesh & Friends
Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C.
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Last night, Phil Lesh made a triumphant return to Washington, D.C.; showing off his renewed vigor and stellar band. D.C., in the Dead years, was spoiled by annual summer visits to RFK and often a visit to the Capital Center in either Spring or Fall. Since RFK '95 and Jerry's passing, however, Phil hadn't come back to the Nation's Capital. Tuesday night, he played to a sold-out crowd at the historic D.A.R. Constitution Hall. A beautiful room with patriotic details in the molding and few bad views; the hall, unfortunately, has a local reputation for poor sound. From our location on the floor, in front of Rob Barraco, things were loud but not altogether clear. I bear no grudge, however, as the band played two hot sets of songs embroiled in juicy jams that got folks on their feet, dancing and shouting. Surely, it was more energy than this hall sees on most Tuesday nights.
This time around, Phil's friends are those who've toured with him since last fall: Warren Haynes and Jimmy Herring on guitars, along with full-time friends Rob Barraco on keys and, John Molo on drums. These guys are a powerful group and the time they've spent together shows in every jam.
As the players filed onto the stage and got ready to go, Phil announced that he would begin with a poetry reading. Throughout the tour, on selected nights, Phil is reading from Niko's Kazantzakis' poem; "Invocation to the Sun, the Prologue to The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel" and this night continued with section three. The audience, restless at first began to listen intently and responded enthusiastically to the rousing close of the stanza. The band stepped up to their places, Phil counted off a beat, and they began to jam.
These introductory jams; which begin nearly all of Phil's shows now; serve almost as an overture to the evening. Themes weave in, out, over, under and, through one another. Some even seem to be deliberate teases of songs which the band intends to play later in the evening (they do work from a setlist- crafted by Phil- each night.) Both guitar players took stand-out solos during this jam which set the tone for an intense night yet to come. I noticed, among others, an Uncle John's Band tease- which may well have been wishful thinking but it sounded clear enough for me to write down. After about ten minutes, Rob's tone changed to a twisted-yet-familiar, creaky keyboard sound that tipped me off to I Am The Walrus. The rest of the band found their way into the song and the collectively rocked the house. Although he fumbled the lyrics a bit, Rob's voice sounded excellent, and with such convoluted songwriting it's quite forgivable. The audience seemed thrilled by the selection, even singing the "Wooo"s during the refrain. The band wound expertly through the complex changes and even got fairly heavy at times, giving this psychedelic masterpiece the powerful treatment it deserves. I noticed, as well that they even managed to work in some of rather unusual breaks (maniacal laughter, odd noises, etc.) from the original.
Out of Walrus they jammed a bit with hints of what sounded like GDTRFB coming from Herring. But this jam grew more subdued and, as the last strains of Warren's guitar echoed through the hall, Phil counted off Golden Road. I leapt with excitement to hear this nugget from the Dead's first album. Phil's been playing it for a while and it seems they've got it down. The verses were tight, Rob's vocal was solid and the jams were expansive. During the main jam, Phil laid out a powerful tease of Playin' In The Band before the final verse. Folks picked up on it and replied with excitement but that song was not in the cards for the night.
Celebration followed and the audience did not receive it quite as warmly. Well played, with Phil giving a strong vocal performance, this Lesh/Hunter tune has some nice lyrics and possibilities. Warren played a delicious slide-guitar introduction that brought smiles to many and Phil guided the group neatly through this typically complex song. While I must say that this seems to have been the low-point of the evening, this criticism is not so harsh given the strength of the rest of the show.
What came next went down in my notes as a "Funky Jam" and, Millennium Jam (as Phil calls it), very much fits that description. It was all too brief, however, giving way to The Eleven which elicited no complaints from our section. The guitar players and Rob alternately locked into and wound around one another, writhing atop the gnarly rhythms of Lesh and Molo. My wife, Amy, digs this song and it seemed to especially please her. I, myself, always appreciate the chance to dance to this song with its rather challenging time signature. As I tried to figure out where to put my feet, the continually crescendoing jams morphed into a brief, tight Other One jam then veered into deep space before gently resolving into Unbroken Chain.
Phil stepped back up to his microphone and sang once again. While many continue to disparage Phil's vocal abilities, I've noticed that not only has his voice mellowed and improved but his grasp of his vocal range and limitations seems stronger. Phil knows which notes to attempt and, in some cases, has modified the melody and/or the key to some songs to better suit his skills. The melodic differences were notable but quite fitting and the vocal portion of the song came off strongly. The instrumental portion of the song came off even stronger. Its a testament to rehearsal and talent (as well as music stands) that this band is able to skillfully pull of the extremely challenging and complex passages of Chain.
Jimmy Herring and Warren Haynes played off of each other brilliantly, exchanging leads and finishing each others phrases. I did catch Warren checking out his charts in order to follow the changes but, for someone who works so much and with so many different groups (and such a broad range of material), a little cheating is forgivable; especially when it sounds this good. Phil sang the final notes of the song and beamed happily, proud to have hit it as well as he did. Warren then carried us away from the Chain
Once again, the jam wound down to nearly a full stop before Phil counted off the next tune. Whiskey River, a Willie Nelson number, set the audience on fire. For a song being played for the first time, the response was dramatic and joyful, growing with every chorus. And so, with the fervor of a hot, southern hoe-down, and the blues dripping from Warren's vocal, they closed out the set leaving everybody wanting more. (It should be noted that, earlier in the day, Phil's management had announced that Willie Nelson will be sharing the bill with Phil & Friends for several shows this summer.)
As we stretched our legs and considered waiting in the lengthy lines for drinks, Mark nudged me and pointed to something on the ground. A pair of grey, Brooks Brothers underwear (not boxers, I might add) lay crumpled on the floor near our seats. We speculated as to where they'd come from and Mark grew nervous that they had been thrown and possibly had hit him. We decided that it was best not knowing and I forgot about the offending undergarments until David pointed them out once more during the second set. They had been picked up by a person in front of us and were resting on the armrest of his seat. This information proved to be all the more disturbing and I again tried to put it out of my mind.
After a forty-minute break, the band returned- rested and ready to rock. They kicked directly into a sweet, up-tempo groove which quickly became China Cat Sunflower. The old classic sounded fresh and alive and served as a perfect springboard for a hot jam. The band improvised cohesively; working up to several peaks before turning into a more straight-forward China > Rider transition jam. I Know You Rider, always a crowd pleaser, featured vocals from Rob, Phil and, Warren along with some nice harmonies from the three combined. Rob played a notably good solo in there too. The ever-classic combo opened the set strongly but only vaguely hinted at what was in store.
Phil called for Mountains Of The Moon next and sang it quite well. Its not the same as in the old days, when the Grateful Dead performed it as a quiet, psychedelic string-band tune. Phil has electrified and put some spin on it which, coupled with Candace's excellent lighting, took us into the serene depths of space. Out here, Tom Banjo could easily be Major Tom looking back on the simpler days gone by. Warren's slide evoked the stillness of a frozen river beneath which a million gallons still rushed. Then, fully aware of the space to which they'd taken us, they steered into Night Of A Thousand Stars.
This new Lesh/Hunter tune, sung by Warren, received a warmer response than the earlier Celebration. It's up-tempo groove provoked the dancers to try a few new things. Warrens vocal seemed a bit forced, although his guitar soared as usual. With lots of room to grow, this number is likely to have a long life on Phil's stage.
Cryptical Envelopment followed- opening the door to the far reaches of psychedelic exploration. They played and sang the first verse and immediately took things outward into a heavy, dissonant space. Guitars clanged and clashed, Rob pulled impossible chords from his keys and, even rock-steady John Molo stepped off the one, danced around it a bit and then called everyone back home. They then pulled together for their second-ever performance of Blues For Allah, the convoluted and bizarre title track from the Dead's 1975 album.
The Grateful Dead only attempted this five times (two of which were just jams) which may speak to its complexities. The changes are unusual, the vocals challenging and the entire piece is just plain weird. Weird is, of course, is just what I'd hope for in a Phil show and here, they delivered it. Without a doubt, they bested the Dead's performances of this tune; certainly on vocals if not on the entire song. An equally bizarre jam found itself in the middle and, after a neat reprise, Phil thundered into The Other One.
The Other One- as with Dark Star- is a quintessential Grateful Dead jam. Phil's flavor of it is like thunder clouds raging up the valley towards your home. Warren and Jimmy threw out wickedly sharp bolts of lightning from their guitars. I noticed a hint of Franklin's Tower coming from Rob in between the verses but it passed as quickly as it came on. The second verse came around and was standard until the refrain at which point, Phil didn't sing. Instead, they kept playing for one or two bars and then the entire band stopped on a time, played a beat, stopped again, then played and sang the refrain.
Although I dislike reusing adjectives so close together, I can only label this too, as bizarre. Well executed but, bizarre. One has to wonder if this was planned or an unusual cover for a missed vocal cue. There were some looks shot about onstage when this was happening but, as Phil is known for actively calling the shots with his band, one can't know the actual intent. After the refrain, nature took its course and Cryptical returned in order to be completed and then obliterated by another brief jam.
After that sequence, Sugaree could've seemed tame. This version, however was anything but. Warren belted the song out with chilling intensity and the band matched that intensity along the way. He, Jimmy and Rob each took solos on the show closer but Warren's stood out as he incorporated the melody from The Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want. The crowd ate it up. Phil wore an enormous grin. Afterwards, the hugs onstage revealed the joy that the band felt and Phil's pride radiated warmly out over the audience.
Next, the band stepped offstage for a moment and then returned for the encore, as Phil spoke to the audience about being a blood and organ donor. Some folks have commented that they don't like to hear the serious subject matter while they're enjoying a show. However, Phil feels very strongly about this issue (after all, it saved his life) and one has to recognize that Phil is doing an excellent job of increasing awareness and enrolling new donors. The Grateful Dead never used their stage as a soapbox (and perhaps rightfully so) but, Phil has something which he feels he need to share and so he does. After all, it could be worse- he could be talking politics.
Afterwards, he spoke about how long it had been since he'd played in D.C. and mentioned that he'd been there many times with "the other band". He thanked the audience for their enthusiasm, picked up his bass and gifted us with a delightful Box Of Rain. Phil again sang well and, during the higher, more difficult parts, the three vocalists in the group sang beautiful harmonies. Jimmy gave us a great solo and Warren rode his slide weepingly along to the end.
"Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there."A powerful and touching way to finish out a terrific night of music. This bands rocks, ladies and gentleman, make no mistake. Phil and his Friends are a force to be reckoned with, making more of their music than a rehash of oldies. Phil has spoken many times about his "Grateful Dead Symphony" which is to intertwine the themes from the band's music. He'd better give these guys a writing credit. What they do onstage is precisely what Phil says he's planning for the symphony; and they're a lot more portable too.
©2001- jmh
About the Author jmh is a family man who is thankfull for beer, LPs, and extra guitar strings. Donations of any of these things or cash for their purchase will be happily accepted.