ReView From The Vault - Phil Lesh & Friends 12/18/2004

Just a little nervous from the fall
Phil Lesh & Friends
12/18/2004
Warfield Theater San Francisco, CA

review by Jeremy Kashnow (jeremy@setbreak.com)

Saturday sparkled. The liquid was clean which means bedtime came early. Early to bed… early to rise… I woke with the sun and the carnival of colors it brought. A quick check of the messages brought us the news we were waiting for. Last night around 8:30PM (The Times They Are A Changing) lovely little Marley O’Connor was born. A baby girl... The first girl in our close Bay Area family. So far we know how to raise boys, not girls… girls are tough… I hope we’re ready.

The energy the sun brought soon faded and by early afternoon it became clear that a nap would be needed if we were going to pull through. Somehow general fucking around took priority and the nap never came. Poor choice. Saturday night would be tough.

Some things, like hiking, are always a good idea. You never regret the decision to hike. Other things, like Henry’s Hunan, are never a good idea. It’s absolutely NEVER the right choice, but the lure of the chili pepper is strong. C’est la vie… carpe momentum!

Once again, show time was 8:30PM. We rolled into the lower lodge just as the band began to play THE BAND. “Just Another Whistle Stop” kicked off the show. This style of music hit the sweet spot for this group and the night was off to a good start. A rough version of “Dire Wolf” came next and dribbled into “Peggy-O”. That’s two “Fennario” tunes in a row for you fairytale freaks. (You may appreciate this discussion of the etymology of the word and various interpretations of the type of land it describes: http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/direwolf.html#fennario ) I didn’t recognize the next two tunes, “Lonesome Valley” and “40 Days”. I think “40 Days” is a New Earth Mud tune and CR sang it with soul. “No More Do I” followed and “It Hurts Me Too” filled that new Pigpen slot. CR delivered it well and just wailed on the harp. This was just about the time I was hitting the wall and in serious need of energy. I knew we needed a rocker to close out the set or I might not make it through setbreak. Asked and answered... “Casey Jones” came rolling down the track and straight through the Warfield. Phil really likes to kick this one into high gear at the end. They just keep picking up the pace until they just can’t sing or play any faster. The finale was CR singing a bluesy version of the line, “And you know that notion just crossed… my… miiiiind.”

Setbreak silliness involved a jaunt down Market street to 7-11 for a much-needed redbull followed by a phatty shot of Jaeger back at the upstairs bar. The freaks were out in full force and I ran into an old show friend I hadn’t seen in a while. I was in NYC back in 2000 for some kimock shows at the Wetlands and ended up going solo the night before my birthday. I saw a kid I used to see at every show I went to in SF, NYC, or New Orleans but never actually met. I introduced myself and we’ve been good buddies since. He just happened to be on the same schedule as I did which meant splitting time between the two coasts and also getting a healthy dose of the big easy. We saw him at setbreak and somehow the conversation turned to work and one thing led to another and it turns out he has been suing Mike Henry’s family company and received some huge settlement. To break the awkward tension, I asked him if he knew my friend Monica down in New Orleans. Brian replied with a boisterous laugh, “Monica? Ha ha ha… Yeah I know Monica… she’s a trip!” Any stories there, Moni?

The Dylan/Danko “The Wheel’s On Fire” opened the second set. I couldn’t help but think of this as the AbFab theme song which sparked internal giggles. This melted into a slow “Black Peter” which has one of those lines we never actually knew but had looked up the night before – “Annie Beauneu from San Angel”. What great lyrics… “All of my friends come to see me last night… I was laying in my bed and dying” This went into another Black Crowes tune, “Wiser Time” followed by the first verse of “Dark Star”. Back in 1999, the combination of Dark Star, Phil, the Warfield, and the liquid was toxic, so the hairs on my neck stood up as this one began. I’m not usually looking for Dark Star to end but I heard myself sigh in relief when it was over. A beautiful version of the Garcia/Hunter song “Rosemary” came next. This was one of the few remaining tunes thought to be recorded by the Grateful Dead but never played live. (The validity of that claim is dubious as a recording from December 7th, 1968 has recently surfaced.) What followed was extremely odd. The music sounded like some sort of Beatles tune, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. CR came out and started singing a very strange rendition of “Imagine”. I didn’t know what to make of the scene, but I liked it. My guess was that the wrong lyrics came up on the teleprompter and the just decided to go with it. Word on the Web is that the music was an Incubus tune, “Here In My Room”. Hmmm…

A searing “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” came thundering down from the ladies in the balcony. This one hit deep and Gloria and Jackie soared with soul. Things got even weirder as this melted into a short version of the Pink Floyd tune “Eclipse”. “Terrapin Station” tore through the theater like a freight train and crashed right into Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower”. “China Doll” broke our hearts (It’s only fracture) and then China/Rider took on a new meaning as the band raged through “I Know You Rider” to finish the set. (I’m always hoping for that sweet verse with its overtly SF-deprecating lyrics – “I’d rather drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log. Than stay here in Frisco, be treated like a dog.”) Once again second set clocked in at over two hours!

The smile on miguelito’s face told volumes. All he could say is, “Two is definitely bigger than one!”

The obligatory donor rap and band introduction prepared us for the encore. “Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad” exploded from the stage. (“Goin’ where the water tastes like wine…” makes me think of the Bay Area.) That sweet “Ooohhh Ooohhh Ooohhh” lulled us into Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” to complete the night.

Overall the show was good but not great. I thought Friday night was exceptional and Saturday was just OK. I tried to take into account the “milk plus drencrom” factor on Friday and the resulting fatigue on Saturday, but things still didn’t add up. Something was missing or just off. All I could do was hope for the best on Sunday.