| Phil Lesh, straight off celebrating his 60th
birthday in Oakland, went east in April to tour. One night in Connecticut,
three nights in Philadelphia, four nights in Boston,
and six nights in New York
City. I mail ordered for the Saturday night show in Boston (4/8), and
the last four NYC shows. Thanks to Ruby of GDTS
Too (once again), I had sweet floor seats for all five events. Phil
tour was in full effect.
The tour couldn't have started off on a better note. A weekend in Boston capped by a Phil Lesh show at the legendary Orpheum. Ruby had scored me a pair of tough tickets for the April 8 show, and my good buddy Matt (of Pisces Posters fame) motivated with Ticketmaster to get four seats--upper balcony, last row. But without a bad seat in the house, me, Beth, Matt, Jill, Josh and Suzie were in for a good time. |
| In my three and a half years in Boston,
I often got frustrated with it. Ridiculous laws, poor mass transit and
roads, and miserable weather were just some of my complaints. But on this
fine day, all was good in the land of Boston.
A sunny Saturday afternoon playing in the Commons included a pickup game of soccer. I remember playing and talking on my cell phone at the same time. Beth yelled at me, but I said I don't need my hands anyway. Ms. Soccer was not amused. We followed the game with drinks at a local beantown bar. |
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| A gorgeous, classic theater built in 1852, I spent many college nights
dancing within The Orpheum's walls. Now I returned as a Boston alumnus
with a new respect for it. Beth and I spent the first two songs of the
concert (St. Stephen> The Eleven) on the crowded floor while our friends
were grooving in the back of the house. We then joined them for the ultimate
bird's-eye angle. Dancing room and no security were two added bonuses.
The 4th song Shakedown Street made me so happy. Besides having never seen
it live before, I thought it was fitting for my attitude about Boston that
day: "Don't tell me this town don't got no heart. You just gotta poke around!"
Phil made the set even sweeter by tossing Bob Dylan's Just Like Tom
Thumb's Blues after the Shakedown. Beth and I, both Dylan-heads, were
freaking. It had been almost six years since my first Dylan show--in The
Orpheum, two rows away. Tom Thumb Blues was more appropriate for the way
I felt about Boston during my tenure there: "I'm going back to New York
City, I do believe I've had enough!"
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| My weekend in Boston over, I had ten days to anticipate
my upcoming Phil shows. I gave up my Saturday night tickets to celebrate
Passover with my family (you're welcome, Dan). And Beth had Easter to attend...
I know I missed a good show on Saturday (Branford Marsalis' lone appearance), but had three other shows to look forward to. I won't review each show specifically, but I'm obliged to say each night was an incredibly special experience. |
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| Everyone I bumped into at The Beacon shared a smile. Beth
and I were stickered (with the one at right) after walking through the
security-free doors; it was truly a small-scale scene. And props to the
Beacon for holding Matt's ticket while he drove down late from Boston.
My brother coined the term "the pH factor" for Phil's improved setlist creativity since he played with Trey and Page in April 1999. Ever since those shows, Phil's unique song selection and the arrangement of tunes can only be compared with, well, Phish. On my first show of the six-night Beacon Theater run, Wednesday, April 19, Phil opened the second set with Scarlet Begonias. He then closed the first set of the following show on April 21 with Fire on the Mountain. (Incidentally, why Phil didn't play on 4/20/2000 is beyond me). All the rules that the Grateful Dead used to follow were thrown out of Phil's window. Jordan earlier saw Phil open a show with Brokedown Palace, the Dead's standard encore. That was the same show he played Jump and Jump Reprise. Insane. At the ripe age of 60, Phil Lesh was changing his routine. And the phans were the benefactors. |
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My lovely girlfriend Beth
fell ill before the last show of the tour, and like any good boyfriend,
I went without her. At the last minute, I took Adam's
little sister, Alison. Boy, was she psyched! I told Beth I would call her
if Phil played Unbroken Chain and let her listen in.
The first song of the last show? Unbroken Chain. The second tune? Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man. Phil took me through the smoke rings of my mind, down the foggy ruins of time, while he played a song for me. |
| Phil closed the tour with a heartfelt Brokedown Palace> Box of Rain.
Both songs are heavy on the Jerry references. Even when Jerry sang Brokedown,
I always thought it contained prophetic lyrics. "Fare you well, fare you
well/ I love you more than words can tell/ Listen to the river sing
sweet songs/ To rock my soul" And of course Box of Rain is a story about
passing on to another world: "Inch your way through dead dreams to another
land." Alison and I, both a tad teary-eyed, embraced at the end of the
show. My friends Dan and Ingrid, thank to Ruby's generosity, did the same
across the floor.
Phil and his friends also hugged before bowing to an appreciative New York audience. The photo on the top of this page came at that moment. A few phans expressed their gratitude by hanging a banner from the balcony of the beautiful Beacon. I couldn't have said it better myself. |
The covers continued throughout the night, including Traffic's Dear Mr.
Fantasy, Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes, and In The Midnight Hour. The versions
were all fantastic. Phil's two guitarists, Jeff Pevar and Jimmy Herring
were absolutely shredding. And Rob Barraco, on loan from the Zen Tricksters,
was killer on the keys. The night of covers was complete when Phish's Mike
Gordon joined Phil for the predictable encore of Wolfman's Brother. It
was a pleasure to see them jam once again (they were together for the