Last night at Terrapin Crossroads, Furthur members Phil Lesh, John Kadlecik, Joe Russo and Jeff Chimenti teamed up with guitarist Anders Osborne for a West Coast Ramble. Osborne had already made his mark at last month’s Spring Rambles with Luther Dickinson, but seemed to have picked up where he left off from those memorable shows.

The first set was filled with treats such as Anders-sung covers of Ramblin’ Man by the Allman Brothers Band, Neil Young’s Heart Of Gold and Bob Marley’s I Shot The Sheriff as well as Grateful Dead rarity Reuben and Cerise. In addition to Reuben and Cerise, John Kadlecik handled vocals on Grateful Dead staples Deal, Ramble On Rose and They Love Each Other.

Set One: Deal (jk), Ramblin’ Man (ao), Reuben And Cerise (jk) > Sugaree (ao), Ramble On Rose (jk), Heart Of Gold (ao), They Love Each Other (jk), I Shot The Sheriff (ao)

Set Two: Jam > Scarlet (jk,ao) > The Harder They Come (ao) > Fire On The Mountain (ao), Small Spacey Jam > Dark Star v1 (all) > The Other One (pl) > Dark Star v2 (all) > St. Stephen (all) > Midnight Hour (ao)

Encore: Burning on the Inside (ao)

[Setlist via PhilZone.org]

The second set opened with an interesting segment that saw the ensemble insert a cover of The Harder They Come into the usual Scarlet > Fire pairing. Then, the band went into Primal Dead mode for a Dark Star > The Other One > Dark Star > St. Stephen sequence before ending the set with the Anders-sung Midnight Hour. Osborne had a chance to show off one of his originals as Burning On The Inside served as the encore.

Listen to Anders, Phil, John, Joe and Jeff cover Ramblin’ Man…

READ ON

One of the many cool traditions that Phil Lesh has instilled at his Terrapin Crossroads venue in San Rafael, Calif. is the Sunday Brunch. Diners at the venue’s restaurant are treated to mostly acoustic tuneage while they enjoy their meals. For instance, at this past Sunday’s Mother Day Brunch, Phil’s son Grahame led a few of his buddies through a set and was later joined by his father and Furthur guitarist John Kadlecik. Not a bad way to spend an early Sunday afternoon in the Bay Area.

Watch Grahame Lesh, Phil Lesh, Kadlecik and Connor O’Sullivan perform Brown-Eyed Women at this past Sunday’s Mother’s Day Brunch, held at Terrapin Crossroads…

If you’re a Phil Lesh fan who doesn’t live in the Bay Area, you can’t do much better than living in NYC. In addition to all the Phil & Friends shows he’s played in the NYC area and the recently-completed Capitol Theatre run, Phil has just announced four intimate shows with the house band of Phil’s Terrapin Crossroads venue – the Terrapin Family Band. These will be the group’s first East Coast gigs.

Lesh and the Terrapin Family Band will play the extremely small Sullivan Hall in New York City’s Greenwich Village on June 4 – 6. Then, on the 7th, the ensemble will set sail on the 210-foot Infinity Yacht, which departs Pier 40 on West Houston St. in NYC at 9PM.

The Terrapin Family Band features Brian James Lesh, Grahame Lesh, Ross James, Scott Padden, and Alex Koford. Phil is set to join them for all four shows. A limited amount of tickets are available via the Terrapin Crossroads Store. We’re sure they’ll go quick!

Grateful Dead / Furthur bassist Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads venue has just announced a full slate of performances set for the first three weeks of May. The action starts on May 3rd with an Infamous Stringdusters show which The Terrapin Family Band will open and continues on May 5th when Phil will perform with The Terrapin Family Band as a benefit concert for the Unbroken Chain Foundation. Then, on May 10th, The Black Crowes’ Jackie Greene will Ramble with Phil and Furthur members John Kadlecik, Joe Russo and Jeff Chimenti.

Lesh will bring back his Telstar night of “improvisation and psychedelic music” on May 12th when he’ll perform with Kadlecik, Russo, Chimenti and Anders Osborne. TC will throw a “Spring Fling House Party” on the 13th featuring Lesh, Kadlecik, Russo, Chimenti and Osborne along with the Terrapin Family Band. On May 15th, Phil will offer up a “Rockin’ Ramble” along with Kadlecik, Russo, Chimenti and Osborne. The announced shows come to a close with three Rambles on May 16th – 18th that will find Lesh performing with Kadlecik, Russo, Chimenti and Luther Dickinson.

Tickets for every show besides the Stringdusters (tickets for that show are onsale now) will be available at the Terrapin Crossroads Box Office on Thursday, April 18th, starting at 3:00 PM. The Terrapin Family Band will play for those queuing up for tickets. Remaining ducats will be available for purchase online on Saturday, April 20th. Here’s more details on each May Terrapin Crossroads show…

READ ON

When three nights of music at Terrapin Crossroads came to a close late on Saturday, Phil Lesh told the crowd it was “one of most energetic weekends of music here yet for me” during his donor rap. Apparently Lesh wasn’t ready for it to be over as he stopped by his venue for Sunday Brunch before heading to New York for tonight’s start of Furthur’s nine-show run at The Capitol Theatre.

• Anders/Luther Rambles: Night One, Night Two, Night Three

Phil joined his sons Grahame and Brian as well as guitarist Ross James during the Post-Ramble Acoustic Brunch to sing on a cover of Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons and to add vocals to Ramble On Rose.

Here’s videos of both…

READ ON

It’s hard to believe that Terrapin Crossroads is just a smidge over one year old. The Phil Lesh-owned venue has provided so many magical collaborations that previously only existed in our dreams. Anders Osborne and Luther Dickinson playing THREE shows with a band Phil put together? What a fantastic idea that turned out to be as good as expected when it actually took place. Last night was the finale of the three-night stand of Spring Rambles that saw Phil Lesh, Anders Osborne and Luther Dickinson team up with Grahame Lesh, Tony Leone and Jason Crosby at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, Calif. However, that wasn’t the only show at the venue on Saturday leading to Lesh to call it “one of most energetic weekends of music here yet for me” when the music finally stopped just after midnight.

Early in the day guitarist Stu Allen was the featured performer at Terrapin Crossroads during brunch. Allen treated brunchers to covers from the likes of The Beatles, Steely Dan and Bruce Cockburn as well as some Grateful Dead staples. Drummer Pete Lavezzoli joined Stu at one point as did keyboardist Rob Barraco who was in town with Dark Star Orchestra.

Watch Stu and Rob’s stupendous cover of Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan…

READ ON

After Thursday’s show turned our heads, we were excited to see what “Uncle” Phil Lesh, Anders Osborne, Luther Dickinson, Tony Leone, Grahame Lesh and Jason Crosby had in store for their second of three Spring Rambles at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, Calif. last night. Just like Thursday’s opening show, Friday saw the newly-formed ensemble mix blues classics, NMAS tunes and a bunch of songs from the Grateful Dead’s touring repertoire. Then, for good measure, the band threw in a pair of Neil Young gems in Cortez The Killer and Down By The River for good measure.

Once again, the sextet infused plenty of improvisation throughout each set. Band members took turns handling vocals with Luther stepping to mic on Rollin’ and Tumblin’, How I Wish My Train Would Come and Mean Old Wind Died Down, while Anders fronted the group for Friend of the Devil, Big Boss Man, Down By The River, Cortez The Killer and Fire On The Mountain. During his usual donor rap, Phil remarked that the evening marked the 52nd anniversary of the first manned spaceflight.

Here’s the setlist from last night’s Spring Ramble @ Terrapin Crossroads…

READ ON

Furthur / Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh kicked off a set of Spring Rambles at his Terrapin Crossroads venue in San Rafael, Calif. last night with a band consisting of Anders Osborne, Grahame Lesh and Luther Dickinson on guitar, Tony Leone on drums and multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby (See our interview with JCros). The ensemble worked through material from the Grateful Dead canon as well as tunes from Anders and the North Mississippi Allstars over the course of two sets.

[Photo via Pok Pok Wings on PhilZone.org]

Here’s the setlist from last night’s show via PhilZone.org…

Set One: Alabama Getaway (TL), Dire Wolf (GL), Cold Rain & Snow (PL), Ramble On Rose (TL) Hear the Hills (LD) > Tomorrow Never Knows Jam > Burning on the Inside (AO) > extended jam > Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad

Set Two: Truckin-> Conan-> Cumberland Blues, Sugaree > Shake > Joliet Bound > The Other One > I Know You Rider, Donor Rap

Encore: Knockin On Heaven’s Door

We’ve come across audio of Sugaree > Shake > Joliet Bound > Other One > I Know You Rider…

READ ON

There was once a time when Phil Lesh and Dark Star Orchestra weren’t on good terms. It was said Lesh didn’t appreciate DSO’s concept and that DSO wasn’t thrilled that Phil recruited John Kadlecik for Furthur. Those bad vibes have apparently dissipated as Uncle Phil sat in with Dark Star Orchestra last night for the second time in six months.

DSO performed at Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads venue and were joined by the Grateful Dead / Furthur bassist for the majority of the second set. Phil emerged at the beginning of the second stanza, as DSO bassist Kevin Rosen sat out, for China > Rider and That’s It For The Other One sequences. While most of the show focused on material from the late ’60s, Dark Star offered an “original setlist” instead of performing a show from the Dead’s past.

Here’s the setlist from last night’s show…

Set One: Dancin’ In The Streets > Till The Morning Comes, High Time, Easy Wind > Not Fade Away > New Orleans > Not Fade Away > Death Don’t Have No Mercy > Viola Lee Blues

Set Two: China Cat Sunflower* > I Know You Rider*, Cryptical Envelopment > * The Other One > * Cryptical Envelopment*, Hard To Handle > Alligator > jam (mountain jam) > The Eleven > Going Down The Road

Encore: Brokedown Palace

* – w/ Phil Lesh

[Setlist via DeadHeadLand]

Dark Star Orchestra move on to a venue owned by a different member of the Grateful Dead this evening for a sold-out show at Bob Weir’s Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, Calif.

Back on Monday we told you about the Jerry Garcia estate selling a version of the Grateful Dead front man’s iconic black t-shirt that comes with a download card which will get you a crystal-clear recording of the Jerry Garcia Band’s first-ever show at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre. Today, we bring you a taste of what the estate has dubbed “GarciaLive 1.5″ from June 26th, 1981.

Here’s audio of a fantastic version of Dear Prudence featuring Phil Lesh on bass…

There’s only a few days left to order the t-shirt and download card package.

It’s important to remember that our rock heroes are real people who go through all of the same emotions that we do. For instance, they beam with pride at the accomplishments of their children. Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh has used his new venue, Terrapin Crossroads, to not only play with his variety of projects, but also as a home for the projects of his two talented songs – Grahame and Brian.

Watch as Phil can’t wipe the smile off his face as he performs a cover of Kenny Chesney’s You and Tequila last night at Terrapin Crossroads with his two boys and their band. Chesney recorded You and Tequila in 2010 with the help of Grace Potter. Phil has mentioned his appreciation of contemporary country stars such as Chesney in a recent Relix interview. This take on You and Tequila, which sweetly segues into Uncle John’s Band, is delivered by the Terrapin Family Band…

And here’s the ensemble’s riveting take on New Speedway Boogie…

READ ON

The next set of West Coast Rambles will take place on April 11 – 13 at Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads venue in San Rafael, Calif. Guitarists Anders Osborne and Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) will make their Terrapin Crossroads debut at those shows.

In addition to Anders and Luther, the band will consist of drummer Tony Leone, multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby, guitarist Grahame Lesh and bassist Phil Lesh. You can score a $65 at the Terrapin Crossroads Box Office starting tomorrow or online via the TC webstore on March 21st.

Phil Lesh made his first appearance on Bob Weir’s Weir Here talk show one to remember last night at TRI Studios. Lesh emerged halfway through a version of Sugar Magnolia featuring Weir on acoustic guitar that kicked off the show and stuck around for nearly an hour and a half of the two hour show before departing for his own venue.

Following Sugar Magnolia, the Grateful Dead / Furthur band mates offered impressive duo versions of Cosmic Charlie and Loose Lucy before bringing out multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby for a passionate take on Jack Straw. Then, Weir headed over to his desk, which is the same style as other talk show hosts like Jay Leno and David Letterman, where he was joined by Lesh, Grateful Dead roadie Steve Parish and the Dead’s legacy manager David Lemieux for an incredibly engaging storytelling session about the late Ron “Pigpen” McKernan. It’s not often we get to see Weir and Lesh just trading tales and they both seemed to hold nothing back frankly discussing drug and alcohol usage.

READ ON

The 13th episode of Bob Weir’s Weir Here talk show, which airs via TRI Studios each Wednesday night at 5:30PM PT / 8:30PM ET is shaping up to be the best one yet. As previously reported, Weir’s Grateful Dead / Furthur band mate Phil Lesh will make his Weir Here debut this Wednesday and additional guests will include Grateful Dead roadie Steve Parish and GD legacy manager David Lemieux.

Today, TRI has announced the topic for this week’s episode of Weir Here – Pigpen! Weir, Lesh, Parish and Lemieux will discuss keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan’s contributions to the Dead before he left the band in 1972 before his tragic death a year later. If you’ve got a question for the panel, tweet it @tri_studios using the hashtag #weirhere. Tune in on Wednesday for the episode.

Phil Lesh will celebrate both his birthday and the anniversary of Terrapin Crossroads opening at his San Rafael, California venue starting tonight and running through March 17th. For those who can’t make it out, the venue will be offering Pay-Per-View webcasts of each show.

Lesh has put together some killer lineups for the gigs…

March 8th, 9th and 10th – Phil Lesh, Jackie Greene, Tony Leone, Stu Allen & Jeff Chimenti!

March 11th – Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Joe Russo, Jackie Greene & Jeff Chimenti

March 14th & 15th – Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Joe Russo, Jackie Greene & Jeff Chimenti!

March 16th & 17th – Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Jeff Chimenti, Stu Allen & Joe Russo!

Each webcast will run you $7 and can be bought HERE.

[Hat Tip - @DeadheadLand]