On New Year’s Day, when the news that the surviving members of The Dead were reforming for a spring tour I couldn’t have been more excited. Bob Weir and Phil Lesh have hit the road hard over the past few years and I’ve been underwhelmed with their solo projects. Yesterday, The Dead took Manhattan harder than the Muppets did back in the day performing four times at four completely different venues including a spot on The View. I caught the band’s 8PM show at the Gramercy Theatre and I left an hour later thoroughly impressed and excited to see a show or on the tour.

[All photos by Adam Kaufman]

As a varied mix of Deadheads entered the 700 person capacity theater there was a sense of excitement in the air that all of those with golden tickets felt. The venue filled up just before showtime and The Dead – on a tight schedule – came on shortly after ticket time. Warren Haynes started noodling and his bandmates followed along. Unlike in the solo bands, there was no clear leader which was a marvelous thing. Phil picked up on Warren’s riffs and would follow along for a few minutes before asserting himself. Bobby would throw in some weird, choppy chords that added a nice spice to the mix with all of the ingredients lining up for an interesting jam that was more psychedelic than blues.

The jams on this evening were reminiscent of ’73 Dead – one of my favorite periods. Keyboardist Jeff Chimenti channeled Keith Godchaux thanks to a slew of rollicking ragtime licks and quick changes in tempo. Eventually, the jam turned a corner and the band kicked off Playing In The Band. Bob Weir has taken some knocks lately for his singing, but he did a nice job with one of his signature songs. The Dead sounded surprisingly tight for a band that hasn’t started their tour yet.

READ ON for more of Scotty’s thoughts on The Dead…

The jam out of Playin’ had a more evil feel than the jam that led into it which kept things interesting. There were no generic jams on this night. Warren, who used the same guitar throughout the whole set, fueled the improvisation with an intense series of riffs that made Bobby smile. After a few minutes, Lesh interjected the intro to Good Lovin’ and the band followed along. There was no weak link on this night as each member made their presence felt at one point or another. These guys jelled from the opening jam and once they shake off the rust we’re in for some fantastic shows.

The Wheel followed Good Lovin’ and Bobby, Phil and Warren all traded verses – a trend we’ll see plenty of this month. Bobby toyed with the phrasing of the lyrics; sometimes it worked and other times it hurt my ears. Once again, the sextet gave Haynes ample room to work his magic both during the verses and in the brief jam. The hour set flew by and featured tons of improvisation, none of which was boring.

Everyone in the Gramercy seemed thrilled to be seeing their old friends and The Dead’s reading of Franklin’s Tower turned into a celebratory singalong. It was clear we were running out of time as the band tore through the verses and the solos. The Dead barely left the stage for the encore break and quickly started Touch of Grey. Now, there was something a little sad about their performance of the tune. Not sad as in pitiful, but sad as in the surviving members were clearly missing their leader – Jerry Garcia. The “I Will Survive” refrain rang hollow without Garcia, but I’ll take the option of these guys jamming together over the solo acts any day of the week.

The Dead kick off their spring tour in Greensboro on April 12. They’ve announced through their text messaging service that sax whiz Branford Marsalis will join them for two shows at the Izod Arena in  East Rutherford, NJ on April 28 and 29. Seeing how good they sound and how good that sound made me feel, I’ve just penciled those concerts in on my calendar. I’ve gone from indifferent to excited about The Dead’s tour pretty quickly.

Setlists:

Angel Orensanz Center

Set: Direwolf, Bird Song, Cumberland Blues, Lazy River Road, Casey Jones

Encore: Ripple

Gramercy Theatre

Set: Playing In The Band > Good Lovin’ > The Wheel > Franklin’s Tower

Encore: Touch of Grey

Roseland

Set: Althea, Cassidy, Uncle John’s Band, Eyes of the World, St. Stephen > Dark Star > Sugar Magnolia

Encore: Not Fade Away

Scott Bernstein

Scott Bernstein co-founded Hidden Track in October 2006 and was managing editor until taking over as EiC in January 2008. Scotty also writes for Relix Magazine and curates YEMblog.com.

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