Phil and Bobby Radio City Music Hall

[StephenR]

Hey Roger, thanks for the detailed review of night one of the Chicago run. Glad to hear that you thoroughly enjoyed the show. Been fun watching the streams on youtube but nothing beats being at the show and experiencing the full effect of the music, audience and venue interacting.

One major correction though, Charlie Sexton was not the guitar player. The always awesome (at least IMO) multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Levon Helm Band, Phil and Friends) and his wife Teresa Williams, on background vocals, joined Bob and Phil along with Jeff Chimenti for the two Chicago shows. Wally Ingram was the percussionist and he played all six shows with them. Larry and Teresa also played at the Boston shows. I always associate Wally with David Lindley but if you check out Wally's website he has played with a ton of A-list acts over the years and is a cancer survivor to boot. I found his playing to be the perfect foil for the music during this run of shows. I thought some of the jams Saturday went deep and the interplay between the musicians was nuanced and amazing. Larry seemed to have a great connection with Jeff. Link to the first night of the Chicago run below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7dNho8Q0bc

[David Houck]

Roger; thanks for the review!  Glad you enjoyed the show.

And Stephen; thanks for the link, and the correction.

[paulman]

Guys, I edited with the correction, thanks for indicating that.  I had gone out "fresh" also and did no research previous to my post.  Shows what listening to a fellow "affected" concert goer can do for ya.   And somehow I forgot Theresa Williams was there.  She was amazing as the female voice!

I saw Larry play with Bob Dylan about 15 years ago when they opened for the "Dead" back when Joan was still singing for them. There was one Dylan tune where Larry burned it down, I was blown away. 

It would be nice if the boys do something like this again, Phil is still very much on his game. 


And...thanks for that link!   It'll be interesting to see if being there was any different than seeing/hearing it later. 

[cozmik_cowboy]

Saw Dylan before "The Dead" at the Chicago show on that tour (Joliet Motor Speedway?), and yeah, Larry - and Bob's whole band - just smoked!!


Peter

[edwardofhuncote]

I really enjoyed "Girl from the North Country" on the 3/8 show. I like that tune anyway, but had never heard it quite this way.

*Phil's bass part here, while thoroughly freakin' brilliant, would confuse the living daylights out of the bluegrass and oldtyme circles I usually play this tune in... can't wait to try it. 

[paulman]

Peter, that was the show I was at.   Almost cancelled if I remember due to the wind blowing down the stage/seating or something.  We may have crossed paths...too cool. 

[cozmik_cowboy]

Cool indeed.
My favorite memory of that show (even with the amazing music):
We went with our middle son & his now-wife; he (in his standard buzz cut, ball cap, and white t-shirt) threw a fit & almost refused to go when I put on my dashiki; he was afraid I would seem weird & everyone would look at me..........

Peter

[jwright9]

Cool indeed.
My favorite memory of that show (even with the amazing music):
We went with our middle son & his now-wife; he (in his standard buzz cut, ball cap, and white t-shirt) threw a fit & almost refused to go when I put on my dashiki; he was afraid I would seem weird & everyone would look at me..........

Peter

LOL. Man, imagine what he would have though of an actual Grateful Dead concert.
A dashiki wouldn't even have gotten a second look back in the day.

[StephenR]

I wore my wool Moroccan Djellaba at the 85 Hershey Park GD show since it was cold and rainy and I was especially sensitive to the elements after attempting to sleep in a puddle in my tent after the SPAC show the night before. I didn't think there was anything you could wear to a Dead show that would be too weird but the Djellaba definitely had a lot of heads turning and staring, especially when the hood was up. I didn't care since I was warm and toasty.