Good review of the Phil set:
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2007 14:41:33 -0700
From: RockinHorseRider
Subject: My Phil And Friends Review from Philzone
Finally coming back to full consciousness while
sitting here at my desk, after a full and amazing day
of music, food, drink, rain, mud, people, and general
merriment yesterday. The three hour drive back to CT
from Hunter, NY was a trip to say the least, but as
usual, we made it back alive
Alot of great sets today, Robert Randolph as always
full of energy, the North Mississippi Allstars not
missing a beat, then Michael Franti taking us higher
and higher and working the place into a frenzy. It was
gonna take a big night from Phil and his Friends to
keep up with the three sets that preceded them.
Boy did they step up.
It's inevitable that with Phil's rotating door policy
of bringing in new friends all the time, that lineups
will be compared and contrasted. What's also
inevitable is that means this lineup was sure to be
compared to the "Q," in no small part to Warren
Haynes' undoubted influence on that band.
What I found interesting was during the set I found
myself comparing the lineup more to the Haynes/Trucks
lineup of November 1999 to that of the quintet. The
jams were similar both in flow and execution, whereas
instead of two leads going at once, it was more of a
call and respnse with occasional interweaving between
the two guitarists. Also, mostly due to Warren being
out of the fold for so long, some songs had a tendency
to start off a bit shaky, but really connect by the
time the second verse or so came around.
Shakedown Street was the most mentioned opener in the
section of the crowd I was standing, and lo and behold
the boys delivered on queue with no hesitation. This
version had a bit more improvisation in the center of
the song than others by Phil, and Warren sung it well,
as he always does. Interesting to note that John Molo
sang backup vocals for a good deal of the show, and
did a very credible job. I mean, he's obviously no
Barraco, and I wouldn't bet on him taking any leads,
but in a three part harmony he sounded wonderful.
Friend Of The Devil had a very laid back feel, not as
driving as some recent versions. Steve Molitz, who for
the most part played a very good show, kind of dropped
the ball here on piano. FOTD screams for some sweet
piano jamming, and while he was capable, I felt he
left a bit on the table. The band segued well into
Althea, which Warren nailed vocally, albeit while
using lyric sheets (which by the way I'm fine with, if
you haven't played the stuff in a while, no harm in
getting it right). Good instrumental by Scofield here,
but he was just getting warmed up.
A short pause and a bit of meandering led to and
unbelievably intense Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.
Scofield showed his new found rock prowess in
delivering a very solid instrumental, weaving in and
out with Warren's slide to make for a very memorable
version, that segued into a standard, but tasty New
Speedway Boogie.
Mason's Children was a rocker as always, Molo, Phil
and Warren nailing the 3 part harmonies, and Phil
throwing bombs all over the place. Phil sets such a
high bar for himself, its hard to top what came
before, but he was in incredible form last night,
dancing around like a little kid and throwing out
thick basslines and tasty fills all over the place.
Candyman came next, and some people have said it was
the lowlight of the evening. It wasn't terrible, but
it was an odd choice, given some other songs of
similar idiom that Warren sing so well. Still, no harm
no foui, and directly after we were treated to a
massive Scarlet Begonias>Eyes Of The World>Fire On The
Mountain. This was, to me, the highlight of the night.
The band never let down as Scofield and Warren traded
licks, then circled eachother, brought it back around,
and then drove it home. Particular emphasis on the
Eyes instrumentals, which were quite different and
distinct from eachother, but beautiful in their own
way. Yes, there was a bit of a trainwreck coming out
of Scarlet, but Phil laughed it off and made something
new of it like only he can.
A scant 5 minute break was on the card next, quelling
speculation we were only getting one set tonight.
Still, that first one clocked in at damn near 2 hours,
and would have been enough for the wet, muddy,
sunburnt masses.
Unbroken Chain got things restarted, and it was an
epic version. One of the longest instrumentals I can
remember hearing in an Unbroken, Scofield lifted the
song higher and higher with each pass through the
chord progression, with Molitz matching him on the
keys.
It's appropriate here to mention why I believe Warren
Haynes is Phil's most valuable friend, and why when
he's involved the shows tend to be of the highest
quality. Everybody knows that in order to play with
Phil, you have to be a top notch musician, which
Warren certainly is. What he brings along with that,
though, is a top notch professionalism and a care that
the music that's being made is of the highest quality,
not just what he's playing. No other guitarist in
Phil's arsenal plays as much dynamic and interesting
rhythm guitar, nor vamps other players up like Warren
does. He's an absolute master of sitting back,
accenting others' playing, and saying his part when it
comes his time. Unbroken Chain was the ultimate
culmination of this. As Scofield, who will take the
well deserved plaudits from this show, was going off
on Unbroken, I found myself drawn to the work that
Warren was putting in, accenting the high points,
blending the lows, and really becoming part of the
rhythm section with Molo and Phil. He helps form the
backbone when he's not soloing better than anyone else
Phil plays with. As any musician will tell you, you're
only as good as the people you're playing with, and
Warren makes people better.
So Unbroken ends with Warren's Pink Floydian solo, and
comes to a complete stop, before the familiar Dark
Star riff rips out to thunderous ovation. A bit of
instrumental leads to the first verse, then a much
more elaborate one follows, melting down, rebuilding,
and melting again in a fusion of organized chaos,
finally melting into Mountains Of The Moon, so often a
set killer but tonight played with tightness and
conviction like I haven't seen.
Back into Dark Star for the last verse, and one final
meltdown which transforms into the singalong portion,
with Lucy In The Sky the ethereal wonder it always is,
and Lovelight blowing the lid off the joint with big
solos from Scofield and Warren.
A short walk off, then back on, and Not Fade Away puts
the well weathered crowd into a frenzy, with good
instrumentals and a fun singalong to end what was a
very successful night and show.
Phil Lesh is 67 years old. By any account, any man
who's lived the life he has and done the things he's
done would not be looked upon poorly at all for
enjoying the retired life, living off the fat of his
accomplishments, and writing the final chapter in his
amazing life. That's never driven him, though, and he
instead chooses to share his greatest passion with us
on special nights like this. It's his youthful
exuberance, energy, tempered with the wisdom of years
that allows the music made by five men who've never
played together at the same time before to flow
without a hitch, and take us to spiritual places we
always wonder if we'll ever return to. It's nights
like last night that remind us why we travel the hours
and miles, why we search the internet for rumors and
ticket dates, and why we read and post on a message
board like this to see a man and his friends play
music. In the end, he makes it all worth it, and
beyond that he makes us feel more than any artist
that's he's doing it for us.
Thanks Phil, and thanks Warren for putting on a great
event. Hope to see y'all next year.
