By: David Schultz

Labels: Jackie Greene

By: David Schultz

Former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh participated in one of the election season’s hipper Democratic fundraisers when he rejoined Bob Weir and the other surviving members of his old band to support Barack Obama’s Presidential bid. Given Lesh’s staunch support of Obama, it’s slightly ironic that the Deadheads that populate Phil & Friends shows might have strongly identified with the subtext of the propaganda spouted by Sarah Palin with respect to the so-called elitist liberal media. For the brief period of time that the Republican Vice Presidential candidate was allowed to speak freely, Palin tried to curry favor by identifying with a segment of the population she perceived as unrepresented by the press and tired of being talked down to by a news force that acted like they knew more about the country’s core ideals than those who live in America’s heartland. Little did Palin know that the Deadheads of the world understood her rhetoric probably better than she did.

For decades, Deadheads have endured the backhanded praise extended by most critics towards their beloved band: acknowledgement of the Dead’s longevity paired with bewildered observations as to why their music would attract such loyalty; a plaudit to the fans’ devotion coupled with a gibe as to their cleanliness and the customary dig that in order to truly enjoy the Dead’s music, you would need to repudiate a drug-free status. Such oratory has never bothered the Dead faithful: in fact, their thoughts on the elite musical press that have disrespected and mocked the Grateful Dead eerily echo those of Palin for “rags” like the New York Times and Washington Post.

The disdain reserved for the Dead is odd given the reverence those same pundits have for the musical genres featured prominently in their music. Journalists rarely have anything bad to say about Americana musical styles like folk, blues and country, among the more populist forms of music, yet, they never seem to take to it when it’s being performed by Jerry Garcia or Bob Weir. Doing his part to flip the proverbial finger at those who can’t see the forest for the trees, Phil Lesh and his exemplary band comprised of Larry Campbell, Jackie Greene, Steve Molitz and John Molo, returned to the New York City’s Nokia Theater in Times Square, the site of their wildly successful 2007 residency, for a fourteen night run, affectionately dubbed the Phil-A-Thon.

Lesh does more than get by with a little help from his Friends. Even though Jackie Greene joined Lesh, Larry Campbell, Steve Molitz and John Molo just a little more than a year ago, this incarnation of Phil & Friends plays as if they’ve been together for decades. During last year’s residency, this lineup was just starting to gel: Greene having just come into the fold and Molitz just starting to find his niche. For this year’s run, Phil & Friends are a supremely confident unit, taking fine advantage of Greene’s versatile ability to handle vocals so intimately associated with both Garcia and Weir to give new life to songs like “Jack Straw,” “Samson & Delilah” and “New Speedway Boogie.”

Lesh remains one of the finest bassists to ever pick up the instrument and it’s possible to get lost in just watching what he’s doing with each song. Very rarely will you catch Lesh picking a simple bass line; more often, he’s crafting an intricate pattern that weaves gingerly between the rejoinder of Campbell and Greene’s guitar work. For many of this year’s shows, former Friend Barry Sless sat in, bringing a third experienced guitar to the mix as well as the fine twang of the pedal steel. With Sless there to handle the second guitar role, Campbell had many opportunities to show why he’s called the “Master of Strings,” expertly playing a variety of instruments to add different textures and a sense of Americana authenticity. Whether soloing on a variety of instruments or engaging in a challenging give-and-take across the stage with Greene, Campbell remains a wonder on stage. Ageless, he provides sweet harmony with his mandolin and bouzouki but can also coax ferocious solos from the traditionally peaceful instruments. It’s a role he fills not just with Lesh but with Levon Helm as part of The Band drummer’s Midnight Rambles.

Physical resemblance to Dylan notwithstanding, Greene shies away from playing up the easy comparisons to the storied singer. He’s doesn’t shy away from them though: much of his wardrobe, with the exception of a wool Rasta-styled hat, looks like it came straight out of the transcendent folk-singer section of the vintage clothing catalog. Along with Molitz, Greene brings a youthful energy to the band as well as some solid songs from his own catalog. On an early show of the residency, Greene’s “About Cell Block #9” and “Like A Ball & Chain” not only fit in nicely with the classic rock based set, they were definite highlights.

A master of jamtronica, Particle’s Molitz has found his niche within the band, vaulting into the breach with confidence and bringing his technical wizardry to some of the more traditional Dead songs. He’s even lending vocals. Anyone thinking that Lesh & Friends aren’t able to keep up with the young guns only need listen to their rendition of Particle’s “The Elevator.” Molo, who deftly handles all the various tempos Lesh guides the band through, rips through the high-paced beat and Campbell adds a slight bolero feel to the song’s techno beat.

For the last night of the Phil-A-Thon, Lesh seemed in high spirits, an extra bounce in his step. After a wildly upbeat first set that included an opening version of “Terrapin Station,” a wild version of “The Elevator” and a wonderfully moving “Morning Dew,” the second set was a decidedly subdued affair. Lesh handled an exceedingly substantial part of the vocals during a stretch that included “Dark Star,” “Mountains Of The Moon” and “Unbroken Chain.” In contrast, Teresa Williams, who along with Sless earned “sixth Friend” status during the residency, wowed the crowd with an astounding take on “Gimme Shelter.” Normally providing the higher notes on sweet harmonies with Greene or Lesh, Williams stepped to the front with a rock star turn on the Stones’ classic, enlivening the crowd and earning the wildly appreciative reaction she received when she quietly walked off behind the stage.

Other than The New York Times favorable take on the Phil & Friends residency, most of the major media pretty much ignored the festive goings-on at the Nokia, probably spending quality time over at Terminal 5 to lavish praise on The Hold Steady and Conor Oberst. Regardless of whether the “elite” music press wishes to acknowledge the resurgence of the Phil & Friends lineup or take note of strong sense of community that still brings people to multiple shows, the Deadheads probably won’t take notice, or care for that matter. They will be on high alert though when word of the 2009 residency gets out.

Labels: Jackie Greene, Larry Campbell, Particle, Phil Lesh

George W. Bush always used to call himself a uniter but it was Democratic nominee Barack Obama that served as the catalyst for The Allman Brothers Band and The Dead to join together for the Change Rocks fundraiser this past Monday at Penn State University. Although crossover potential was huge, the two jamband icons stayed on their respective sides of a reference-filled videotaped address from Obama (once elected, he reportedly "ain't wasting time no more") with the exception of Warren Haynes, who played full sets with both bands.

On a less political note, Bob Weir & Ratdog will team up with Phil Lesh & Friends at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, CA for a pair of shows on December 30 and December 31. Fellow San Franciscan and current Friend Jackie Greene will open both shows with his solo band. With a 2009 Phish reunion tour becoming more of a reality, hopes are also high for The Dead to truck around the country once more.

Labels: Allman Brothers Band, Bob Weir, Grateful Dead, Jackie Greene, Phil Lesh, Ratdog

By: David Schultz

In their glory days, a multiple night run of Grateful Dead shows at Madison Square Garden used to change the landscape of New York City. Deadheads from all over would flock to the City in droves and throw a tie-dyed gloss over the entire area. The days of the Dead may be a thing of the past but the spirit lives on with Phil Lesh & Friends, who are currently in the middle of a ten night residency at Times Square’s Nokia Theater.

Hardly content to rest on his laurels as the Dead’s bassist, Lesh has become a classic rock Godfather of sorts, keeping the Dead’s sizable catalog vital by assembling first rate musicians to serve as his Friends. If fans come for a nostalgic trip with Uncle Phil through “Sugar Magnolia” and “Uncle John’s Band,” they are leaving with a new found awareness of the musicians guiding their way. In bringing Larry Campbell, Jackie Greene, Steve Molitz and John Molo together for this current tour, Lesh has put together a band that is the perfect mix of veteran musicianship and young blood.

The two week long residency has just passed its midway point. As Phil & Friends hit the homestretch of the New York run that will close out their seven week long U.S. tour, some short and possibly scattered thoughts and observations.

Larry Campbell has become a true caretaker of classic rock. In playing with Bob Dylan, Levon Helm as well as Lesh, the smooth-playing guitarist has been entrusted with a sizable share of treasured riffs and leads. He is also just as capable with the violin, pedal steel, mandolin and practically anything else with strings.

“Jackie Greene is just like a young Bob Dylan,” says Maggie Campbell with confidence. Larry’s mother knows her stuff; plus, she once accompanied Dylan to the Grammy Awards, so I’m going to give her opinion quite a bit of weight. Wearing a fedora style hat and playing with his guitar slightly askew, the 26-year-old consistently justified Mrs. Campbell’s belief in his unlimited potential. On Monday night, Greene simply made “Sugaree” his own, offering a staggeringly powerful first set closing version that left people awestruck at the young guitarist’s maturity.

The success of keeping Ryan Adams’ guest appearances a secret arose from the fact that hardly anyone knew he was coming until he arrived at the theater. Since jamming with Lesh on “Wharf Rat” at the 2005 Jammys, Lesh and Adams have formed a bit of mutual admiration society with Adams keeping “Wharf Rat” in his repertoire and Lesh often inserting an Adams song or two into his setlists. His inclusion provided some wonderfully improvised moments as well as a couple confused ones. To Adams’ credit, he ran through “Eyes Of The World” with Greene backstage only minutes before taking the stage and handling the song like he’d known it all his life.

On Friday night, Molitz was an iron man. After nearly four hours on stage at the Nokia, Molitz hustled a few blocks south to meet up with Particle for an after-hours gig at the Highline Ballroom. None the worse for wear, Molitz shifted gears and entered into full bore jamtronica mode and helped guide Josh Clark from Tea Leaf Green through his first full gig with Particle as they played well into the night. Originally believed to be a one-off gig, Particle announced that Clark would be joining them for the majority of their month long winter tour. Particle’s show also featured an appearance from Marty Ylitalo, New Monsoon’s former drummer. Fresh off his first appearance with the Blue Man Group, the newly bald drummer came onstage for a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Young Lust” and remained onstage sharing the drums with Darren Pujalet for the lengthy jam that ensued.

One thing that makes Phil & Friends shows so much fun is that Lesh doesn’t limit the set lists to Dead songs. Although Lesh cobbles his set lists primarily from the Grateful Dead catalog, he is quite expansive with them. Friday night included an electric version of “Midnight Rider,” an acoustic run through “Dead Flowers” and with Teresa Williams and Amy Helm providing the proper disembodied vocals, Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse.” On Monday, with Molitz and Greene providing a double keyboard assault, Campbell belted out a fantastic version of The Band’s “Chest Fever,” establishing that someone other than Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson actually knows the words to the song.

For a bunch of thoughts on the first half of the Phil & Friends residency, Phil Lesh’s name seems undermentioned (as is John Molo’s, who deserves more than the casual mention I’ve given him). It’s emblematic of the fact that Lesh has surrounded himself with musicians who are every bit equal to the task of keeping up with one of the forefathers of improvisational rock and roll. Even though his name is above the ampersand, Lesh exhibits not one shred of ego, graciously allowing his star to provide light for his Friends to shine.

Labels: Jackie Greene, Larry Campbell, Live Reviews, Particle, Phil Lesh, Ryan Adams