Saturday, March 14th, was the penultimate show of this year’s “Unbroken Chain” tribute shows in Port Chester, now in its second year and led by his son Grahame Lesh. The event started as a tribute to the late Phil Lesh, held on his birthday, March 15. The Capitol Theatre show last night ran so long that it actually ended on what would have been his 86th birthday on March 15.
The lineup included Lesh, Rick Mitarotonda, Oteil Burbridge, Jason Crosby, Holly Bowling, Amy Helm, Kankia Moore, Maggie Rose, Nathan Graham, and John Molo. If that sounds like a stacked lineup, then seek out the recording immediately.
The band came out to the Meters’ “Cissy Strut” and never looked back. A short jam led into the perfect Saturday Tri-state area song, “Shakedown Street,” with Moore’s vocals bringing the soul and Mitarotonda’s solos, playing off of Lesh, bringing the heat. The two guitarists continued with some nice interplay on the jam that built into the following “New Speedway Boogie.” Part of the magic of Phil’s constantly revolving lineup of “friends” was the multiple guitarists taking on the role of jamming on songs that would have been performed by Jerry Garcia only.
The trio of female vocalists gave the crowd a joyous “Row Jimmy,” before the “boys” tore it up with “Jack Straw.” On the former, Maggie Rose led the way, while belting it out from her hand-held mic, and on the latter, the song included the buildup jam Dead and Company used to do, but this was much better, to be honest. During the jam, you could feel the floor of the Cap move while multiple people on the floor were jumping up and down.
The highlight of the first set (every tune held something special, though) was when John Kadlecik emerged from stage right to lead the band through “Tangled Up In Blue,” in its finest Jerry Garcia arrangement. Not only was the now “three guitar army” on fire, but Kadelick and Burbridge were clearly enjoying playing together as the bassist was cracking up the entire time. Rather than finish with the usual explosive finish, the song gave way to “The Mountain Song,” which Kadelick used to perform with Phil and Bobby in Furthur. The tune was one that Jerry worked on with David Crosby, Grace Slick, and Paul Kantner during the 1971 “Planet Rock and Roll” Sessions. It never saw an additional release and was therefore always a treat when Furthur played it. To have Phil’s son sing it was especially poignant. Keeping with the emotion, the set ended with “Brokedown Palace.”
On another night, “Brokedown” would have been the encore, but this was not your normal show. The second set opened with a jam that contained hints of “Here Comes Sunshine,” “China Cat Sunflower,” and “Dark Star.” It ended with a beautiful “Unbroken Chain,” with Grahame once again singing his father’s vocals. The song ended with a blazing version of the parting jam that Furthur originated during its five-year run. “Estimated Prophet” contained a bit of Pink Floyd’s “Money,” before segueing into “Eyes of the World, once again sung to perfection by the trio of vocalists. “Eyes” ran for over fourteen minutes without ever losing momentum. Holly Bowling’s keys were a standout on this and so many of the songs this night.
After a “Terrapin Station” that had the crowd in the “feels” for sixteen minutes (the longest song of the night), many on the floor openly assumed that the set would end. However, the band picked right up with an incendiary “Scarlet Begonias” into “Fire on the Mountain.” For 20 minutes, the band played with the kind of energy that usually begins the second stanza of a show. Oteil Burbridge brought the set to a close by singing “The Days Between,” a song never really appreciated during its time with the Grateful Dead. The documentary The Other One by Bobby Weir and Amir Bar-Lev’s Long Strange Trip gave the lyrics (Robert Hunter meant the “days between” being the time between life and death) and the post-Jerry performances by Bobby new meaning.
Kadlecik rejoined the band for the obligatory “One More Saturday Night” encore, but followed with a second song. “The Weight” was the perfect selection. Just like the Dead’s versions, everyone got a verse, and it sent everyone singing, smiling, and home after midnight.