Furthur 1/4/10

[Blindman]

Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley CA 1/4/10

Sitting on top of the world

Roses (JK)

Corrina

No More Do I

Loser (JK)

Liberty (BW)

Senor (BW)

Foolish (JK)

Bucket

Touch (BW, JK)

I'm getting this from my wonderful wife..... She's pretty accurate (assuming I fielded these texts accurately...). Sounded like the Roses was great and the Liberty was rough.

Throckmorton announced a venue benefit show for this Sun night at $150/ticket. Hope they get two sets at that price.

[dancinfool]

Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley CA 1/4/10

Sitting on top of the world

Roses (JK)

Corrina

No More Do I

Loser (JK)

Liberty (BW)

Senor (BW)

Foolish (JK)

Bucket

Touch (BW, JK)

I'm getting this from my wonderful wife..... She's pretty accurate (assuming I fielded these texts accurately...). Sounded like the Roses was great and the Liberty was rough.

Throckmorton announced a venue benefit show for this Sun night at $150/ticket. Hope they get two sets at that price.

Loser again?

would have liked to see the foolish

[neutrino]

Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley CA 1/4/10

Sitting on top of the world

Roses (JK)

Corrina

No More Do I

Loser (JK)

Liberty (BW)

Senor (BW)

Foolish (JK)

Bucket

Touch (BW, JK)

I'm getting this from my wonderful wife..... She's pretty accurate (assuming I fielded these texts accurately...). Sounded like the Roses was great and the Liberty was rough.

Throckmorton announced a venue benefit show for this Sun night at $150/ticket. Hope they get two sets at that price.

Senor certainly strikes me as a big surprise--and even more surprising having BW on vocals. Only time I've ever heard this one done was by the JGB. Did the GD ever play this?

[Dstone5553]

Senor certainly strikes me as a big surprise--and even more surprising having BW on vocals. Only time I've ever heard this one done was by the JGB. Did the GD ever play this?

No...Bob's been playing it for a while though.

[neutrino]

No...Bob's been playing it for a while though.

Thanks for that. I actually just took a listen to the JGB version on their live CD. That was always my favorite track on this CD. Wonderful guitar solo! I hope to hear how JK plays it at some point in the future. I'm having a hard time imagining how Bobby would sound singing it. Certainly much different, but I could see how it might work.

[sakada]

Love SOTOTW !!! wonder when last time Bob & Phil played this? i know i've seen an 87-88-ish soundcheck video of it {which, btw, is very cool, with slowed up tempos, et.al.}...

[Muddy Waters]

Roses (JK)

That's huge....No expert but I don't recall this gem being played much in any of the Core Four post-Jerry vehicles

Put China Doll, High Time and Black Muddy River in play now and off we go..

Love the Dylan too......Baby Blue!!!!!!!!!..put that in the rotation please..

[chuckvegas]

Agreed about the Foolish, Ellen!

[John A]

My name for this show: "In The Dark - and Beyond!" This owning to the 5 songs that are In The Dark or post In The Dark.

JK played his Steinburger guitar - the one with the rectangular body and no headstock at the end of the fretboard. I wonder if this is his go to for more modern Dead sounds? Or is it a coincidence that he broke this out for this set? I think it perhaps did have a "more Garcia" like tone than I've heard with Furthur.

This show featured a hot jam here and there, but not one note of extended, improvisational jamming. That just wasn't what they were about for this "rehearsal night". Instead, they were running through a series (all songs were new to Furthur, I believe, save for Touch) of numbers for their first time together. I'm not sure there was a single transition.

Top Of The World was a nice surprise but rather low key, with Weir shaky on some of the lyrics despite his lyric sheet. Must've Been The Roses was ridiculously good, virtually a note for note rendition of Grateful Dead music. John was sounding so damn good here, and the look on Phil's face was one of utter bliss. Then Corinna, a song that I had counted on never hearing again live. I had no idea what it was until Bobby's opening verse. I guess it's the syncopation from Billy/Mickey that give the song it's opening signature. John did get in a few good riffs, and Bobby was relentless in his "rock star" treatment of the conclusion.

Then the new song - does anybody know anything about this one? It seemed like Phil was leading the way here - he even stopped it after a few bars to start over. It was a surprise when John began to sing. Clearly John was learning the tune right there on stage. After hearing that Loser was flubbed the night before, it made sense that they did it again to get it right. And sure enough, John nailed it. They went through the progression of the jam 3 times, with a keyboard solo for the middle of the 3, then back to John. I think at times Furthur forces keyboard solos were there may not be room for one, and this was a good example, and it detracted from the song's power. Nonetheless, John dialed in some fantastic tonality, especially for his initial pass through the jam. And Phil's finest moment of the night may have come on the way back into "last fair deal", when he unleashed a stupendous flurry of notes. Then John did some impressive belting during the final "come to daddy" lines.

The best thing about Liberty was that is wasn't awful, and in the category of Weir does Garcia/Hunter this was as benign as it gets. After stumbling around for the first half of Senor, Bobby stepped up for the final few verses after the jam, sounding as good as he did all night. There was an extended organ jam here, which I didn't think worked; maybe with some tweaking it would be okay. Then came Foolish, and with honorable mention to Roses this was the evening's highlight. The band sure looked like they were loving it, and I get the sense that John is especially fond of this song. I wonder what degree the new Garcia Hunter selections that are pouring out are John's choices. The only blemish to an otherwise stunning Foolish was Bobby seemed to cut it before the final repeated "unto a Foolish Heart" section. Bucket had a fair degree of energy, although I've frankly never been much of a fan of this one. They did an interesting job of sharing the vocals on Touch. Bobby sang verse 1, John sang verse 2 and both the bridge sections, then they shared verse 3 with Bobby singing the first phrase and John the second phrase. Finally for verse 4 they alternated line by line.

The set sure felt like an "rehearsal", with the band walking through song after song but not tying things together with any continuity, other than the late era Dead theme. I'm trying hard here not to complain, as of course the setting is ridiculously cool and about 2 miles from my house. But I'd be hard pressed to fathom that anyone going to just one of these shows would say, "I'll take that set list." Still, it's great to see that Furthur will hit their winter tour with such a rapidly expanding repertoire. And the Roses/Foolish combo may have been as good as it gets. Trouble is aside from those two numbers the highlights were few and far between.

[VincentPuleo]

That's huge....No expert but I don't recall this gem being played much in any of the Core Four post-Jerry vehicles

This is true, they realize what they can do with John and it seems some gems in that sense are being added every night... Last night it was Loser and Stella, tonight Foolish and Roses... what I was hoping would happen is

happening..

Awesome review, I couldn't even imagine going to see Phil, Bob, John even with Dark Star two miles away from my house.

[sonomajon]

Then the new song - does anybody know anything about this one? It seemed like Phil was leading the way here - he even stopped it after a few bars to start over. It was a surprise when John began to sing. Clearly John was learning the tune right there on stage.

listen here P&F:

http://www.archive.org/details/2002-07-06....712.sbeok.flacf

I like it and I'm sure JK will sing it well...

[FunkyBass13]

One thing to keep in mind, these are being billed as "rehearsal gigs". Therefore, what the band is really doing is giving small groups of people, relatively speaking, the chance to see some music in a small setting. Therefore, the "setlists" will not be put together as they would for an actual show and the exploratory jamming will be much less than it is going to be on tour. I believe that is why some of the keyboard solos seem forced, as John A mentioned. In my experience, a band that will pull out a 20 minute extended jam on tour is only going to rehearse that song for maybe 10 minutes (i.e. run the opening, run the verses/chorus, run and bridges or changes and then start the jams with different people leading the way). Trust me, the solos will not seem forced or out of place once the tour starts. It is simply for all members to get the feeling of getting into the jam. ALL of these guys know what to do once the song opens up, they are just working on how they get there. Especially since Russo is the least familiar with the material, it makes perfect sense to run these rehearsals in this manner. Granted, I realize that the ticket prices for these gigs makes it a bit pricey for a "rehearsal" but I would guess that these shows have been well worth it to those that have had the opportunity to attend.

Personally, I'm getting real, real excited for Portland.

[Guest deadheadmike]

Would have liked to see Senor go to JK , but these past few shows have put enough Jerry songs on JK's plate to make me happy ... I'll be at the Atlantic City show for sure !!!

[neutrino]

Love SOTOTW !!! wonder when last time Bob & Phil played this? i know i've seen an 87-88-ish soundcheck video of it {which, btw, is very cool, with slowed up tempos, et.al.}...

[Guest jaybee]

Hey Folks - I've been a long time lurker here and this is my first post. Let me say that, after being put off by alot of the negativity and righteousness on other GD related boards, the positive vibe and civility here is most welcome and much appreciated. Props to you DSO folks, thanks for having me!

I went to the Sunday night show and it was great. So exciting to see this band in such a tiny place. I'm very lucky to have two more later this week. Pure luck and good planetary alignment, as it's basically impossible to get into these shows.

Just wanted to set one thing straight since ticket prices have come up in some posts recently. Tix for all of these shows were $25 plus $8 service fee. The $150 tix were special tickets released to benefit the theater. 142 Throckmorton is a non-profit that recently almost went under and was saved by community donations. Perhaps these tickets are the band's way of allowing the theatre to raise a little cash? Just a guess on my part. Extra tix released yesterday for Wed/Thurs. were $25.

I saw the 12/30 show also and JK just blew my mind. It's very cool to see him stretching out here. What a talented and tasteful musician.

[neutrino]

Hey Folks - I've been a long time lurker here and this is my first post. Let me say that, after being put off by alot of the negativity and righteousness on other GD related boards, the positive vibe and civility here is most welcome and much appreciated. Props to you DSO folks, thanks for having me!

I went to the Sunday night show and it was great. So exciting to see this band in such a tiny place. I'm very lucky to have two more later this week. Pure luck and good planetary alignment, as it's basically impossible to get into these shows.

Just wanted to set one thing straight since ticket prices have come up in some posts recently. Tix for all of these shows were $25 plus $8 service fee. The $150 tix were special tickets released to benefit the theater. 142 Throckmorton is a non-profit that recently almost went under and was saved by community donations. Perhaps these tickets are the band's way of allowing the theatre to raise a little cash? Just a guess on my part. Extra tix released yesterday for Wed/Thurs. were $25.

I saw the 12/30 show also and JK just blew my mind. It's very cool to see him stretching out here. What a talented and tasteful musician.

Welcome to the board, jaybee!! I was also in attendance on Sunday, and it was a real privilege to see this short but incredible show in such a small and beautiful venue. I'll be back on Thursday (scored a ticket yesterday afternoon), and hopefully one more after that if I happen to get lucky again. As far as I'm concerned, this is $33 VERY well spent!

[Guest jaybee]

Right on neutrino, see you Thursday! Cool that you scored some of the extras that just went up. I was on-line today when tonight's tix went on. Could have had one but can't make it tonight. I'm still hoping for some weekend shows to come up.

Yes, it felt like a huge privilege seeing these guys in such a small and beautiful place. How 'bout that Stella Blue? WOW!!!!!

[VincentPuleo]

jaybee, that is what first drew me to this place as well... the vibes are unmatched compared to other places of the like! Welcome..

[FunkyBass13]

Just a quick note, as it appears that I may have brought up ticket prices. Personally, I think $33 is about as good of a bargain as you are going to get. I would blissfully fork that over to see those shows. I was somewhat making a quip about those who would be upset about paying that much money and not getting a full on, pedal-to-the-medal show (there are those out there, for whatever reason). Hey, tickets to Portland were $60 and I didn't even blink.

I made an ooops by even mentioning ticket prices.

[gr8fulpair]

My name for this show: "In The Dark - and Beyond!" This owning to the 5 songs that are In The Dark or post In The Dark.

JK played his Steinburger guitar - the one with the rectangular body and no headstock at the end of the fretboard. I wonder if this is his go to for more modern Dead sounds? Or is it a coincidence that he broke this out for this set? I think it perhaps did have a "more Garcia" like tone than I've heard with Furthur.

This show featured a hot jam here and there, but not one note of extended, improvisational jamming. That just wasn't what they were about for this "rehearsal night". Instead, they were running through a series (all songs were new to Furthur, I believe, save for Touch) of numbers for their first time together. I'm not sure there was a single transition.

Top Of The World was a nice surprise but rather low key, with Weir shaky on some of the lyrics despite his lyric sheet. Must've Been The Roses was ridiculously good, virtually a note for note rendition of Grateful Dead music. John was sounding so damn good here, and the look on Phil's face was one of utter bliss. Then Corinna, a song that I had counted on never hearing again live. I had no idea what it was until Bobby's opening verse. I guess it's the syncopation from Billy/Mickey that give the song it's opening signature. John did get in a few good riffs, and Bobby was relentless in his "rock star" treatment of the conclusion.

Then the new song - does anybody know anything about this one? It seemed like Phil was leading the way here - he even stopped it after a few bars to start over. It was a surprise when John began to sing. Clearly John was learning the tune right there on stage. After hearing that Loser was flubbed the night before, it made sense that they did it again to get it right. And sure enough, John nailed it. They went through the progression of the jam 3 times, with a keyboard solo for the middle of the 3, then back to John. I think at times Furthur forces keyboard solos were there may not be room for one, and this was a good example, and it detracted from the song's power. Nonetheless, John dialed in some fantastic tonality, especially for his initial pass through the jam. And Phil's finest moment of the night may have come on the way back into "last fair deal", when he unleashed a stupendous flurry of notes. Then John did some impressive belting during the final "come to daddy" lines.

The best thing about Liberty was that is wasn't awful, and in the category of Weir does Garcia/Hunter this was as benign as it gets. After stumbling around for the first half of Senor, Bobby stepped up for the final few verses after the jam, sounding as good as he did all night. There was an extended organ jam here, which I didn't think worked; maybe with some tweaking it would be okay. Then came Foolish, and with honorable mention to Roses this was the evening's highlight. The band sure looked like they were loving it, and I get the sense that John is especially fond of this song. I wonder what degree the new Garcia Hunter selections that are pouring out are John's choices. The only blemish to an otherwise stunning Foolish was Bobby seemed to cut it before the final repeated "unto a Foolish Heart" section. Bucket had a fair degree of energy, although I've frankly never been much of a fan of this one. They did an interesting job of sharing the vocals on Touch. Bobby sang verse 1, John sang verse 2 and both the bridge sections, then they shared verse 3 with Bobby singing the first phrase and John the second phrase. Finally for verse 4 they alternated line by line.

The set sure felt like an "rehearsal", with the band walking through song after song but not tying things together with any continuity, other than the late era Dead theme. I'm trying hard here not to complain, as of course the setting is ridiculously cool and about 2 miles from my house. But I'd be hard pressed to fathom that anyone going to just one of these shows would say, "I'll take that set list." Still, it's great to see that Furthur will hit their winter tour with such a rapidly expanding repertoire. And the Roses/Foolish combo may have been as good as it gets. Trouble is aside from those two numbers the highlights were few and far between.

Can I get this review on tape?

Just kiddin', John A, your reviews rock, makes me feel like I was there.

[diggerlit]

DSO tore dalivinshitoutta SOTOTW at Bonnaroo!!!

[John A]

Can I get this review on tape?

Just kiddin', John A, your reviews rock, makes me feel like I was there.

Thanks, gr8ful - I appreciate that.

I learned that No More Do I is a Lesh/Hunter tune that was on a 2001 Phil & Friends album and that was played with the Joan Osborne incarnation of the "Dead". Shows how out of touch I was regarding Phil as well as any Phil/Bobby projects since seeing a few Phil & Friends shows in the '99 - '00 range. I didn't even remember there being an album, much less what was on it.

Also, I didn't recall that not only did Hunter write the lyrics to Corrina but Mickey co-wrote the music. I guess it makes sense then that the song's signature was so different without Mickey.

[Dstone5553]

Thanks, gr8ful - I appreciate that.

I learned that No More Do I is a Lesh/Hunter tune that was on a 2001 Phil & Friends album and that was played with the Joan Osborne incarnation of the "Dead". Shows how out of touch I was regarding Phil as well as any Phil/Bobby projects since seeing a few Phil & Friends shows in the '99 - '00 range. I didn't even remember there being an album, much less what was on it.

Also, I didn't recall that not only did Hunter write the lyrics to Corrina but Mickey co-wrote the music. I guess it makes sense then that the song's signature was so different without Mickey.

As you are only a couple minutes from this place, John, I really hope to see at some more--I wasn't at this one, but hopefully you get a set like the 28th, which was a bit more seamless and therefore more powerful--almost like a show instead of just a set.