Charlottesville

[Mango]

Well I guess someone's gotta do Tea's job for him....

 

Show: 2276 • 12/05/2013 Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville, VA Setlist: 8/20/80 Uptown Theatre Chicago IL Set One: Jack Straw ; Loser ; Beat It On Down The Line ; Ramble On Rose > El Paso ; Big Railroad Blues > Looks Like Rain ; Far From Me ; Let It Grow > Deal

Set Two: Greatest Story Ever Told > Althea > Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Not Fade Away > Morning Dew > Good Lovin'

Encore U.S. Blues

Fillier: Midnight Moonlite

 

cool looking show.....love 1980. Brent purely playing the b3 and Fender Rhoads(with occasional synth)....fun stuff.

[chuckvegas]

And hard to beat that filler.

[Cosmic Mike]

Lots of fun. Promise to get a review up as soon as I can; I have some thoughts about it all.

[Cosmic Mike]

Charlottesville was the beginning of a 3-night run for me to close out the fall tour. I met up with Sunny, who'd also be joining me for the next two nights, and a good friend of mine who'd never seen DSO before. My friend who was a DSO-virgin really let loose and had a great time, which always will make the experience that much better.

At the beginning of the first set we had an awesome spot in the very top balcony, tucked well away in the Jefferson theater. Our spot was about as far from the stage as you could get, and there were some pretty cool people who liked to dance that were also hanging back there. Despite being far from the stage the sound powered through to the back of the theater reverberating off the walls. The dance space was more than enough for the first set and it sure came in handy.

I always find the first night on a run I need a few songs before I can really get into the groove, but by the time Big Railroad Blues was playing, everything came naturally again. I've always loved early Dead, but 80s set lists rock and I was happy to find out we'd be getting one tonight; it honestly didn't surprise me considering the number of 80s shows they've been playing on this tour. You could tell by the time BRB came the band was feeling it too! Rocking version that got the whole house moving, and it has always been one of my favorites of the shorter songs in the Dead's repetoire. Definitely the highlight of the first set was the LIG>Deal, and I'm sure that is what one would also think just by looking at what else was played first set. LIG is a tricky song in the way it subtly builds energy, but by the time you are about 10 mins into the song, it is an absolute beast. Deal is always great and will be a song I don't think I can ever complain about hearing, as it is fun high energy song most the crowd knows too, so everyone really gets into it. The lyrics to deal, like many Dead songs, are fantastic words that I'm always glad to be reminded of, and happen to be excellent advice for when a tour is on its way to commence.

Second set we completely lost our dance space, as a large cotingent of college kids from UVA decided to take over our whole dance section. Some of them were kind of assholes at first, but they really warmed up to us by the end of the show. We managed with space even though it was not nearly as good in the beginning. I guess it worked out nicely for me as I decided to migrate towards this beautiful girl who knew how to groove and I honestly really enjoyed our converstation between songs. Greatest Story Ever Told is another one of my favorite shorter dead songs. They really kicked it off high energy and to hear the opening chords of Althea, come right after, just filled my heart with joy. Oh Althea! Not only is the song absolutely gorgeous, but contains what I think are some of the best song lyrics of the Dead. We make mistakes yet can never return to the past to fix them, and so often we intoxicate ourselves to dilute the painful memories that cannot be forgotten. What is lost cannot be returned again, but nothing will change unless one moves forward. Subconciously we obfuscate our own flaws in order to go on living how we please. Althea is a song that reminds me to go forth with confidence; I know what is the right thing to do.

I didn't expect NFA, after space, but I have absolutely no complaints about it. The song was just right for me at the moment and I had a fun time dancing around to it. Morning Dew was by far the highlight next to Althea. Jeff took that one to an a whole new level and the crowd was going nuts. Overall it was a really fun night. No complaints and the staff were generally pretty cool. Left my credit card at the bar and had to run back to the venue. Saw Eaton and Skip eating at a restuarant and said a 2 second "Hi" for fun.

Next was the 2 night run in DC, which was just killer. Reviews for that coming up.

Edit: two kinda funny mistakes I frogot to mention. One, Rob B called it Charlotte at the opening of the show. Jeff also started playing sugar mag instead of good lovin before koritz and dino fixed up the situation. It was all good fun mistakes. The playing was generally really great. It really was a great filler. Sunny had to take a rest despite his love for the song. He sure did some heavy sit-dancing though.