NYS Music 20​15

Tag: Bob Weir

  • Photo Gallery: Dead and Company keep Truckin’ on through Buffalo

    Dead and Company came to the First Niagara Center in Buffalo on Wednesday November 11, 2015. The band, which includes three of four founding members of The Grateful Dead and Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and most notably John Mayer. Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir were on top of their game and the chemistry that was ignited really created a great experience. There is no doubt that John Mayer brings something incredible to the table and the reviews couldn’t be more accurate. Mayer continues to turn heads. If Dead and Company does continue to tour, John Mayer better be a part of the cast.

    dead and company buffalo

    Set 1: Promised Land, New Minglewood Blues, Bertha, Here Comes Sunshine, El Paso, Althea, U.S. Blues
     
    Set 2: Viola Lee Blues > Wang Dang Doodle > Viola Lee Blues > New Speedway Boogie > Truckin’ > Dark Star >
    Drums > Space > Dark Star > China Doll > Sugar Magnolia
     
    Encore: Casey Jones

  • Dead and Company Kick Off Fall Tour in Style

    Grateful Dead shows have a certain history in Albany, and ever since the opening of the Knickerbocker Arena in 1990, now the Times Union Center, Deadheads have flocked to the Capital District. At the start of Dead and Company’s Fall tour, the crowd enjoyed warm pre-show weather and an even hotter show inside as Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart brought John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti along for the strong start to a promising tour.

    Opening with “Playing in the Band” was an apt way to welcome the two newcomers – Oteil and John – into the fold, and set the tone for the night. Fan favorites “Cold Rain and Snow” and “Tennessee Jed” followed and the bar was set. Mayer nailed the Jerry tone throughout the show, particularly during “The Music Never Stopped,” “Lost Sailor,” “Help on the Way”>“Slipknot,” and “Space”>”The Other One”. He is a great choice to fill the Jerry role as Trey Anastasio and John Kadlecik were in different iterations of Grateful Dead alumni shows.

    Although restrained early on in the show, with Bob Weir setting a slower pace for songs, Mayer burst forth on “Bird Song,” a highlight of the first set. Periods of good jamming emerged from “Drums”>”Space”>”The Other One,” and a perfect segue into “Slipknot!” provided the highlight of the second set. “Franklin’s Tower” had atypical singing of later verses and a rough transition from “Slipknot!”, but some rust can be expected on the first night of the tour. As the next few weeks progress, the sound will become more cohesive and develop an even more well honed sound from this supergroup.

    Dead and Company, Times Union Center, Albany, NY 10/29/15
    Set 1: Playing in the Band > Cold Rain and Snow, Tennessee Jed, Feel Like a Stranger, He’s Gone, Bird Song, The Music Never Stopped
    Set 2: Lost Sailor > Saint of Circumstance, Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower, Drums > Space > The Other One, Stella Blue > Not Fade Away
    Encore: Touch of Grey

    Listen to the show via Archive.org

  • Bob Weir Hints at More Performances with Fare Thee Well Lineup

    With Dead & Company hitting the road later this month, starting at The Times Union Center in Albany, Bob Weir shed some light on the the upcoming tour as well as the potential for more shows with the Fare Thee Well “Core Four” in the future.

    Weir had high praise for John Mayer, filling in for lead guitar with this modified FTW lineup. “John’s enthusiasm for this is amazing — I couldn’t believe it. He learned the songs, has great enthusiasm, and he’s a great guitar player. So he fits in perfectly.” Mayer addressed his role in a humble manner, referring to his role by saying, “I don’t feel the pressure, but I would say I feel a responsibility.”

    For those looking to see the Core Four perform together again, Weir offered hope to Deadheads hoping for more shows with bassist Phil Lesh. “Phil doesn’t want to hit the road. He’s 75 now. It’s kind of not an option for him, the way he puts it. And so, you know, that’s still where we are; that’s still where we’re going to live, at least I am. And so, if we’re going to see him, we’re going to see him around here or around someplace where he is.”

    Suffice it to say, if there were to be shows, they would be similar to the two and three-day events held in Santa Clara, California, and Chicago this past summer, and not a full-blown tour.

  • Lockn’ Festival 2015 is Here

    Lockn’ Festival is upon us. The third year festival is all set for launch on Friday, September 11 in Arrington, Virginia and features some of the biggest names in the jamband world. Originally scheduled to begin September 10, a destructive storm passing through decided to parlay activities for the first day’s events. Thankfully no one was injured, and festival crew are now busily cleaning up and getting ready for the upcoming events. Delays shouldn’t discourage attendees as that gives festival goers more time to ready for a stellar weekend of camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Preparing for an overload of interlocking musical sets to draw the summer to a close.

    Among the must see acts are projects featuring the ‘Core Four’ members of The Grateful Dead, including Phil Lesh and Friends with special guest Carlos Santana, Mickey Hart ‘Deep Rhythm Experience’ with Steve Kimock (as well as a set with EOTO), Billy and the Kids featuring Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic, and Bob Weir who is the featured guest all day Saturday, September 12.

    The festival has become a haven for jambands that span decades of influence and performance across the country. Classic jambands such as Strangefolk, Soulive, Little Feat, North Mississippi Allstars, Hot Tuna, and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe will all be on hand for hour-long sets on the Oak/Ridge stage. Some of the larger jam acts include String Cheese Incident (two stand alone sets, along with a set featuring The Doobie Brothers, aka, The Doobie Incident), Widespread Panic (one stand alone set, one set with reggae legend Jimmy Cliff), and Umphrey’s McGee (late night).

    Two very special sets take place on Friday night – Jorma & Jack, aka Hot Tuna, will celebrate 50 years of Jefferson Airplane alongside Rachel Price, GE Smith, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Jeff Pehrson, Justin Guip and Bill Kreutzmann. Mad Dogs and Englishmen will pay tribute to the late Joe Cocker with an all-star lineup that includes Tedeschi Trucks Band, Leon Russell, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, Chris Robinson, John Bell, Claudia Lennear and many more. Both of these sets are MUST SEE once in a lifetime events.

    Lastly, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant brings his Sensational Space Shifters for two completely different sets on Saturday and Sunday, a wonderful end to a weekend packed with music.

    Still need tickets? Pick them up and don’t miss out. Stay tuned to Lockn’ Festival’s Facebook Page for continued updates on campground openings and for all the latest news and events for the festival.

    Check out the schedule here.  As updates come in, we’ll be sure to update all attendees.

  • Dead and Company Confirm First U.S. Tour, New Years Run

    On the heels of the announced Halloween show at Madison Square Garden and subsequent additional date due to popular demand, an official tour has now been announced via the official Dead and Company Instagram account. The first date of the tour will be in Albany at the Times Union Center on Oct. 29. Pre-sale ticket sales for American Express card holders begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26. General public on-sale date is Friday, Aug. 28.

    Following the Albany and MSG shows, the tour continues to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Worcester, Massachusetts. The tour wraps on the West Coast with a pair of shows at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Dec. 27 and 28 and a New Years run  at the Forum in Los Angeles Dec. 30 and 31.

    The Grateful Dead hold the Times Union Arena record for most times played with 13 shows between 1990-1995. The certified gold 1996 release Dozin’ at the Knick was recorded at Times Union (formerly known as Knickerbocker Arena) in March of 1990.

    Dead & Company Fall Tour & New Year’s Eve Run
    10/29 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center
    10/31 – New York City, NY – Madison Square Garden
    11/1 – New York City, NY – Madison Square Garden
    11/5 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
    11/6 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center
    11/10 – Worcester, MA – DCU Center
    12/27 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
    12/28 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
    12/30 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
    12/31 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum

  • Bob Weir Making Album of Cowboy Songs

    Although Bob Weir may be done playing with the “core four,” his musical aspirations aren’t over yet. Bob Weir wants to be a cowboy… or at least make songs about them.

    He has a new album in the works that will feature an array of different musicians such as Joe Russo, Josh Ritter, Josh Kauffman, and Walter Martin.

    In an interview with Relix magazine, Weir said he wanted to focus on the narrative aspect of the music saying, “we’re going to downplay the emphasis on the playing and play up the emphasis on the storytelling.”

    So far, no release date has been announced.

    Following the legendary Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead run in Santa Clara and Chicago, Bobby is making several festival appearances this summer. He’ll play alongside Grateful Dead drummer Billy Kreutzmann with Kreutzmann’s band Billy and the Kids at the Peach Music Festival, and it was just announced that he’ll join Dead bassist Phil Lesh at Lock’n Music Festival in September.

  • NYSMuse: A Conversational Review of Dear Jerry

    A few of us from NYS Music made it to the Dear Jerry show at Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 14, mostly for the fun of attending an outdoor show early in the season and celebrate the music of the Grateful Dead. Afterward we couldn’t help but discuss the show and found we had several similar and differing thoughts. Even though we went without intending to review the show, we thought it would be a different twist to bring you some of our back-and-forth thoughts.

    Set 1: The Wheel, Uncle John’s Band, Standing On The Moon, Liberty (Communion featuring Phil Lesh), Get Out My Life Woman (Allen Toussaint with Bill Kreutzmann), Shady Grove (David Grisman & Sam Bush), I’m a Roadrunner (Peter Frampton with Bill Kreutzmann), Deal (Buddy Miller), Sugaree (Jorma Kaukonen with Barry Mitterhoff), The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff), Attics Of My Life (Jimmy Cliff with Bob Weir and Mickey Hart *One verse, acapella), Fire On The Mountain (Jimmy Cliff with Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Dave Schools)

    Set 2: Help On The Way> Slipknot!> Franklin’s Tower (Billy & The Kids), Scarlet Begonias> I Know You Rider (Disco Biscuits with Bill Kreutzmann & Tom Hamilton), Loser (moe. Chuck on vox), St. Stephen (O.A.R), Not Fade Away > Bertha (Los Lobos with Bob Weir), Brown Eyed Women (Trampled By Turtles), Shakedown St (YMSB), Days Between (Bob Weir), Friend of the Devil (Grace Potter with Bob Weir, and Matt Burr), Tennessee Jed (Eric Church with Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart), Morning Dew (Widespread), Touch of Grey (Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann & Mickey Hart), Ripple (almost all of the evening’s performers & the crowd)

    Steve Malinski: Mickey and Bill were part of the last few songs too, right?

    Graig Adler: Yeah. Bill was also in the house band as well as Dave Schools.

    SM: I didn’t have the greatest of starts to the show — thanks to DC traffic I was delayed getting there from Alexandria and didn’t arrive until “Shady Grove.” I didn’t know who was on because I couldn’t see more than some of the crowd from the gate but knew pretty quick from the mandolin that it was Grisman. It was a good first song to hear after the hassle of getting to Merriweather. I’ve always loved the Garcia/Grisman collaborations.

    SM:  There were several times I was pleased with the performances and interpretations; obviously there were some better than others and one in particular that ranked lowest. But overall I wasn’t as impressed, as my expectations were high for the show. Some groups did a couple of Dead tunes and others did just one, which was cool, no big deal. The flow of the show was a bit jagged and staggered logistically, so there was a bit of down time which for me dampened the vibes a little bit. More continuity would have made the experience better, in my opinion.

    GA: Yes, it was impossible to get in a groove. But will make for one fine $29.99 DVD, lots of professional recording equipment on stage. Biggest surprise of the night was how good O.A.R. was and how good The Disco Biscuits would be if they stopped playing that crappy jamtronica.

    SM: I thought Disco Biscuits had a pretty good groove going, especially with adding their own style jam in the middle. Billy and the Kids too. I think what made their sets stand out is they did more than one song and had the opportunity to loosen up and bloom a bit on the Dead tunes.

    GA: Also, Bill Kreutzmann on drums and Tommy Hamilton on stage — two guys who play dead tunes for a living.

    SM:  O.A.R.: It was cool to hear the island vibes from the song but they had a shaky start with the opening riffs and that set the tone for me. It wasn’t bad, but not my favorite of the night. I did enjoy the one O.A.R. show I had seen before outside of that though. I really enjoyed the refreshing arrangements by Trampled by Turtles and Yonder Mountain String Band playing stripped-down Dead. YMSB’s version of “Shakedown Street” had everyone’s attention.

    GA: O.A.R., I thought they sounded great. His mic wasn’t turned on to start the song.

    SM:  It was tough to notice that in the wash of the crowd where I was. I don’t recall seeing Phil Lesh on stage throughout the night. Was he there at all? It would’ve been awesome to see them all play together, especially since I just missed getting a Dead 50 ticket.

    GA: Communion (Phil Lesh, Stu Allen, Grahame Lesh, Ross James, Alex Koford and Jason Crosby) played the first four songs.

    SM:  I’m sad I missed Phil. I heard people mention him in passing and I hadn’t realized he was on the bill.

    GA: It seems he still doesn’t want to play with these guys. Which is concerning for Dead 50. He really only seems to play Terrapin and Shapiro events these days.

    SM: I do hope Phil settles his differences or whatever is going on for Chicago. I’m sure no one — the fans or the band — want to see the farewell shows dampened by differences.

    GA: Audley Freed and Buddy Miller were also in the house band.

    SM: The house band was pretty solid. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see the stage well so it was tough from the projector to keep track of who was up there except for the announcements of the guest artist for a particular song.

    SM: For me, the end of the show made up for what I missed at the start. It was a bit emotional and a tear-jerker. “Ripple” is one of those pretty songs to begin with. Now add a slide show with images of Jerry along with the song’s lyrics to encourage a 19,000-Dead Head sing-along. This was probably the best way to end the show, with something that rings out.

    GA: I’m surprised that nobody mentioned that the house band drummer for the show was Raymond Weber, the legendary funky NOLA drummer and former member of Dumpstaphunk. He’s SOLID! There was a very funny exchange involving him in an episode of Treme that went like this: Bass player Cornell Williams asks with surprise, “I know you didn’t just tell Raymond Weber that he dropped the beat, did you?” “Yeah, I did,” Antoine replies. “Ray, when was the last fucking time you dropped the beat?” Williams asks. “Me? ’83,” Weber responds.

  • Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary Celebration Continues with Santa Clara Shows Officially Announced

    After much speculation we finally have an official announcement about additional shows celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead, with members of the original band. Today’s announcement was for the anticipated shows at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The shows will take place June 27 & 28 and an online ticket request period is underway until Tuesday April 14. For all ticketing information please visit Santa Clara Fare Thee Well.

    Screen Shot 2015-04-10 at 3.07.32 PM

    The line-up for these shows has also been debated among heads for weeks and today we learned that the line-up will include – Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzman and featuring Trey Anastasio, Jeff Chimenti, and Bruce Hornsby.

    The core-4 made the announcement on the GD50.net site and personalized it to Deadheads and gave a heartfelt explanation of why they chose to add more shows after announcing originally that the Chicago shows would be the only ones.

    Dear Heads,

    Although none of us knew it when we walked off the stage at Soldier Field on July 9, 1995, the Grateful Dead’s long strange trip ended in Chicago that night. As you are aware, twenty years later, we’re returning to Chicago to properly say Fare Thee Well.

    But every good ending must start with a beginning. For us, it all began fifty years ago when we grabbed a bunch of instruments off the walls of a music store in Palo Alto California and began banging away on them in the back room, at night after the store had closed for the day.

    Since we made the decision to go back to Chicago to say our final goodbye, it has become clear to us that we first need to return to our beginnings, where we first said hello — to each other and to all of you.

    And so it is that we have decided to plug in for two additional shows on June 27 and 28 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California — just a dozen miles south of where Dana Morgan’s Music Store once stood. At Levi’s — as at Soldier Field — we will have the pleasure of being joined by Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti.

    Ours wasn’t just a long, strange trip — it was a VERY long, VERY strange trip. We weren’t sure what it was going to be like to put a punctuation mark on the end of it. None of us anticipated the overwhelming outpouring of love and interest following our initial announcement of the shows at Soldier Field, and we were blown away by the response.

    We have tried to do the right thing wherever we could for the Chicago shows by honoring the roots of where we came from, while dealing with the realities of the current times. But that’s hardly comforting when you’re shit outta luck for tickets and your only option is inflated prices on secondary ticketing websites. That would piss us off too.

    From the moment these shows were first talked about, we have been thinking about what we could do to honor the roots of our Deadhead experience, even in the face of changing technologies. (Remember: Ticketmaster didn’t even go online until we got out of the game.) These shows were always intended as an expression of our gratitude, to both the music and the fans, so it’s important that we get things as right as we can.

    We have always been proud of our in-house mail order ticketing process, and the phenomenal way our fans have built a tradition out of turning a standard envelope into a frame-worthy piece of art. Some 60,000 mail order tickets were issued for the Soldier Field shows by the good folks at Grateful Dead Ticket Sales — yet we were still crushed to see how many of your beautifully designed envelopes did not get tickets.

    For shows of this magnitude, it’s impossible to eliminate every scalper. However, we offer you this: Working with our partners, we are using an online ticketing platform for the Levi’s shows that will help ensure that the tickets for these shows will get into the right hands, the hands of our true fans. We believe that this process is the best way to give each of you an equal opportunity to obtain tickets at the most affordable possible prices. We are are proud to announce that 65,000 tickets per night will be available via the “online mail order” for the Levi’s shows. For the nuts and bolts, go to Dead50.net.

    We will not be adding any more Fare Thee Well shows. The three Chicago shows will still be our final stand. We decided to add these two Santa Clara shows to enable more of our fans to celebrate with us one more time. But this is it.

    We love you guys more than words can tell, and hope to see you in the Bay Area or Chicago. If you can’t make it to the shows, we are working on ways for you to still experience our Fare Thee Well, from wherever you might be. Stay tuned for those details.

    Gratefully yours,

    Billy, Bobby, Mickey & Phil

  • 2015 Peach Music Festival Lineup Announced

    Peach Music Festival lineup has been announced and festival goers will be pumped for what this festival has to offer in 2015. The headliners include: Gregg Allman, Santana, and  Bob Weir with Billy and The Kids. The festival will take place August 13 – 16 in Scranton, Pennsylvania at Montage Mountain.

    peachlineup1The spectacular lineup continues with – Willie Nelson & Family, Warren Haynes featuring Railroad Earth, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Lotus, Old Crow Medicine Show, G. Love & Special Sauce, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenues, Beats Antique, Dark Star Orchestra, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, and so many more.

    In addition to a lineup that outweighs the other recent festival announcements for 2015, Peach offers, a onsite water park (included in the cost of camping pass), General camping, VIP camping, and several all-inclusive travel packages offered by CID Entertainment.

    Check out NYS Music’s coverage of The Peach Festival 2014  HERE

    Tickets can be purchased HERE

  • The Grateful Dead Announce ‘Fare Thee Well’ tour in Celebration of 50th Anniversary

    After much gossip and speculation, this morning, Deadheads everywhere received the confirmation they had been waiting for; The four core members of the Grateful Dead will reunite for their Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 years of the Grateful Dead tour. The event will take place for a three-night run at Chicago’s Soldier Field, July 3, 4 & 5. Appearing with the original four members each night will be, Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti.

    The announcement came in a video by Trixie Garcia, founding member Jerry Garcia’s daughter. Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead nearly twenty-years to the day, of the last Grateful Dead show, which also took place at Soldier Field. These concerts will mark the Grateful Dead members’ final performance together, fans are illuminated with joy over the opportunity to celebrate with the band.

    Tickets will be available through the traditional tickets by mail service on a first come first served basis, beginning on January 20. An online pre-sale through Dead Online Ticketing on Feb. 12, followed by a regular onsale via Ticketmaster Feb. 14. Detailed ticket info can be found at Dead50.net.