Bob Weir and Billy “The Drummer” Kreutzmann were in Hawaii to help fans and music-loving local island dwellers celebrate the arrival of 2019 with a guest-filled performance at the Crazy Rooster Ranch on Monday night.
Celebrating New Year’s Eve on the island of Kauai acted as a change of scenery for the two former Grateful Dead members, as they had hosted plenty of infamous NYE concerts around the Bay Area of California during their time in the well-known jam band. The two musicians were joined at the inaugural Rising Up To Paradise event by a mix of rotating musicians including George Porter Jr., Steve Kimock, Weir’s Dead & Company bandmate Jeff Chimenti, Robin Sylvester, and Wally Ingram. The night also included performances from The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell, Taj Mahal, and Island Grass, with a DJ set from DJ Logic which kept the party going well into the early morning hours of the new year.
The show began with Robin Sylvester and Steve Kimock joining the two for a lively cover of “Sugar Magnolia” to help get the audience into the right state of sunshine-drenched energy for their island party. Next came a cover of “Cassidy” from the Weir solo catalogue, which also featured Chimenti and bassist Don Was from the Wolf Bros trio. Sylvester returned to the stage for a few more Dead favorites in “Franklin’s Tower” and “Tennessee Jed”.
Don Was returned to the stage with guitarist Taj Mahal to play the traditional blues tune, “Deep Elem Blues”, followed by “I’ve Been All Around This World”. The set came to a close with Kimock, Chimenti, and Was helping out with a cover of “Weather Report Suite” and “Let It Grow”.
Set two kept the island energy going with Chimenti, Kimock, and Sylvester remaining on stage throughout the entire second half of the show. They began with a trio of jam-friendly Dead tunes in “Help On The Way” > “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire On The Mountain”, with the latter welcoming George Porter Jr. to help sing “Bayou” in the chorus lyrics in place of “Mountain”. Porter stayed on stage to help perform Jerry Garia‘s solo ballad, “Sugaree” before going right into “Iko Iko”. Next came Drums, “Estimated Prophet” and “Eyes of the World” before the band and fans celebrated the arrival of 2019 with some culturally fitting hula dancers to close out the set. They would return for a three-song encore of “The Music Never Stopped” into “Touch of Grey”, before ending the night with “Ripple”.
Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann – Ripple – 12/31/2018
[Video: Grateful Dead Kauai Hawaii 2018/19 Concert]
The event may not have had as many wild LSD stories as some of the Dead’s NYE performances from the past, but the inaugural Rising Up To Paradise did give Deadheads an excuse to ditch the chilly mainland for a much-needed holiday vacation. Dead & Company will keep the tropical vibes going when they return to Riviera Maya, Mexico for their annual Playing In The Sand destination event later this month on January 17th-20th, which is sold out.
Setlist: Rising Up To Paradise | Crazy Rooster Ranch | North Shore, HI | 12/31/2018
Set One: Sugar Magnolia$* (Grateful Dead cover), Cassidy*#!, Franklin’s Tower$*# (Grateful Dead cover), Tennessee Jed$*# (Grateful Dead cover), Deep Elm Blues%! (Traditional), I’ve Been All Around This World%! (Grateful Dead cover), Weather Report Suite*#! (Grateful Dead cover) > Let It Grow$*#! (Grateful Dead cover)
Set Two (feat. Jeff Chimenti, Steve Kimock, and Robin Sylvester): Help On The Way (Grateful Dead cover) > Scarlett Begonias (Grateful Dead cover) > Fire On The Mountain^ (Grateful Dead cover), Sugaree^ (Jerry Garcia Cover), Iko Iko^ (The Dixie Cups cover) > Drums > Estimated Prophet (Grateful Dead cover) > Eyes of the World (Grateful Dead cover) > 2019 Celebration with Hula Dancers
Encore: The Music Never Stopped (Grateful Dead cover) > Touch of Grey (Grateful Dead cover), Ripple (Grateful Dead cover)
Notes:
$ w/Robin Sylvester
^ w/George Porter Jr
* w/Steve Kimock
# w/Jeff Chimenti
! w/Don Was
% w/Taj Mahal
The post Bob Weir & Bill Kreutzmann Welcome Taj Mahal, George Porter Jr., & More For Inaugural ‘Rising Up To Paradise’ In Hawaii appeared first on L4LM.
