Bob Weir and Wolf Bros brought their spring tour to bassist Don Was‘ hometown of Detroit on Tuesday night for a performance at The Fillmore. The trio was joined by another Detroit musician, as saxophonist Dave McMurray sat-in at multiple points in the evening.
Weir, Was and drummer Jay Lane kicked off the evening with “Jack Straw” and then offered the tour debut of “Josephine” from the guitarist’s Bobby & The Midnites’ days. Bob then strapped on an acoustic for “El Paso” ahead of the recently revived “Bombs Away” and traditional “Peggy-O.” The group’s first “Maggie’s Farm” of 2019 followed along with “Passenger.” McMurray, a member of Don’s Was (Not Was) band who records for the bassist’s Blue Note Records label made his first appearance of the evening on “Bird Song.” The saxophonist seemed well prepared as he played along with the song’s main melodies in addition to taking a fierce solo on the set closer.
Bobby had his acoustic with him when the band returned to open the second set with “Only A River” from Weir’s Blue Mountain LP. Wolf Bros then focused on the Grateful Dead songbook for a run of “Tennessee Jed,” “Weather Report Suite,” “Let It Grow” and “Eyes Of The World.” McMurray added to both “Let It Grow” and “Eyes.” Dave’s potent “Let It Grow” solo fit in nicely and he waited for just the right spot to work his magic on “Eyes Of The World.” Weir & Wolf Bros went at it alone for a cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” before McMurray returned for takes on The Temptations’ “Standing On Shaky Ground” and Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Turn On Your Love Light.” The group had one more cover in store for the encore as they dusted off Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ “Breakdown” for the first time in 2019.
Watch “Weather Report Suite” > “Let It Grow” > “Eyes Of The World” thanks to William Morgan:
Setlist (via RatDog.org)
Set One: Jack Straw, Josephine, El Paso@, Bombs Away, Peggy-O@, Maggie’s Farm, Passenger, Bird Song*
Set Two: Only A River@, Tennessee Jed, Weather Report Suite@ > Let It Grow* > Eyes Of The World*, Dear Prudence, Standing On Shaky Ground*, Turn On Your Love Light*
Encore: Breakdown
* w/David McMurray, @ – Bobby on Acoustic
