Bob Weir and Wolf Bros pulled into Philadelphia on Friday for a show at the Metropolitan Opera House. The three-piece act was joined by Joe Russo’s Almost Dead/Ghost Light guitarist and vocalist Tom Hamilton during both sets and included a nod to International Women’s Day with their song selction to start the second frame of the night.
Weir, bassist Don Was and drummer Jay Lane looked to a pair of Grateful Dead classics to get things going in The City of Brotherly Love with “Hell In A Bucket” and “Bertha.” Bob Dylan’s “Queen Jane Approximately” came ahead of the first surprise of the night as the trio delivered their debut of the traditional folk tune and longtime RatDog staple,”K.C. Moan.”
Hamilton emerged next, as the now four-piece band first looked to “Gonesville” from Weir’s collection of cowboy music Blue Mountain. The augmented ensemble then offered up their first-ever take on Daniel Lanois’ “The Maker.” Wolf Bros closed out their opening frame with a run of Dead tunes offering up the psychedelic trucker anthem “Black-Throated Wind,” latter-day chestnut “Corinna” and fan-favorite “Deal.”
The threesome opened up their second set of the evening with yet another debut, this time nodding to International Woman’s Day with their song choice of “Man Smart, Woman Smarter.” Weir & Co. then dug in on “Scarlet Begonias” and “He’s Gone” before looking to his RatDog songbook for “Two Djinn.” “New Speedway Boogie” made its way into a thunderous “The Other One.” A tender “Days Between” followed as it got its first rendering in 2019. Hamilton returned to the stage lending a hand on a reprise of “Man Smart, Women Smarter” and a set-closing version of Buddy Holly & The Crickets’ “Not Fade Away.” The Philadelphia-native teamed with Bob Weir & Wolf Bros for one more song as they delivered “Brokedown Palace” as their lone encore.
Watch pro-shot video of the openers from both set courtesy of nugs.tv below:
