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Happy 80th Birthday Phil Lesh: 8 Shows From 8 Incredible Phil Lesh & Friends Lineups

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Today (March 15) marks Phil Lesh’s 80th birthday. An incredible milestone for an incredible man. The seemingly unstoppable, inexhaustible — which Phil would attribute to Cody, from whom he received a liver transplant — bass player was the low end foundation over which the Grateful Dead were allowed to shine. He now presides as the patriarch of the jam scene, doing much of that work as the curator of his longstanding revolving door project — Phil Lesh & Friends.

The first concert under the Phil Lesh & Friends moniker took place on September 24, 1994 at the Berkeley Community Theatre as an acoustic show featuring Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and keyboardist Vince Welnick. But after Jerry Garcia’s death and the disbanding of the Grateful Dead in 1995, Phil & Friends largely became the crucible for which the music and cultural phenomena of the Grateful Dead continued and flourished.

Throughout the years, the project has featured some of jam’s most notable luminaries and Phil has been integral in bringing up young musicians from the jam scene and beyond. To celebrate Phil’s 80th birthday, JamBase takes a look at eight shows from eight amazing Phil & Friends’ lineups.

Berkeley Community Theatre – September 24, 1994

The first entry is that very first show with Garcia, Weir and Welnick. The audio recording of the acoustic show starts out with some classic Bobby banter about MTV Unplugged and includes stripped-down gems of “Dupree’s Diamond Blues,” “Attics Of My Life” and “Throwing Stones,” the latter of which appears to be the only known acoustic version with more than three members of the Grateful Dead.

The Warfield – April 16, 1999

The meeting of two towering pillars of the jam scene, these legendary “Phil & Phriends” shows — April 15 and 16, 1999 — from the famed Warfield in San Francisco featured guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish along with Steve Kimock and soon-to-be frequent Phil & Friends drummer John Molo as well as Grateful Dead member Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay on vocals. The show kicked off with “Help On The Way,” “Slipknot!” and “Franklin’s Tower” followed by a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” ahead of the first set closer of the rarity “Alligator.” The show also included Phish’s “Prince Caspian” and “Chalkdust Torture.” Listen to full-show audio from April 16 below:

Red Rocks – August 14, 1999

This show from the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in the summer of 1999 featured members of jamgrass up-and-comers The String Cheese Incident as well as stalwart jam rockers moe. The core lineup featured SCI’s Michael Kang1 (electric mandolin) and Kyle Hollingsworth (keyboards) along with Kimock on guitar and Molo on drums. Cheese guitarist Billy Nershi and percussionist Michael Travis would help kick off the show on the Grateful Dead’s “Playing In The Band” and SCI’s “Round The Wheel.” moe. guitarist Al Schnier also joined the band toward the end of the single long set for “The Wheel,” “Terrapin Station” and a “Playing” reprise to bookend the set. Nershi would return for the encore, the Dead acoustic classic “Ripple.”

Tweeter Center – July 20, 2002

One of the most beloved incarnations of the early Phil & Friends era — and most stable lineup — became known as The Phil Lesh Quintet and featured Lesh joined by guitarists Warren Haynes and Jimmy Herring, keyboardist Rob Barraco and Molo on drums. The Quintet produced many memorable shows between 2000 and 2002 including one night at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey. While Molo played drums for most of the show Grateful Dead drummer joined in for “St Stephen, “Not Fade Away” and “Casey Jones.” Saxophonist Greg Osby also played the entire second set.

Vegoose – October 29, 2006

Trey Anastasio once again joined Phil in 2006 for a performance in Las Vegas at JamBase’s 20 For 20 Festivals We’ve Lost, Vegoose. The lineup also featured keyboardist John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood and a sit-in from Phish bassist Mike Gordon on banjo for Phish’s “Back On The Train.” The group would also play Dead classics “Shakedown Street,” “Row Jimmy” and a “Help On The Way,” Slipknot!,” “Franklin’s Tower” section to close out the set ahead of a “Not Fadeaway” encore.

Lockn’ – September 11, 2015

In 2015, Phil & Friends conducted a legendary Lockn’ run. On September 11 the band would include the Chris Robinson Brotherhood: Chris Robinson, guitarist Neal Casal, keyboardist Adam MacDougall and drummer Tony Leone. Guitarist Eric Krasno would top off the killer lineup who would treat the festival corwd to favorites like “Brown-Eyed Women,” “Playing In The Band” and “Althea” as well as The Rolling Stone’s “Gimme Shelter.”

Lockn’ – September 12, 2015

The next night, legendary guitarists Carlos Santana and Warren Haynes would count as Friends. The rock icons would perform Dead classics like “Scarlett Begonias,” “New Speedway Boogie,” “The Other One,” “Fire On The Mountain” and “Dark Star” along with Molo, longtime Phil collaborator guitarist Barry Sless and Dark Star Orchestra keyboardist Rob Barraco.

Lockn’ – August 27, 2016

Phil & Friends returned to Lockn’ in 2016 and swelled to include drummer Jon Fishman and Page McConnell of Phish, The Infamous Stringdusters, drummer Joe Russo and guitarist Anders Osborne. The acoustic instruments of The Dusters added nice touches on “Dire Wolf” and Rosalie McFall.” Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi would also join the band for “Mr. Charlie” and a stellar “Sugaree.”

Source: JamBase.com