Bob Weir and Wolf Bros concluded their Colorado run on Saturday night at Vail’s Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Bobby and company would deliver the entire “Terrapin Station Suite” with the Wolf Pack ensemble and more for the Colorado finale.
Guitarist Bob Weir, drummer Jay Lane, bassist Don Was, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and pedal steel player Greg Leisz got the show underway with the classic opener “Bertha.” Bobby including a riffy intro to the song before diving into the tune which was further countrified by the pedal steel stylings of Greg Leisz and some honky-tonk piano from Chimenti.
Weir then plucked out the bluesy intro to “I Need A Miracle” followed by “Loser” and “Ramble On Rose.” Next, The Wolf Pack horn and string section featuring woodwind specialist Sheldon Brown, violinist Mads Tolling, trombonist Adam Theis, trumpeter Brian Switzer and cellist Alex Kelly assembled for “West L.A. Fadeaway” and would stay on for the classic pairing of “Lost Sailor” and “Saint Of Circumstance” to close out the first frame.
The second set began with the quintet on Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried,” which saw Leisz delivering the pedal steel opening from Haggard’s original version doubled by Bobby. Weir then led the band through the verses before taking a solo and dropping back into the chorus ahead of the song’s conclusion and a reprise of the opening pedal steel lick. Weir then picked up an acoustic guitar for his stellar solo song “Only A River” off his 2016 album Blue Mountain.
Next came Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” before The Wolf Pack took the stage again for “Bird Song.” Bob Weir & Wolf Bors and The Wolf Pack then delivered the “Terrapin Station Suite” in its entirety. The ensemble debuted the suite over the course of their Tuesday and Wednesday concerts at Red Rocks but the Vail show marked the first front-to-back Wolf Bros rendition of the towering epic. The Wolf Pack stayed on for “Stella Blue” as well as the “One More Saturday Night” set-closer. The entire ensemble would encore with the American Beauty favorite “Brokedown Palace” to wrap up the magical Rocky Mountain run.
Watch video of “Bertha,” Mama Tried” and “Only A River” below via the JamBase Live Video Archive:
Setlist
Bob Weir at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Set 1
- Bertha
- I Need a Miracle
- Loser
- Ramble On Rose
- West L.A. Fadeaway
- Lost Sailor Saint of Circumstance
Set 2
- Mama Tried
- Only a River
- A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
- Bird Song
- Lady With a Fan Terrapin Station Terrapin Terrapin Transit At a Siding Terrapin Flyer Refrain
- Stella Blue
- One More Saturday Night
Encore
- Brokedown Palace
- Grateful Dead
