Bob Weir and Wolf Bros pulled into Memphis last night for the second stop of their latest tour. The concert at The Orpheum Theatre ended with the band’s debut cover of the Elvis Presley classic “Jailhouse Rock.”
The Wolf Bros lineup for the trek finds the Grateful Dead guitarist backed by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, pedal steel guitarist Barry Sless, bassist Don Was and drummer Jay Lane. Additionally, the quintet was joined by the Wolf Pack horn and string section (woodwind specialist Sheldon Brown, cellist Alex Kelly, violinist Mads Tolling, trombonist Adam Theis, trumpeter Brian Switzer) for portions of the show. While Wednesday’s tour opener at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium was a guest-filled affair, Bobby was only augmented by Wolf Bros and the Wolf Pack in Memphis.
All 10 musicians took the stage to begin the show with a version of “The Music Never Stopped” that encompassed “Easy Answers.” Weir, Was, Lane, Chimenti and Sless then went sans Wolf Pack for Bobby’s first solo “Candyman” since June 18, 2017. Next came “Black-Throated Wind” with the Wolf Pack before the strings and horns left the quintet to play the geographically appropriate “Tennessee Jed.” A cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big River” followed ahead of the Wolf Pack returning for a pairing of “Weather Report Suite” and “Let It Grow” to end last night’s first set.
The five-piece returned to kick off Thursday’s second set with the Little Feat gem “Easy To Slip.” From there the Wolf Pack came back for a wild segment that saw both “Eyes Of The World” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” played between “Dark Star” verses. Bobby, Don, Jeff, Barry and Jay lit into “All Along The Watchtower” by Bob Dylan after the “Dark Star” sequence. An impromptu “The Other One” emerged out of “Watchtower” and bled into the beautiful ballad “Standing On The Moon.”
A standalone “Sugar Magnolia” brought the frame to a close. The Wolf Pack was on hand for both “Sugar Magnolia” and the aforementioned “Jailhouse Rock” encore. Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Elvis Presley originally released “Jailhouse Rock” as a single in 1957. Weir last performed the song during a 2014 solo set for the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
Watch fan-shot video clips of the opening sequence and “Tennessee Jed” from last night’s show below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca8hLrRAiIV/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca8jUqUgsh_/
Setlist (via Bob Weir Instagram)
Set One: The Music Never Stopped > Easy Answers > The Music Never Stopped, Candyman, Black-Throated Wind, Tennessee Jed, Big River, Weather Report Suite > Let It Grow
Set Two: Easy To Slip, Dark Star > Eyes Of The World > What’s Going On > Eyes Of The World > Dark STar > All Along The Watchtower > The Other One > Standing On The Moon, Sugar Magnolia
Encore: Jailhouse Rock
