Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros capped a three-night swing through Texas at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas on Thursday. Following a two-night Austin run, Bob Weir and company dusted off a locale-appropriate “Deep Ellum Blues” during a first set with a number of Texas references.
Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros along with The Wolf Pack horn and string section – which saw violinist Matthew Szemela subbing in for Mads Tolling — launched the show with “Jack Straw.” The Grateful Dead classic famously references Texas while the next tune, the RatDog era “Odessa,” is also the name of a West Texas town. While “Loser” references Abilene, another West Texas town, Robert Hunter was likely referring to the rowdy Wild West town of Abilene, Kansas. But close enough. The Lone Star State streak continued with the “Deep Ellum” bust out.
Deep Ellum is a neighborhood in Dallas. The Majestic Theatre in on Elm Street which is where the name Deep Ellum comes from and the neighborhood is just east of the venue. Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros last broke out the traditional blues number nearly three years ago to the day on March 10, 2020. Weir led the band through the Dallas 2023 rendition of “Deep Ellum,” which boasted some rollicking guitar interplay between Bobby and pedal steel player Barry Sless as well as a crunchy electric piano run from Jeff Chimenti.
Bobby then transported the Texas audience to Europe with Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece” ahead of the Dead classic “He’s Gone.” Weir returned to the country flavor with Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” before going R&B with Bobby Bland’s “Turn On Your Love Light” to wrap the first frame.
The second set got underway with the oldie “Stealin’” and continued with “Dark Star.” The psychedelic song encompassed “Truckin,” which references Dallas among other locales, and the jazz standard “Fever.”
After finishing up “Dark Star,” the band flowed into “Scarlet Begonias” and “Viola Lee Blues.” The Workingman’s Dead cut “Black Peter” fell in the ballad slot before Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros closed out the second set with “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad.” Weir and company returned to encore with the poignant “Black Muddy River.”
Listen to full show audio via nugs.net below:
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