Melvin Seals & JGB kept the flame alive on Saturday at Ardmore Music Hall with the band’s first of two shows just outside Philadelphia. Night one saw the longtime Jerry Garcia collaborator honor the spirit of the late Grateful Dead guitarist with a set of songs plucked from the Jerry Garcia Band catalog with assistance from guitarist John Kadlecik.
Melvin and his gang got on the highway with “(I’m a) Road Runner” and didn’t look back for the rest of the two-set engagement. Dipping into the lesser-loved end of the Jimmy Cliff catalog with “Struggling Man”, the first set rolled on with nods to Ray Charles as well as some Grateful Dead improvisational behemoths with “Eyes of the World” and “The Other One” before breaking following “Let It Grow”.
Related: Jerry Garcia Was A Truly Terrible Soldier, According To Army Documents From 1960 [Photos]
Though the hour was relatively early, Melvin Seals settled into the second set with “In The Midnight Hour”. Set two was filled with Bob Dylan favorites including “When I Paint My Masterpiece”, “Positively 4th Street”, and “Tangled Up In Blue” ahead of a tip of the cap to one of the rock ‘n’ roll originators with Chuck Berry‘s “Let it Rock”. There was also some love to the time-honored JGB canon with “My Sisters and Brothers” before the performance wrapped with Jerry and Robert Hunter‘s “Deal”.
Check out photos from Melvin Seals & JGB at Ardmore Music Hall on Saturday courtesy of Michael Naber. Full-show audio is available thanks to taper Rich Stoler.
Melvin Seals & JGB – Ardmore Music Hall – Ardmore, PA – 4/15/23 – Full Audio
Setlist: Melvin Seals & JGB | Ardmore Music Hall | Ardmore, PA | 4/15/23
Set One: (I’m a) Road Runner (Jr. Walker & the All Stars), Struggling Man (Jimmy Cliff), We Be Jammin’, Lonely Avenue (Ray Charles), Eyes of the World (Grateful Dead), Drum World, The Other One (Grateful Dead), Let It Grow (Grateful Dead)
Set Two: In the Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett), When I Paint My Masterpiece (Bob Dylan), Hey Pocky A-Way (The Meters), Positively 4th Street (Bob Dylan), Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan), Let It Rock (Chuck Berry), My Sisters and Brothers, (Charles Johnson), Deal (Jerry Garcia)
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