pretty lights sings dark star samples althea more on night two in grateful dead country watch
Pretty Lights worked a number of homages to the Grateful Dead into Friday night’s performance at The Warfield, a venue with significant Dead history in the band’s home city.
Even among a boatload of other samples of a diverse array of artists from San Francisco (Sly & The Family Stone, Steve Miller Band, Hieroglyphics) and beyond (Silk Sonic, MF Doom, dead prez, OutKast & UGK, Wu-Tang Clan, Kraftwerk, Beastie Boys, Black Star, Aaliyah, Ashanti, Nelly, and more), the Grateful Dead nods emerged as a theme of Saturday’s set.
Pretty Lights (producer Derek Vincent Smith) and his live band—comprised of Chris Karns (turntables), Alvin Ford Jr. (drums), Borahm Lee (keyboards), and Michal Menert (production)—got the Grateful swirls started during set one with a reimagining of Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter classic “Althea” featuring a sample of “You Never Knew by Bay Area hip-hop crew Hieroglyphics. Toward the end of set one, during a performance of PL track “The Last Passenger”, the enduring refrain of the Dead’s “Touch of Grey” (“I will get by”) floated into the mix alongside samples of Cher‘s “If I Could Turn Back Time” and Black Star‘s “Definition”. During set two, Pretty Lights cleverly merged his remix of Daft Punk‘s “Solar Sailer” with the moody guitar melody of the Dead’s “Lost Sailor”, among other samples.
The most surprising Grateful Dead cover of the night, however, came late in set two when Derek took the mic to sing an ethereal rendition of live Dead white whale “Dark Star”, putting a distinctive, lo-fi hip-hop stamp on the celestial song while still leaning into its free-form nature.
Watch the full set and click below to view a full, annotated setlist with timestamps for each song. [Note: The video below is cued up to “Dark Star”, but feel free to jump around.] Pretty Lights’ three-night San Francisco run wraps up on Saturday night at The Warfield. For a full list of upcoming tour dates, head here.
Pretty Lights – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA – 11/10/23 – Full Video Stream
Setlist (via hammyt88): Pretty Lights | The Warfield | San Francisco, CA | 11/10/23
Songs include time stamps corresponding to video above. Setlist is unconfirmed.
Set One
0:41 – Modular Intro
3:40 – The Time Has Come [1]
9:17 – PL vs Dead Prez “It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop” [2]
12:32 – YNDIO [3]
19:28 – Wake Up [4]
28:03 – Grateful Dead “Althea” [5]
31:18 – Only Yesterday [6]
42:15 – With A Lil Love [7]
54:15 – Let Em Know Its Time to Go [8]
1:07:18 – The Last Passenger [9]
1:19:54 – Finally Moving x Rappin 4 Tay “Playaz Club” [10]
Set Two
1:51:32 – Road To The Stars [11]
2:01:12 – Expanding Perspectives [12]
2:09:03 – Ethereal [13]
2:14:20 – Gold Coast Hustle [14]
2:23:24 – The Love You Left Behind [15]
2:26:20 – Hot Like Rox [16]
2:35:27 – Solar Sailer [17]
2:46:57 – Free Stomp [18]
2:57:49 – Grateful Dead “Dark Star” [19]
3:11:09 – Hot Like Sauce (Rustified) [20
Encore
3:24:33 – Up and Down I Go x Can’t Stop Me Now [21]
3:29:58 – Dom Dolla “San Frandisco” [22]
3:35:42 – It’s Tricky (SSX Remix) [23]
3:38:01 – The Nu’rons “Hurry Up Tomorrow” [24]
View Setlist
Sample Notes (via Devin Dees/PLF Discord):
[1] Kraftwerk – Tour de France
[2] Dead Prez – Bigger Than Hip Hop, Steve Miller Band – Fly Like an Eagle
[3] OutKast & UGK – International Players Anthem, Sly & The Family Stone – Everybody Is a Star
[4]
[5] Hieroglyphics – You Never Knew
[6] ZZ Hill – That Ain’t The Way You Make Love, Madvillain – Fancy Clown, Sly and the Family Stone – Everyday People
[7] Steve Miller Band – Children of the Future, Slave – Just A Touch Of Love, Journey – Lights, Common – The Light, Bobby Caldwell – Open Your Eyes
[8] Rick James – Mary Jane, The Floaters – Float On
[9] Cher – If I Could Turn Back Time, Black Star – Definition, Grateful Dead – Touch of Grey
[10] Rappin’ 4 Tay – Playaz Club
[11] Unfinished, A$AP Rocky – L$D, Hermitude – Flood, Aaliyah – Are You That Somebody, Black Star – Astronomy (8th Light), Quad City DJ’s – Space Jam
[12] Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Brooklyn Zoo, Wu-Tang Clan – Ruckus in B Minor, Neil Young – Heart of Gold, Beastie Boys – Intergalactic, The Game – Pot of Gold
[13] The Conscious Daughters – Something to Ride To, Michael Seven – Energy Mantra, E-40 – U And Dat
[14] Beastie Boys – Sure Shot, Michael Seven – Energy Mantra, Silk Sonic – Fly as Me, Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop
[15]
[16] Mos Def – Next Universe, The Roots – Right On, Troyboi – Do You
[17] Oliver Tree – Alien Boy, Luniz – 5 On It, Delinquent Habits – California, Grateful Dead – Lost Sailor
[18] Ashanti – Baby, Nelly – Party People
[19] Grateful Dead
[20] Janet Jackson – Rhythm Nation, MIMS – This is Why I’m Hot
[21] Can’t Stop Me Now tease, Earth, Wind & Fire – Energy, Dr. Fresch – Roll It Up
[22] Walker & Royce Remix by Dom Dolla & Walker & Royce
[23] Run DMC remix
[24] The Nu’Rons, Derek on bass guitar
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