What do you get the man who has everything? Well, for a man like Phil Lesh who has played to audiences around the world, been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and become a musical icon, at 83 years old there’s not much more he needs. So rather than a new tie (a Garcia, perhaps?) you can keep it simple by getting his friends together for a party. That’s exactly what’s happening at The Capitol Theatre throughout March, where the Grateful Dead bassist is celebrating his 84th birthday with a five-show residency spread across two weeks.
To kick off the birthday run, Phil Lesh reunited his lauded assemblage of Friends known as The Phil Lesh Quintet or “The Q” on Monday in Port Chester, NY. Lesh’s stable backing band from 2000–2003, the lineup features Gov’t Mule guitarist/vocalist Warren Haynes, Widespread Panic guitarist Jimmy Herring, Dark Star Orchestra keyboardist Rob Barraco, and Lesh’s longtime drummer John Molo. This all-star amalgamation of Lesh’s Friends and collaborators will be on hand for two nights only—Monday and Wednesday, March 6th—for the run-up to Lesh blowing out the candles on March 15th.
Though these Friends hadn’t all played together since Lesh’s 2021 birthday run at The Cap (pushed to October due to the pandemic), like any group of old friends they picked right back up where they left off. The show fittingly began with “Celebration”, an original cut off Lesh’s lone solo studio album, 2002’s There And Back Again recorded with The Q.
One of the things that separates Phil Lesh & Friends apart from the myriad other Dead projects—aside from its inclusion of an original band member—is the group’s willingness to step outside and around the Band Beyond Description’s original songbook. Following the Phil Lesh original, The Q tore open Cream‘s psychedelic ’60s classic and every guitar player’s second lesson (after “Smoke on the Water”), “Sunshine of Your Love”. The wiley and whirling jam was 16 minutes of organized chaos that felt like it could have fallen off the tracks at any moment, though in reality these master musicians kept absolute control and only gave the illusion of near-catastrophic cacophony.
Phil Lesh and Friends kept their song choices wide open, mixing beloved Dead favorites like “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” and ’60s throwback “Doin’ That Rag” with latter-era originals like Haynes’ impassioned “Real Thing”, which proved a first set highlight. The band of course also hit plenty of Dead hallmarks, like a stellar second set-opening “Help On The Way” > “Slipknot” and a jammed-out “Viola Lee Blues”, plus deeper cuts like “Mason’s Children”, “Crazy Fingers”, and Lesh’s “Pride of Cucamonga”, which the Dead never performed live but Phil has made a setlist staple in his post-Jerry Garcia years.
After two-plus hours of music spread across two sets, Haynes fittingly closed the evening with a bluesy “In The Midnight Hour” encore. The encore was surprisingly not preceded by Lesh’s traditional “Donor Rap,” with the band instead opting to rip straight into the Wilson Pickett cover amid thunderous applause.
Check out photos from night one of the run courtesy of photographer Kevin Cole along with videos and audio. Phil Lesh and The Q return to The Capitol Theatre on Wednesday for their second of two shows this week. Tickets are sold out.
Phil Lesh & Friends – “Help On The Way” > “Slipknot” > “All Along The Watchtower” (Bob Dylan) [Pro-Shot] – 3/4/24
Phil Lesh & Friends – “Mason’s Children” – 3/4/24
[Video: Matt Frazier]
Phil Lesh & Friends – “Crazy Fingers” – 3/4/24
[Video: Matt Frazier]
Phil Lesh & Friends – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY – 3/4/24 – Full Audio
[Audio: EJL95]
Setlist: Phil Lesh & Friends | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 3/4/24
Set One: Celebration, Sunshine of Your Love (Cream), Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Doin’ That Rag, The Real Thing, Mason’s Children
Set Two: Jam > Help on the Way > Slipknot! > All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan), Crazy Fingers, Pride of Cucamonga, Viola Lee Blues (Cannon’s Jug Stompers), Cosmic Charlie
Encore: In the Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett)
The post Phil Lesh Reunites “The Q” To Kick Off 84th Birthday Run At The Capitol Theatre [Photos/Videos/Audio] appeared first on L4LM.
