After some internal band problems, specifically Phil Lesh leaving the entourage after 30 years or so, along with some other changes in the line-up in this apparently ever-evolving chameleon of a group, the Other Ones are back, possibly stronger than ever. With drummer Bill Kreutzman returning to the fold, the percussion section is in its finest form in years. He and Mickey Hart roll along together like a Mack truck with its brakes cut, complimenting each other’s riffs and rhythms like no other pair of double drummers anywhere. It’s often hard to tell where one’s perrididdle ends and the other’s begins.
Alfonso Johnson, recently of the pseudo-Dead cover band Jazz is Dead, standing in for Lesh, is most certainly a competent, sometimes brilliant, player; but one got the feeling that only three shows into the tour, he would only get better with time. Reports from the road seem to affirm this. With Bruce Hornsby back in tow, and also in better form than ever, with lead vocals being split amongst the band, this incarnation of The Other Ones is a true treat to behold.
From the opening jam that somehow noodled and merged seamlessly into "Playing In the Band," to "Playing…," the second-set closer, this was one helluva show. The energy was flowing freely through tracks such as "Jack Straw" and an especially funky "Fire on the Mountain" to the sublime, such as when Bonnie Raitt strolled onstage to accompany the band Her additions to "West L.A. Fadeaway" and "Rainbow’s Cadillac" were surpassed only by her incredibly moving guitar and vocals on the evening closer, "Black Muddy River."
Guitar by Steve Kimock and Mark Karan and, of course, Bobby Weir, never imitated Garcia’s, but always managed to evoke strains of his unique fretwork while adding the individual player’s brilliance to the mix. With the familiar strains of tunes from years past along with the moon and stars appearing under the beautiful San Francisco sky, it was a perfect evening. It constantly amazes that a group of guys, whose age averages twice that of bands like Korn, can manage to play for three hours while young punks, such as the aforementioned pack, get away with screwing their audience with sixty minute sets. Let’s hear it for the old guys!
Shoreline Amphitheatre
(Mountain View, CA)
Review and photos by j bloomrosen
