Lesh and band partners sparkle at a special venue
Bassist brings friends to Frost Amphitheatre
PALO ALTO >> The significance of the occasion seemed to be on all of our minds.
There we were at Stanford University's lovely Frost Amphitheater — right in the midst of where it all it began for the Palo Altoborn Grateful Dead nearly 60 years ago — and we were watching 82-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Phil Lesh perform Dead tunes once again onstage.
It felt good. It felt right. It felt like going home.
And, really, it's always felt that way at Frost — a venue that the Dead played 14 times during its career.
Just ask Lesh, who took to social media to share his enthusiasm about the return to Stanford.
“Going back to where it all began, a dream we dreamed one afternoon, long ago,” he posted earlier on Facebook. “I couldn't be more excited to take this trip down to Palo Alto with my dear friends Grahame Lesh, Scott Metzger, Joe Russo, John Scofield and Benmont Tench.”
Yes, that's the amazing lineup for this current Phil Lesh and Friends tour, which kicked off with the Frost show on Saturday. It looked good on paper — especially with the unexpected additions of jazz guitar legend Scofield and Tench, of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers fame — and it translated even better in concert.
However, the group got off to a bit of a slow start in its 80-minute first set, offering up a “Truckin'” that never really got out of second gear and then stalling a bit in the jammedout transition to “Playing in the Band.” Yet, the joy was so tangible in the audience that nobody seemed to mind. Fans were too busy shouting along with iconic “Truckin'” line — “What a long strange trip it's been” — and feeling the added poignancy from being back where said “long strange trip” began.
The somewhat slow start could be forgiven, given that this was Night 1 of the tour, and the group would continue to find its footing as it rolled through “St. Stephen,” “Uncle John's Band” and “Sugar Magnolia.”
The band loaded up on the hits so strongly — and in such a non-Deadlike manner — in the first set that it was almost like somebody had just dropped the needle on 1974's “Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of Grateful Dead” and let it run. I was half expecting that the group would return from the set break and just play “Touch of Grey” seven times in a row and call it a night.
Thankfully, that's not what was in store for fans. Instead, the group would open the second set with a cover of the Jerry Garcia solo number “Bird Song” (from 1972's terrific debut “Garcia”) and then mix things up fairly well during the rest of the 90-minute second set.
Of course, Scofield drew the lion's share of the attention when this Friends lineup was originally announced. I guess that's what happens when you've previously worked with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and so many other jazz masters. Tench also caught his share of eyes, with people wondering what this Heartbreaker might bring to the equation.
Both of them would shine mightily in the second set.
Tench added some punch to the psychedelic sounds, seasoning these Dead favorites with roadhouse grooves that drew from boogiewoogie, R&B and Southern rock.
Scofield was a bit tentative at times, especially in the first set. Yet, he'd absolutely
soar during the second — especially during his breathtaking solo in “I Know You Rider” (played without its traditional “China Cat Sunflower” intro). He propelled that song to such heights that it simply towered over anything else the group would play on this night.
As the tour progresses, and Scofield gets more accustomed to the material, look for those kinds of aweinspiring moments to happen more frequently.
Overall, the show was dominated by the work of guitarist Metzger and drummer Russo. The former, in particular, was an absolute beast — wowing the crowd with one gorgeous lead after another. Plus, these two players share such wonderful synergy, which they've nurtured over the years as they've worked together in the popular Grateful Dead tribute act Joe Russo's Almost Dead. It definitely makes one want to check out Russo's Almost Dead when it performs at this same venue on Aug. 13 (live.stanford.edu).
Lesh and his son Grahame handled most of the vocals throughout the night — and did so quite admirably — although Metzger also impressed with his Bob Weir-like vocals on “Let It Grow.”
The group closed the second set with a terrific run through the classic “Terrapin Station,” offering it up for what it truly is — “a rare and different tune.”
Phil Lesh and Friends return to play the Stern Grove Festival's annual Big Picnic event on Aug. 14 in San Francisco. Admission to the concerts is free, but fans must reserve their spots in advance at sterngrove.org.