Phil and Friends on the Road
Phil Lesh definitely has the right idea of jamming with the young guns on the Summer Sessions tour (as opposed to another geezer tour a la Dylan and Simon.) Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule insure some high energy with these shows, and they should keep some of the Uptight Weenie Hippies away. Gotta love the Mule. Galactic is on board too, and they can be awesome. The pirAnts can't say the same for Moe and String Cheese. Meanwhile, for those of you who insist upon being as dead as you can be, download some MP3's from OtherOnes.net.
Furthur: Nothing Shaking in 1999
After a successful operation, Phil is bailing on the Other Ones and staying closer to home this summer. Catch him w/ his Phishy Phriends. Meanwhile, it was to late to stage a summer tour so the needy might have to make a pilgrimmage to the west for dead action. Ratdog and Planet drum are doing shows -- no news yet on Hot Tuna, but the pirAnts will let you know. Hasta.
Furthur '98 Wrap-Up:
The Other Ones Dead Revival
The debut tour of The Other Ones, headlining the 3rd Furthur Festival, proved to be a huge success. Most informAnts report they indeed got the desired dead fix and enjoyed new renditions of long lost favorites (St. Stephen, The Eleven, Mountains of the Moon), fresh takes on standards (Ramble On Rose, Fire On The Mountain) and daring explorations with new material (Bobby's Banyan Tree, Mickey's Baba Jingo).
Phil is doing a lot of singing, from Box of Rain and US Blues to Mississippi Half Step and China Doll. Bobby still sings a lot of the songs he always did (Estimated, Playing in the Band) and has picked up a few Jerry tunes himself (Touch of Grey, Bird Song.) We surprised ourselves upon realization we could stand to hear Bruce more, who is easily the best vocalist in the group. Mickey Hart, assisted by Molo on the drums (and Bill Kreutzmann at the second Shoreline show), is playing as hard as ever and raps several tunes.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH CONTAINS STATEMENTS NOT 100% POSITIVE PRAISE. SOME OF THE SNOBBISH CRITICISM MAY OFFEND SENSITIVE HIPPIES, DIE-HARD DEAD HEADS, AND UPTIGHT NERDY TYPES WHO TAPE EVERYTHING.
The Dead were never a perfect band and the Other Ones are likewise.
Stalemated Jams from too many people on the stage occurred, and Other One / Playin' Reprise Jams get redundant. Often Bruce had to bail them all out with some crafty piano playing. The two new guitarists, Koran and Kimock, are both very excellent but hold each other in check, leaving an opening for Dave Ellis' smooth and predictable horn lines. This, you silly crusties, is the beginning of Easy Listening Dead. Seriously, you could play this in a geriatric ward and the patients would love it and eat all of their mashed potatos.
But for the most part, Post-Jerry HoleWorld has never seen happier days. Especially just the other night we joined Phil Lesh and Friends at the Fillmore. (The Phillmore Shows.) The 6-piece band of Phil, Bobby, Kimock, Ellis, Prairie Prince and a keyboardist whose name escapes us simply jams 95% of the time. The Shakedown Street>Unbroken Chain was the best Dead we've heard since '91, if not '89, '85 or '77. Goofing off paid off, and then when it was time to top it all off, Phil encores with an astounding version of "Like A Rolling Stone." A more appropriate song could not have been chosen for this audience or the Dead Revival at large.
The pirAnts are grateful that the boys still want to play and are taking the whole trip further. Despite a well concentrated Dead Fix and witnessing some old magic, we enjoyed the variety of previous Furthurs and would like to encourage more acts again. Whatever happens next summer, we'll be there as long as we can get some Hot Tuna.
The Other Ones: First Report
The Dead survivors made their self tribute band debut at the Warfield, and those in attendance (who paid 100 beans per) were delighted. Two guitar players have taken the place of the inception's Stan Franks in the Jerry Instrumental Position. Bruce Hornsby handled the Jerry vocals. The setlist wasn't too unusual besides the post-space St. Stephen > The Eleven.
Look Out for the Other Ones
Dead Ants of the world have something to look forward to now - this year's Furthor Festival will be headlined by a ressurection band consisting of Phil, Bobby, Mickey and Bruce along with Bruce's drummer, David Murray's guitarist, and Ratdog's sax player. This could appease, but the Grateful PirAnts are disgusted with their choice of tourmates. We love Hot Tuna, but there is not a more vile Groovy Decoy than Rusted Root. We aren't exactly sure why, but hearing them play sets off a chemical reaction that makes us pukey. The Grateful PirAnts might just have to stay away, unless a soundproof beergarden is readily available at the show.
The end or beginning?
DeadAnts will dance again at the new
Terrapin Station, an ambitious multimedia effort that launched its fund drive with a limited edition
3-CD set from the Spring '90 tour. A GD reunion of sorts will appear on NYE '99>2000, and we estimate Virtual Jerry will be playing this house for a very long time. Seems a bit dreamy, but it makes for another good saturday night in the Bay Area.
Grateful pirAnts go Furthur '97
 | Bobby and Phil at the Shoreline Further show.
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photo contributed
by Keith Harris
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Portland, OR - Seeing as how it was a perfect day and all, the grateful pirAnts ventured FURTHUR, seeking appeasement unsatisfied from last year. Moe and Sherri Jackson were quick to satisfy, and Bruce Hornsby was okay. Mickey's Planet Drum was amazing - much better than last year's goofy Mystery Box - but the true keeper of the flame was Robert Hunter. We'd rather hear these songs straight from the source even if he strums out of tune and has a funny habit of accentuating the wrong syllables. (thanks
Crazy Pete) Arlo did a fine job as M.C. and the acoustic Jorma Kaukonen jams were highlights as well. Ratdog sounded like a lounge band primed for the supermarket aisles, aside from the bass solo and a kicking jam>Playin' Reprise. The grateful pirAnts had not seen the Black Crowes since they were a bar band in Atlanta 8 years ago, and lucky for us the beer garden was still open. The final jam starred Robert Hunter on vocals for Deal. The beautiful people burritos in the lot afterward concluded a perfect day, and we'll have pictures here soon...
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