Grateful Dead with John Fogerty The death of Bill Graham was an emotional blow to many Bay Area musicians and the Grateful Dead were affected more than most, having had a close relationship with the man that spanned three decades. This was readily apparent in the Oakland run of shows they had just completed, where the intensity level was a notch above the usual 1991 fare. In a show of local solidarity, the Oakland shows also featured several guests joining the band onstage, including Carlos Santana, Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist, Gary Duncan and Ken Kesey, who eulogized Graham during an improvisational sequence on the final night of the run. Prior to the Grateful Dead set commencing this day, Jerry Pompili introduced Bills son David to the stage. David proceeded to read a condolence telegram sent by Mick Jagger. Among other things, he summed up what many were feeling that day when he read the words I feel great sadness in his passing, but great joy in his memory. He then introduces the Grateful Dead. It had been quite some time, 16 years in fact, since the Dead had performed in Golden Gate Park, so when the band took the stage, expectations were high for something special to occur. The set kicked off with Bob Weirs Hell in a Bucket, to warm things up. An unusual choice to open, but the crowd embraced it and were up dancing right away. This reaction inspired the band and they followed this with one of their all-time psychedelic crowd pleasers, China Cat Sunflower which segued into I Know You Rider. The transitional jam between the two was filled with fire and featured focused interplay between the front line of Garcia, Lesh, and Weir. Blues Travelers extraordinarily gifted harmonica player and frontman, John Popper, was the first special guest to join in, with his bluesy harp adding considerably to a strong rendition of Wang Dang Doodle. In the middle of the set by the Grateful Dead, the final full set of the day, the audience was surprised to see Creedence Clearwater Revival leader John Fogerty take the stage. His showcase set, which featured four CCR classics backed by The Dead, should have been one of the peak musical moments of this memorable day. His set unquestionably delighted the audience and the band had some fun backing him on such classic hits as Green River, Bad Moon Rising, and Proud Mary, but, unfortunately, his guitar was horribly out of tune and turned way down in the mix, reducing his set to less than it could have been. His distinctive vocals, however, sounded great and the joy of hearing Garcia noodle around on these particular songs was still a lot of fun for all concerned. After a special showcase fronted by John Fogerty, the band gets back to business and its here that they give it their all. Beginning with a strong rendition of Truckin, they begin to truly hit their stride. A nice up-tempo jam ensues following the verses and they take off into a nice improvisation. At approximately the eight minute mark, the band begins rhythmically hinting at The Other One which they tear into a few minutes later. Although not as exploratory as this piece could be, there is some fine jamming nonetheless and this eventually eases into a remarkably strong version of Wharf Rat. This song was often very slow during the past decade, but here they take it at a similar tempo as the memorable released take from 20 years prior. Its a fine performance with beautiful guitar work from Garcia, packed with emotion. This sequence is the pinnacle of their performance this day. At the close of Wharf Rat, the band fumbles a bit as Weir leads them into the coda of Sugar Magnolia, Sunshine Daydream to end the set. This unusual segue actually had a unique purpose, as the debut show of the Oakland run that proceeded this performance opened with Sugar Magnolia, but did not include the Sunshine Daydream coda, thus its inclusion here served to sandwich the entire previous week between the two parts of this song. When the band returns for an encore, Neil Young is among them. He says to the audience, We got a letter here from Bob. Its too big to read so were gonna have to play and sing it for you. He then leads the group through Dylans Forever Young, with Graham Nash and Kris Kristofferson lending a hand on background vocals. Its a poignant performance that was a brilliant choice to feature near the end of the days festivities. The Dead close things off with their own anthem of survival, Touch of Grey, with its message of we will get by. 01 Introduction (1:06) 02 Hell In A Bucket (6:02) 03 China Cat Sunflower (6:00) 04 I Know You Rider (5:38) 05 Wang Dang Doodle (5:44) 06 Born In The Bayou (4:06) 07 Green River (3:11) 08 Bad Moon Rising (2:34) 09 Proud Mary (3:39) 10 Truckin (8:09) 11 The Other One (7:54) 12 Wharf Rat (8:24) 13 Sunshine Daydream (4:41) 14 Forever Young (6:48) 15 Touch Of Grey (7:44) Jerry Garcia - lead guitar, vocals Bob Wier - rhythm guitar, vocals Phil Lesh - bass, vocals Vince Welnick - keyboards, vocals Bill Kreutzmann - drums Mickey Hart - drums Guests John Fogerty - vocals guitar John Popper - harmonica Neil Young - vocals, guitar Graham Nash - backing vocals Kris Kristofferson - backing vocals
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 22:03:46 +0000