We've had so much fun doing the pilgrimage to Port Chester to see Phil Lesh and Friends that we were psyched to do it again this year when another "Philoween" run was announced. As was the story last year, he was planning to do three sets of three shows each, culminating with a show on Halloween itself. We did the same thing too, and got tickets to the middle set of three, as the dates worked for us and we figured they would be the best in terms of getting good seats. In fact we did get pretty good seats during the usual online scrum, in the center of the center balcony for each night.
The big question was, whom was he going to play with this year? They finally announced the lineups near the end of Summer and we may have lucked out on this. The first set of three shows featured Mikaela Davis, John Scofield, Grahame Lesh, Eric Krasno, Karl Denson, Ian Neville, Steve Molitz, and Alex Koford. The third set will feature Grahame, Krasno, Marcus King, Duane Betts, Nicki Bluhm, Jason Crosby, and Tony Leone. Both of these are great lineups. But the middle set we were going to see had Grahame, John Medeski (whom we'd somehow never seen), John Molo, Rick Mitarotonda from Goose, and the trio of Natalie Cressman, Jennifer Hartswick, and James Casey, who form the beyond-excellent horn section of the Trey Anastasio Band.
Late October snuck up on us, but we're practiced at this go-to-Port Chester thing and got sandwiches, chips, beer, cider, orange juice, granola bars, and more beer in the cooler and hit the road South on a beautiful but nippy Fall Friday, the 21st of the month. We'd gotten a cheap hotel that had to be better than the one we'd had last Fall or the one we'd gotten in Hartford this Summer. But wait a minute, how *much* better? We'd had some pretty gruesome hotel experiences lately and so at the last second we cancelled the cheap hotel after reading horrible reviews and went for the known thing, the Hampton Inn in Stamford.
Took a bit of a scenic route down to deepest, darkest Connecticut, since we've seen enough of the Pike and 84 to last a long time. Drove South down 95, around Providence on 295, and then along the coast West on 95 through Connecticut, with the traffic getting worse and worse, and the South Conn cities started up and we approached the New York vortex. The North-bound lanes were one big traffic jam by early afternoon, but we kept moving, dodging some frantic and some plodding Connecticut drivers and getting to exit 7 in Stamford just as the South-bound lanes came to a dead stop. Great timing, and we only had a few hours to kill before the show, settling into our nice 4th-floor room and having a couple of beers to get ready.
Off to Port Chester and guess what? We parked behind Kiosko and had another great Mexican dinner there (I figured I was hungry so I went for their half-chicken in verde sauce, amazing and I ate it all!). Then off to the Cap, checked out the merch table (we got t-shirts), and up to our center balcony seats. We were back, and they had another great light show, painting the alcoves in an art deco-esque wallpaper while a bouncing squirrel rotated around the walls.
But in other ways, this wasn't your normal Friday night experience. The crowd filled in pretty much on time and the place was totally packed. On other occasions we'd seen stretches of empty seats in the Cap on Fridays, probably they were sold but the people couldn't make it there after a busy week. But this was absolutely wall to wall and the people were seemingly all there to see a concert!?! Sometimes there are large numbers of attendees on their phones/talking throughout and/or so stoned they could barely stand, especially on Fridays. This was a polite crowd paying rapt attention. Probably another benefit of going for the middle set of shows.
So anyway, it was Medeski on the left with two Leslies, a huge organ, two keyboards, and a huge monitor, Mitarotonda with an extensive row of filters/pedals on the floor next, Molo in the back, Grahame up front, Phil to his left, and then the TAB Three on the right side of the stage. Phil had the same computer setup, but two big speakers with one horn each rather than one huge one, he could turn around and be right in front of Molo, their low end was fantastic and a huge part of the sound. And being right next to Grahame enabled those two to huddle when they needed to and for Phil to give him directions directly instead of gesticulating angrily.
RickM was an unknown quantity for us but quickly proved that he's a great GD guitarist. Grahame is great too but somehow seems to improve every time we see him. It's no wonder he was up front, if not for the old guy at the top of the bill, he was the glue that held the band together and he was the one everyone watched for the changes. Rick and Grahame seemed to usually be playing similar tones with their guitars and this worked fantastically, the interplay between the two was another highlight, especially with Phil egging them on and Molo punctuating their verses. Medeski was amazing himself, playing a great piano on some songs but just dropping jaws with his organ work, sometimes being a fourth to the amazing horn section and sometimes weaving himself in with the guitars.
What a band! And I haven't even started on the horns yet. Here's the first set:
- Here Comes Sunshine
- Tennessee Jed
- Big River
- Dancing In the Street (Jennifer)
- Scarlet Begonias
- Dancing In the Street
- Fire On the Mountain (James)
They started with one of my favorite songs and blew us away. Natalie (trombone), Jennifer (trumpet), and James (alto sax) all had mikes on their horns, but also had mike stands in front of them and boy, did they join in on vocals! This was what blew us away the most, when they'd all be singing their hearts out on backup behind Grahame or Rick. And on the choruses all of them would sing together, at times it was six vocalists (counting Phil, who only took a few lead vocals) and the sound was so awesome.
And then they would play those horns! The TAB Three was what I was really looking forward to and did they bring it. The horns could have been higher in the mix, particularly Natalie and James (who didn't solo on sax all night, unusual for a sax in a rock band), but they were playing some great stuff and sure knew how to jam, as well as playing their charts when it was their turn. Other Phil&F bands we've seen have seemed a little ill-rehearsed, especially on their first night. But this was the tightest of bands right from the start. Rick was not about to make a bad move in his big chance on stage with Phil, the horns seemed instantly comfortable from their many times with Trey, and of course the Johns, Grahame, and Phil are so experienced and more than solid.
That first set was extraordinary, it just took off like a rocket. And after a great Grahame vocal on Big River (though he got some verses mixed up), Jennifer in a brown print dress took us even higher. She sang Dancing In the Streets in a coloratura style that can't be described and she made our ears ring. The sound in the Cap is great, and they sure gave that hall a workout with the ensemble vocals and above all, her reaching for the highest notes at full volume. And after each incredible verse she'd bring her trumpet up to her lips and play an impossible lead with more notes to it than you could count. How did she do that? What a musician! They segued into Scarlet, and then went back into Dancing when that was done!?! This was the loudest ovation of the night, when she finished that reprise. We were all on our feet and screaming, what a performance! She had to take a stiff little bow afterwards, like Judge breaking the homer record. And then it was James' turn, singing a sly, mellow, reggae-tinted lead to Fire to complete the set.
Wow, were we impressed! I was less tired than I'd expected at that point after an already long day, and that had been such an exciting first set. It was a long break though, and the second set didn't start until well after nine. Could they continue the momentum of the first set? Yup:
- Ship Of Fools
- Cassidy (Natalie and Grahame)
- St. Stephen
- The Eleven
- Dark Star
- The Other One
- Dark Star
- Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad
- And We Bid You Goodnight
A little strange to start with a ballad, but this featured some of the best vocals of the night, with the whole band crooning, "It was later than I thought..." They were right on top of their sound. Natalie is a bit of a fidgety musician, always adjusting her mike, playing with her instrument, and adjusting her music stand. We could tell from her mannerisms that it was going to be her turn next, and she did a fantastic duet with Grahame on Cassidy. Grahame was up front, but Natalie soon took over the vocal tone, and gave Cassidy a country lilt that I've always heard in the song but that rarely comes out. She sang, "On the country miles in his Cadillac" like it was a Gram Parsons song, not a hippy idyll.
And then the dragons really came out! This was the hugest of jams, encompassing some of the best songs ever. How can they follow this up in the next two shows of the weekend? Don't know what to say except that The Eleven was incredibly tight and precise, Dark Star was split between three vocalists as is Phil's custom, the third being Jennifer who took it to the roof again, and TOO was jaw-droppingly unexpected. They finished by going back into the second half of Dark Star and then wandering far off the reservation, to my ear touching on Cryptical and Big RR Blues before settling into the easy lope and sing-along of GDTRFB.
Just amazing stuff. The crowd had shown signs of getting a bit tired during the huge jam, but everybody was back on their feet and singing along with GDTRFB, and then they slowed down and dropped into Bid You Goodnight. The crowd was in full voice and Phil realized we were a bit off the beat. They were slowing it down and Phil graciously stepped up and conducted us all as the tempo changed. What an end to the show!
Had to sit down for a bit after that, but soon we were all back on our feet for Phil's donor rap. He introduced the band after huddling with Grahame and probably trying to practice "Mitarotonda." He blew it anyway, but got everyone else's name right! And then they encored with a beautiful Brokedown Palace, with another great lead vocal by Rick, and showcasing their powerful ensemble vocals.
Sat down again for a minute, but then braved the crowd down the elegant staircase in the Cap and out onto the street. Back to the car and then not a bad drive back to Stamford, where we decompressed and then got to bed. It's going to be a long weekend!
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