Slightly better sleep at the Days Inn on Tuesday night, but still not optimal, especially with the light through the windows and the other guests packing up and leaving at 5AM. Oh well, at least we had soap now! The coffee was as above average as ever and we tapped some of our cache of PB&B sandwiches instead of the cheap chocolate breakfast. The WiFi was working as well as ever though, and we downloaded an aud from last night, had a few coffees, and thought about what we'd do that day.
We didn't want an adventurous hike like the one we'd done Tuesday, since we didn't want to get all tired out before a third concert in a row (rock concerts are hard!). And we were kind of fascinated by the glimpses of the Hudson River and the Tappan Zee bridge we'd seen the day before. Looking on the map I saw that there was a walkable-but-still-incomplete riverwalk in Tarrytown: the Westchester Riverwalk is planned to extend for 50 miles North from Yonkers but is very incomplete at this point except for stretches in Tarrytown and Croton-on-Hudson. We weren't sure if it went under the bridge, but decided to check it out and at some point detour into town for lunch.
The Tappan Zee is a section of the Hudson River which abuts Tarrytown on the East and is the widest part of the river, extending up to 3 miles across. "Tappan Zee" is a weird mashup of American Indian and Dutch words (as are many place names around there) that basically means, "sea where the Tappan tribe lives." A bridge was built across it in the mid-50s and then replaced in 2017, and this bridge carries a *lot* of traffic. I've been over it more times than I want to remember, usually through thick traffic. The bridges have been named after various politicians, but this changes. Why did they build a bridge across the widest part of the river?? I have no idea.
Anyway, we saddled up and drove the few miles over to Tarrytown, where we wound through downtown and around the train station and parked in Pierson Park, with some helpful advice from a resident about what lots to avoid so we didn't get a ticket. This was a wonderful place on another beautiful but breezy Fall day. The temperature was unseasonably warm that day and the timing for seeing the riverside park was fabulous.
We started South first and followed the riverwalk around the yacht clubs and the city recreation building and past Losee Park. The sun was brilliant in a blue sky, the river was whipped up into whitecaps, and the visibility over to the West side and both North and South were incredible. After a mile or so we were almost under the bridge but the trail petered out ... it would have had to cross back over the busy railroad tracks to continue to the next section, which they'll figure out someday. But right there was the large but almost deserted Washington Irving Boat Club, and they had signs out saying that their patio was open for lunch, stop in and have a beer! So we did.
Another great Tarrytown lunch, this time on a patio at the edge of the river, and with a view that couldn't be beat. We could see the skyline of Manhattan 30 miles to the South, the cliffs along the Hudson on the other side, and the majestic new bridge towering over us all. The patio just had a few other parties at the scattered tables (must be mobbed in mid-summer), and the sun and temperature were great, kept bearable by the constant breeze.
After lunch we headed North past Pierson Park and up another mile or so to the Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse in Edge-on-Hudson. Armies of gardeners were planting flowers, bushes, and grasses along the riverwalk through that section, and this will probably be a fantastic place to visit when they're done, though now it's a bit of a construction site. There are fancy condos all along there and we fantasized about how nice it would be to live on a beautiful riverwalk with such great views, in walking distance from the train station that gets you to NYC in an hour. But then we realized that the constant hum from the traffic on the bridge would drive us crazy and the best condos were going for $2MM.
At one point a bug hopped out of a bush and we saw it was a praying mantis. We paused to look at it and a woman walking her little white dog stopped too. We said to her, "Look, it's a praying mantis!" She gave a shrug and said, "Just watch out for the rats along here!" Then she walked away and tossed back over her shoulder, "I'm serious!" She should probably move back to the city.
OK, time to get going and head back to the hotel, where I tried to take another afternoon nap, to no avail. Soon we were getting ready to go and then we were off, back to Port Chester and the Kiosko.
This time they were slightly less surprised to see us again, but our usual table was taken. Another FOD joined us for dinner, and it was another great one, though this time I couldn't finish my quesadillas de la casa. Down to the Cap for the last time on this visit and again, inside and up to our seats with no problem. We were again in the exact same seat numbers, but two rows farther from the stage.
This night they had the ceiling lit up with some shifting psychedelic patterns and the ambience was as good as ever. Still not sold out, but perhaps a little more crowded as we got closer to the weekend. Amy Helm was back in place of Elliott, and the stage setup was the same as always. The guys soon came out and started up the first set:
- Jack Straw
- When I Paint My Masterpiece
- Ship of Fools
- Peggy-O
- Tennessee Jed
- Touch of Grey
We were sure that they would play some real Phil stuff this evening, perhaps Dark Star or TOO or Caution/Lovelight, or at least Unbroken Chain or Mountains Of the Moon, and so were ready for the best concert of the set, though things didn't work out as we expected. They started with the classic intro to Jack Straw, which was done very well, with verses traded between all vocalists. Amy was back as good as ever.
Next up was one of Amy's best vocals of the set, a "The Band" version of Masterpiece that allowed her to emote better than Bobby ever has on this song. Johnson sang Ship Of Fools and again turned in a decent vocal. Then they did a great Peggy-O with Amy again dominating. Next they covered Tennessee Jed in the arrangement that Amy's father had recorded it in (on his Emmy-winning record), with Grahame turning in perhaps *his* best vocal of the set. The best part of this though was Kaufman just going nuts on the guitar lead, getting weirder and weirder before he threw it back to Grahame. Last song of the set was a well-done Touch, with Johnson on vocals.
So there we were, a little disappointed that they hadn't played any real extended jams yet, though they had stretched out all these songs. The setlists may look short, but the sets themselves were all pretty hefty. We were sure they'd do a Dark Star or a St. Stephen/The Eleven jam in the second set, but here's what we got:
- Truckin'
- So Many Roads
- Caledonia Mission
- Bird Song
- Let It Grow
- Stella Blue
- Rag Mama Rag
- Not Fade Away
- Morning Dew
Can't complain about Truckin', especially when it's followed by a juicy jam, and especially when sung with the enthusiasm Grahame and Amy brought to it. At the end of Truckin' we thought the jam could go anywhere and we were hoping for TOO. But instead it was followed by a very good So Many Roads, with Eric Johnson at his best. Next up was another "The Band" song sung by Amy and Grahame in tight harmony (though they're no Rick and Levon), and another song I thought I'd never hear live: Caledonia Mission. I've loved this song for years, a nice treat!
Bird Song (sung by Phil) and Let It Grow (Grahame) were well done, but we were beginning to realize that our highly-anticipated seamless second set jam was not going to make an appearance. However, these were followed by another tour de force from Amy, crooning Stella Blue with exquisite accompaniment. But then why did they do another The Band song sung by Johnson? He didn't sing Rag Mama Rag with any of the funkiness this song needs, and we were left wondering what he really contributed to this band, except for some nice harmonies.
The set was winding down and we thought we might get away without NFA, but that was next. This is a great song and some seminal rock 'n' roll, but to my ear the "audience participation" at the end of it is tired and boring. And one funny thing about this set was that Phil was a little testy. He had done some glaring at his son and at Joe earlier in the set, like they weren't doing their job of holding the band together, when it was his fucking band! He later got annoyed when Grahame wanted to go back into the verse in Bird Song before he did, and ended up almost stopping the song and trying to conduct. And then in NFA he wanted the crowd to sing louder and then wanted them to stop on a dime when he told them to stop. Crabby old man, but we love him!
And then after NFA we were treated to another great peak of the whole stand: Amy and Grahame duetting on Morning Dew. We'd seen the two of them do this before with Allison Russell, but this was a pure call and response between them in which Amy repeatedly asked plaintively why she couldn't go out in the morning dew, and Grahame would tell her gently to forget about it. And the best part was Grahame capping his excellent guitar work with a crescendo worthy of a Garcia, and then a final vocal coda.
Woohoo, that was just the best! Old Phil came out and did yet another donor rap that couldn't be beat, and then the band came back out and popped off one of the perfect Attics Of My Life that Grahame and Amy can do. Eric Johnson was the other part of the trio and he again showed what a great voice he can add to the right situation. Hard not to think of the first time we saw Amy do this, in the *hot* sun at Gathering Of the Vibes 2011, while pregnant fit to bust, with Larry and Teresa and also Bob Weir.
OMG, Phil was still puttering around with his equipment but it was time for us to say fare thee well and get back to reality. One of our Philcations down to the Cap can be so much fun, with its share of ups and downs but mostly the best ups. Back to the car and the hotel and perhaps this time a good night's sleep at the Days Inn? Dream on!
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