Yikes, another wonderful weekend journey to the Phil Island! Phil had had such a great band with him last Fall, and we were delighted to learn that he'd have a very similar band for his 83rd birthday celebration in Spring 2023. Don't know how long he can keep going ... or how long we can, three day rock and roll weekends are becoming a little stressful.
On his actual birthday, March 15, he played at the Cap with exactly the same super-band he'd had with him in the Fall, including Natalie Cressman and Jennifer Hartswick. We didn't go down for that, but went for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday shows (the 17th-19th). The band consisted of Phil and son Grahame, John Medeski, Rick Mitarotonda, John Molo, James Casey, and instead of Natalie and Jennifer we got Nicki Bluhm and Katie Jacoby.
Tickets went fast, but we got good balcony seats and rooms at the same Hampton Inn in Stamford that we'd stayed at before. We decided to plan for a more mellow weekend this time, and brought some board games with us. We like the hotel in Stamford, but wish the beds were bigger (they're doubles).
And this was another weekend of musical excellence. I don't know if anything can surpass the shows we saw in Fall 2022, but these were excellent in their own right, though perhaps a little more up and down.
Picked up Dave in early afternoon on Friday the 17th (after getting another COVID booster and a pneumonia shot that morning) and headed Southwest on a chilly and windy late-Winter day. This time we took 295 and then jogged West on route 6 over to 395 in Connecticut, and then down to Norwich where we met back up with 95 into the maw of Western Connecticut. And quite a maw it is. Over the course of the weekend we saw lots of outrageously dangerous behavior on the roads, more the closer we got to the big cities, and lots of traffic congestion, most of which we were able to avoid luckily. Got to the hotel in Stamford eventually and had some time to relax before heading out to the show.
Parked and ate at Kiosko of course and then squeezed into center balcony seats in the Cap. Not long before the band came on, with Nicki and then Katie to Phil's left. Nicki, Katie, and James were pretty close together but each had a distinct station, and each made a distinct, and excellent, contribution to the band.
We'd seen James back in the Fall, but he actually shone more without teammates Natalie and Jennifer, taking quite a number of vocal leads and playing some rocking sax. The crowd *loved* him and gave him the loudest and longest ovations all weekend. I'd seen Nicki with Phil, but this time she did not just sit back and play the role of chick singer. She was perhaps the most important harmony singer on the stage, watching Grahame like a hawk to make doubly certain she got the timings just right. She played some excellent percussion, but she shone most on her leads, not only singing well but also getting the band and the crowd to follow her moves. She was quite a dynamic front person on those songs.
And I was a little concerned about Katie at the start. I've seen her several times in small ensembles and been very impressed by her in that setting. I admit you've got to have some stage presence to be part of the Who's touring band (as she is), but I didn't know how well she'd hold up in a large psychedelic rock band. But any reservations I had were put to rest by the middle of the first song. She stuck to her fire-engine red, V-bodied violin all weekend, and she rocked as much or more as anyone else on stage. And boy did she bring the creativity and the psychedelics! Several jams featured amazing extended interplay between Rick on the left, Grahame next to him shredding away, and Katie over on the right, bent over her fiddle and staring at them like, "Is this a competition? 'Cause if it is, try this on for size guys!" And you could tell that the big man in the middle loved it.
Here's the first set:
- Casey Jones
- Althea
- Friend of the Devil
- Here Comes Sunshine
- Easy Wind
- U.S. Blues
- Truckin'
Fantastic first set and, as I say, Katie was just dominant. But the song of the set was Easy Wind, on which Nicki *took over,* not only belting it out with a great blues growl but also getting the crowd to sing along and meandering over between the guitarists to dance and egg them on.
Also have to mention John Medeski. When we'd seen them in Fall 2022 one slight criticism was that he wasn't mixed well. But over this weekend we were treated to lots of Medeski, not only very well amplified and mixed piano but also some extended organ leads, which were a great addition to the ensemble sound.
The rest of the band was as good as ever. Molo was in top form, Grahame was in fine voice and continues to excel on guitar, playing a couple of classic rhythm parts and matching Rick on the dual leads. And what can you say about Phil? He only took a couple of leads and needed lots of backup support on those, but he was as nimble, powerful, and spacey as he's ever been on bass. I've never heard anyone play bass like that guy.
Well I was impressed. Silly me to have a Phil band exceed my expectations once again, but they sure did. Pretty long set break (maybe Phil needed a nap?? I could have used one), and then the second set was even better:
- Passenger
- New Speedway Boogie
- Dear Prudence
- Cold Rain and Snow
- He's Gone
- The Music Never Stopped
- Viola Lee Blues
- Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad
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