I’d be remiss not to comment on the big news in the (Grateful) Dead world. As you probably already know, Bobby Weir & Phil Lesh, coming off the now-completed Dead reunion tour, have announced that they’re forming a new band called Furthur and will be playing three shows in Oakland, CA soon (9/18-20/2009).
The band will feature Phil Lesh (bass and Munster vocals) and Bobby Weir (rhythm guitar and cowboy vocals). Joining them will be Jeff Chimenti (keys) and Jay Lane (drums) from RatDog. Since one drummer is never enough, also playing will be Joe Russo from the Benevento/Russo Duo (a jazzy-jam combo that opened for Phil during the Summer 2006 tour). But the big news is that John Kadlecik will be taking over the lead guitar-vocals slot.
Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of John Kadlecik. He’s better known as “Jerry” in the successful Grateful Dead cover band Dark Star Orchestra.
Now, I’ve never seen DSO live, but I’ve heard that they do an amazing job reproducing the sound and feel of old Grateful Dead shows. And people in the know say that John does a perfect Jerry imitation – both his singing and playing.
But is this a good idea? Let’s look at some pros and cons:
Pro: Bobby and Phil are clearly getting along well enough to play together again. That’s always good news.
Con: They’ve spent 14 years consciously avoiding putting Jerry-a-likes on stage. Why now?
Pro: The 2009 Dead tour was underwhelming (here’s my Worcester review,) so going in a different direction is probably a good move.
Con: Where’s Bruce Hornsby? I love Chimenti but dammit, I want to see Hornsby back in a GD band. It’s been too long and he’s family, brah.
Pro: Warren Haynes was pretty solid last year, but I’m really looking forward to hearing someone try to nail the fragility and passion of Garcia’s vocals.
Con: No offense to Jay Lane, but where are the Rhythm Devils at? I guess if Billy and Mickey were in it would really be an attempted GD reunion, but what about John Molo?
Pro: Might we get some new material? It’s been a long time since ‘Banyan Tree’ came out!
Con: It looks like that long-awaited second RatDog studio album will be delayed yet again.
So what do you think about Furthur?
###
garceega // Sep 15, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I am excited for Furthur. I like the idea. I actually hope the addition of JK means they’re going to try and sound more dead-like this go around. I didn’t dislike Warren but I didn’t love him either. Wasn’t crazy about Jackie Greene. Hopefully this is about bringin’ it back home a little. I Agree about the drummers. Why not the core four and fake Jerry? I’d be in. And I couldn’t agree more on Hornsby. I’ve been beatin’ that drum for years. He’s more of a family member than Vince to me.
Kenny B // Sep 15, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I think I’m not travelling Further than the Orpheum to see these guys this time!
Mitch // Sep 15, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Why? You’ve always claimed that they’re a nostaglia act, now they’ll probably be a really good nostaglia act. Wooster, you’re driving, Irish Times, be there!
Kenny B. // Sep 16, 2009 at 6:42 am
Orpheum…yes. Lowell Auditorium…yes. Agganis Arena…yes. Worcester…absolutely NOT!!!!!
Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. (translation: bring your own beer and food next time you go to Worcester for a show).
BL // Sep 17, 2009 at 8:27 pm
As for the lead guy from DSO, he is awesome. I have caught them a bunch of times, but not since college as I don’t think they make out of the midwest much…
Mitch // Sep 24, 2009 at 8:55 am
Okay. Now that I’ve listened to 9/18 & 9/20 I’m happy to report that the Furthur experiment is a success. John certainly has the Jerry guitar tone down pat and it’s a treat to hear that sound again. His vocals are good (not quite Garcia level, but solid). Jay and Joe are impressive on percussion and Jeff is great as always.
I’d like to see this line-up get a few more shows under their belt and hopefully they’ll head out East soon.
Here’s a link to the the 9/20 show on archive, for streaming or downloading:
http://www.archive.org/details/furthur2009-09-20.MilabVM44.flac.16
Kenny B // Sep 24, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I listened to the 9/20 show. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it was excellent! I even liked the new Phil tune “Welcome to the Dance”. Love John’s guitar and vocals. More tour dates please.
Rick Lee // Feb 8, 2010 at 10:18 pm
I saw both the Miami and Orlando shows. I will now go WAY out on a limb. These were the best post-Jerry shows that are out there. John and Jeff were incredable – and Phil OMG. He was on fire. The audiance was pretty much in a ‘best show’ mood afterwords. Bobby even got most of the words right!
Guyer Goodnow // Feb 20, 2010 at 7:35 pm
Was at U Mass Amherst last night. By far the best combination of musicians to date to resurrect the Dead. Would have loved to have seen Mickey and Billy but was not disappointed in the least with Jay and Joe, they were great. It’s probably just a nostalgia thing. And Jeff on the keys? Perfect.
JK just nails the missing element post Jerry. Closed my eyes a couple of times and thought Jerry was up on stage based on both vocals and guitar. Oddly, I felt a little sad in one sense in that I was hearing Jerry but he wasn’t there.
And for the record, I am no expert Dead analyst but would add that I lost count of the number of show I have been to after +/- 60 and my first show was almost 31 years ago. This is the real deal folks.
Concert Review: Furthur in Manchester, NH, 2/18/10 // Oct 12, 2010 at 3:15 pm
[...] months ago I asked the question, “Is it a good idea for Bobby & Phil to go Furthur?” My fear was that they would finally, fatally turn the Dead into a nostalgia act by including [...]