The Dead toured in 2009. Downloads are
available for each of the shows in MP3 of flac formats. The
shows are $14.50 each for MP3 and $16.50 for flac. They have
some packages at discounts too, including the whole
tour.
The Band
Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
Phil Lesh - bass, vocals
Bill Kreutzmann - drums, percussion
Mickey Hart - drums, percussion
Warren Haynes - guitar, vocals
Jeff Chimenti - keyboards
Tour dates
From Dead.net: (Some excellent material posted at
Dead.net. I linked to some of my favorites, I posted Blair
Jackson's essay below too.)
* David
Lemieux's tour archive
* Press
reports from the 2009 tour.
* Video
clips from the tour
* Blair Jackson - Everybody’s
Dancin’! Some Reflections of The Dead’s Spring Tour. --
Blair's top 5
shows
"Back in the mid- and late 1980s,
when my wife, Regan, and I used to put out a Grateful Dead
fanzine called The Golden Road, our day jobs prevented us from
going on the road as much as we liked, so we used to rely on
friends to call and give us blow-by-blow show reports. We’d
be working at our drafting tables putting together our
magazine at 11 or midnight and the phone would ring: “It’s
The Call!” And sure enough, there would be one our buddies,
at 2 or 3 a.m. Philly time, on the other end. “Buddy… what
a show… let’s see if I can piece this together…” and
in his post-show haze he’d struggle to reconstruct the set
list, which he hadn’t bothered to write down of course,
punctuating it with little details along the way: “I kinda
missed the ‘West L.A.’ because the girl in front of me
passed out, and the medics were dealing with her during the
whole song”; “Out of the ‘Terrapin’ they went into
this jam where I thought they might go into ‘Dark Star,’
but nope, Jerry takes off his guitar and it’s ‘Drums’,
which was amazing!” It was a blast getting to experience
these shows vicariously until the tapes started trickling in
during the weeks following the tour.
Gee, how things have changed! No late night
calls were necessary to follow the action on The Dead’s
latest tour (though we still got a couple of calls anyway, and
that was Big Fun). Instead I was usually able to go onto
dead.net or Deadnet Central and get the setlist as it went
down live, often with opinions and commentary in real time:
“Looks like there’s a ‘China Cat’ coming! Nope, they
veer into ‘Uncle John’s!’ Yay!” (Of course, if I owned
an iPhone, I could’ve had set lists, streaming audio and pix
at my fingertips. Time for me to join the 21st century, I
guess!) Three of the concerts—first night in Worcester,
second night in Philly, and The Gorge—were broadcast live on
Sirius Radio, so I got to hear those in the comfort of my own
home, and excellent audience recordings of most shows were up
on archive.org within a day or two, and that was a really cool
way to keep up with the action. To my eternal regret I was
only able to go to one show—first Shoreline, which had an
outstanding second set—but through archive.org and also
buying several of the superb soundboard recordings, I’ve
managed to hear nearly everything by now.
And what a tour it was! I think it’s safe
to say that it greatly exceeded most people’s expectations,
and many believe that it was overall the strongest of the
post-Garcia Dead tours. Why? Let me count the ways:
It starts with the Core Four! The
rapprochement that began even before the Dead Heads for Obama
show back in the winter of ’08 was real and has stuck. They
appear to be getting along better than they have in many
years, and they all seemed to be thoroughly dedicated to
putting in the rehearsal time both before and during the tour
to make sure that everyone was on the same page musically.
This has been part of Phil’s M.O. with his
own bands for a number of years: They rehearse often and have
long soundchecks; with the fundamentals solidified, they are
then freer to improvise with confidence. Train wrecks were few
and far between on this tour. Phil is obviously in love with
that crazy new bass he’s been playing, and who can blame him—it
sounds phenomenal. Bob seems utterly relaxed and confident,
and I thought he and Warren often gelled in ways that were
very reminiscent of Bob and another guitarist you all know…
Bill and Mickey played spectacularly—both
with the band and during their amazing Rhythm Devils segments,
many of which were centered around specific sonic motifs and
space concepts. (This felt like an outgrowth of sorts of
Mickey’s recent Global Drum Project tours, where Mickey and
his percussion cohorts, aided by electronics wizard Jonah
Sharp, explored various textural ideas that were rooted in
some fixed composed structures.) For the first time ever, the
“Drums” and “Space” segments were plotted out around
certain themes. (In Jay Blakesberg’s fine photo books from
the tour—available from blurb.com/thedead, the themes for
each show are named in the set lists.) Some of the percussion
ones were played several times (though with much variation, of
course—this is still improvising on the fly), such as the
“Obama Funk Jam,” which interspersed samples of Barack and
others with some electronic legerdemain, “Music of the
Roaring Seas” and “Magma”; while the “Space” jams
were keyed around various celestial bodies and events: “Star
Drone,” "Cosmic Debris,” “The Big Bang,” “Heartbeat
of the Sun” and various jams named after planets.
Both drummers obviously benefited from being
in good road shape—Bill was limber from playing so many
shows the past year-plus with his great trio, and Mickey
toured with the Global Drum Project and his eponymous, more
song-oriented band. There were also all sorts of cool samples
from the natural world and vocal samples from Africa and Asia
which were all-enveloping (and which sound wonderful on the
soundboard recordings). I give Mickey extra points for
selflessly surrendering the vocal mike that obviously gave him
such pleasure with the Other Ones and on the Dead tours of ’03
and ’04, and going back to being a percussionist
extraordinaire exclusively. He and Bill played with tremendous
power, clarity and sensitivity when it was required.
High Fives to the Other Guys! Keyboardist
Jeff Chimenti has really come into his own the last few years.
Anyone who paid attention to what he was doing with The Dead
in ’04—and to what he does with RatDog all the time—was
probably not surprised to hear him stepping out so effectively
on this latest tour. But he was also given more opportunities
for solos and he stepped into the fray and took solos, too,
and he was always up to the challenge. His marvelously
sympathetic organ and piano work provided the perfect
coloration for so many songs, and he was at the wheel driving
many a jam, as well.
As for Warren… well, he certainly rose to
the occasion under the pressure of being the guy on this tour,
without a second lead player backing him up. He took the time
to really learn all the significant parts and signpost riffs,
but he still put his own spin on things (outrageous slide!)
and wasn’t afraid to diverge from the well-worn pathways
carved by Garcia and others. And my own personal view (YMMV,
needless to say) is that there is no one I’d rather hear
tackling Garcia’s songs than Warren. He has truly
internalized them—even the heaviest ballads—and he
delivers them with unbridled passion and understanding. Check
out what he does with “High Time” and “Comes A Time,”
among others. That he can play so well in three bands (Dead,
Mule, Allmans) is nothing short of remarkable; we’re so
lucky to have him!
Variety is the Spice of Life! Thanks to the
ongoing lists of Mr. Zomby Wulf on dead.net, we know that The
Dead played roughly 150 songs (not counting “Drums” and
“Space”) in just 22 shows—a stupendous achievement! No
song was played more than five times, and 40 (or so; I suck at
counting) were played only once. There were lots of intriguing
left-field choices along the way, touching every phase of the
Grateful Dead’s long career… okay, I guess it was a ripoff
they didn’t play “Day Job,” “Money Money” or “Barbed
Wire Whipping Party.” (Dare to dream, y’all!)
And what’s more, any song could turn up at
any time. For the last few years, both Phil and Bob have been
pretty good about abandoning the Grateful Dead’s rather
formulaic approach to constructing set lists—where most
songs generally appeared in the same spots in either the first
or second sets. But even so, it was still somewhat shocking to
find a “Stella Blue” or “Black Peter” in a first set
(Buffalo and L.A. respectively), “Scarlet-Fire” as an
encore (Shoreline), “Drums” and “Space” to open a
second set (Madison Square Garden), and so on. With much of
the traditional “first set” material mostly ignored
(cowboy songs, blues covers), the band really delivered their
best, most popular and jammiest stuff night after night, as
well as really nailing a lot of their lesser-known songs,
including Phil’s “Pride of Cucamonga” and “King
Solomon’s Marbles.” You couldn’t even take for granted
that the person you were expecting to sing a song on a given
night would be the one to actually step up to the mike.
At different shows, Bobby or Warren might sing “Morning Dew”
or “Days Between” or “Scarlet Begonias.” On some songs
they’d trade verses—Bobby singing the first verse of “Bird
Song,” Warren the second; or Warren singing “Lady with a
Fan” and Bob taking over at the “Terrapin Station” part
of the suite (“Inspiration…”). A nice touch.
Acoustic sets were few and far between but
mostly appreciated by those who got to see them. Someday this
band should consider doing an acoustic tour of smaller halls
where that kind of music could really shine. But even in these
cavernous environs, you had to love Bob’s alternately
ethereal and roaring “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and
Warren’s great take on Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic.”
Everybody’s Playing in the Heart of Gold
Band! It had been five years since The Dead toured, and even
though Phil Lesh & Friends and RatDog and Mickey’s
groups have done so much to keep the flame burning and the
Dead Head Family together and dancing, there was something
about these shows that made them feel like a reunion of sorts.
There were lots of folks who hadn’t seen each other in years
(and that tended to make the first sets most nights social
occasions as much as musical ones, for better and worse). But
there were also lots of newcomers—younger Heads who never
saw the Grateful Dead, but who have clearly “gotten it,”
either through the post-Jerry bands, or listening to
recordings of Dead shows they got from friends, older siblings
or parents. Young and old seemed to enjoy themselves, and I,
for one, am cheered by the sight of new blood coming into the
scene!
* * *
And now, some subjective favorites from the tour; really tough
to pick among so much top-notch stuff. There were no truly
weak shows in my estimation, and probably half of them would
qualify as “really good” or “great.” Feel free to add
your own favorites below.
Five
(Yikes, Only Five?) Favorite Shows (in chronological
order)
1. 4/25/09, Madison Square Garden, New
Yawk
All right, back to a Gah-den one mo’ time! This was one of
the toughest tickets of the tour, for obvious reasons, and the
Dead came out with guns blazing (so to speak) to mow down the
frantic New York crowd. Actually, truth be told, this show
starts out weakly with a pretty awful (if heartfelt) “Cosmic
Charlie” (couldn’t sing it in ’69 or ’76; it’s worse
now). But all is forgiven once “China Cat” begins to
unfold, and then the show really takes off with “Shakedown
Street.” I love Warren’s faster take on “Ship of Fools,”
and Bob handles “Cassidy” with typical fluid grace. The
closing “Sugaree,” with Warren and Jeff all over that
thang, is truly epic.
The second set opens with—WTF???—“Drums”
and “Space” (or if you want to be technical about it, “Sphere
of Io” and “Magma”)! From there, on paper at least, it
looks like a psychedelic school bus ride through classic ’60s
Dead, but listen to it and there’s no mistaking that this is
today’s Dead. Dig: The “Cryptical Envelopment” is
actually part of the “Space,” with Phil singing over an
arhythmic electronic wash—much more like “What’s Become
of the Baby” than a traditional “Cryptical,” and
brilliantly realized. That’s followed by a careening “Other
One,” a nearly perfect “Born Cross-Eyed,” a long, very
meaty jam, and then “St. Stephen” (after all, “in and
out of the garden he goes”!) and “The Eleven,” both in
their more jammy, contemporary incarnations. But wait, they’re
just warmin’ up! How about an lazy “Uncle John’s” to
bring us back to earth, followed by a great “Unbroken Chain”
(one of the best songs of the tour IMHO, and I’m not even
that big a fan of it), and—WTF? Pt. 2—“Gimme Shelter,”
belted with authority by Mr. Haynes. Yikes, I’m drenched in
sweat just thinkin’ about it! (It’s another great
soundboard. Take a moment to salute live mixer Derek
Featherstone for a job very well done, in the hall and on
disc!)
2. 4/28/09 Izod Center, East Rutherford,
NJ
Sorry, but this will always be the Meadowlands to me (or the
Brendan Byrne Arena)—old habits die hard. Both of the Jersey
shows featured the great saxophonist Branford Marsalis sitting
in with the boys, and each night the music was spellbinding. I’m
going to go on the record right now and say that no outside
musician has fit in better with the Dead over the years.
Branford is confident enough to be a leader onstage on any
type of material, yet he is also a completely sympathetic
accompanist. His tone on tenor or soprano, his
adventurousness, and his melodic inventiveness made him a
perfect foil for Garcia the times they played together (Nassau
’90 being the most famous example), and he has fit in well
with post-Jerry lineups, too: If you haven’t heard his
playing on a Warren-sung “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”
or the Middle Eastern-flavored “Space” from Raleigh,
8/17/04, check it out. The guy is hands-down one of the great
improvisers of our time, so is it any wonder that he fits in
so well with The Dead?
At this show, Branford and company dig into
several of the same songs they tackled at Nassau in ’90, but
rather than sounding like they’re trying to recapture some
past glory, everything sounds utterly fresh and alive, from
the nearly 20-minute “Bird Song,” to “Fire on the
Mountain,” “Dark Star” (of course), “Eyes of the
World,” a wondrous “Space,” a brisk and honkin’ “Lovelight,”
and, my favorite of all, Miles Davis’ “Milestones,”
which really gives Branford and Jeff a chance to blow,
jazz-style. Wow! Don’t miss this one!
3. 5/2/09, The Spectrum, Philly
Both Philly shows are worth seeking, but this one gets the nod
because it was the last time The Dead will ever play the aging
arena, which is scheduled to fall to the wrecking ball shortly
(no doubt we’ll all be enjoying footage of its implosion on
YouTube up the road!) and they really pulled out all the stops
and kicked out the jams for a typically rabid local crowd.
The first set kicks off with “Saturday
Night” (always good as an opener) and includes a very nicely
rendered “Althea,” an emotional “He’s Gone” (we all
know who that’s about these days…) into an affirmative “Uncle
John’s,” and a rollicking “Mason’s Children”
complete with meaty jam, to close the set. Set Two rocks hard
from the get-go with “Good Lovin’” followed by “Cumberland,”
then sets sail on uncertain seas with “Cryptical Envelopment”
and “The Other One.” This show’s “Space” drifts into
the first of just two versions of “Morning Dew” on the
tour—nicely handled by Bob—and then the back end of the
show is killer: “St. Stephen,” “Revolution” (thank
you, Warren!) and finally “Help-Slip-Frank” to bring it on
home. There could only be one appropriate encore choice, and
thank God they made the right one: “Samson and Delilah”
had all 18,000 souls on hand screaming “If I had my way, I
would tear this old building down!” Whoo-ee! (Actually, that’s
not a bad idea—let Dead Heads do the demolition!)
4. 5/9/09, The Forum, Los Angeles
This just might be my favorite show of the tour, a total
winner from first note to last, with many an unexpected twist
and turn along this golden road. So, there they are in
glittering L.A., no doubt with celebrities in attendance—are
they gonna play the “hits,” maybe open with “Truckin’”
or some such? No, sir! Instead they jump off the high dive and
into “Viola Lee Blues,” jamming it out to Phil &
Friends proportions (i.e. a lot), and using that as a launch
pad into other songs: “VLB”> “Bertha,”> “VLB”
verse 2 > “Caution” > “VLB” verse 3 > “Black
Peter” (expertly sung by Warren). A
considerably-better-than-the-Garden-but-still-not-great
version of “Cosmic Charlie” ends the first set.
The second set is a fabulous set list played
really well, including another dynamite “Shakedown,” “New
Speedway Boogie,” “Scarlet-Fire,” “Dark Star”
sandwiched around a Warren-sung “Wharf Rat,” and then a
surprise closer: a rippin’ “Satisfaction” (followed by
the de riguer “Saturday Night” encore, also smokin’)!
5. 5/14/09, Shoreline Amphitheatre,
Mountain View, Calif.
OK, I really screwed up not going to this show. When this
second Shoreline concert was announced, I was still hurtin’
financially from the mail-in for the first one (5/10), so I
thought I’d skip this and save a few bucks. Big mistake: I
missed a really hot show. This is another one that is really
consistently strong top to bottom, but I’ve gotta say, it’s
the first set that really blows me away. I had wondered
whether Warren playing two shows with the Allman Brothers (I
went to the first; loved it!) at the beautifully restored Fox
Theatre in Oakland between Shoreline Dead concerts would
affect his playing at all. Hard to say exactly, but the little
jamlet preceding the opening “Jack Straw” sure sounds a
lot like (sweet) “Melissa” to me! There’s a kick-ass “Mason’s
Children” mid-set, then another fine “Ship of Fools”
(where Warren sings “49 years upon my head…”). Then Bob
goes into a fine “Standing on the Moon,” but right after
the bridge, instead of rolling into the next verse, it veers
into a full “Terrapin”! After a mini-jam at the end of
that tune, right on the beat, they go back into the last
couple of verses and coda of “Standing on the Moon.”
Totally cool!
The second set has more delights, including
a rare “Estimated” opener, the Anthem of the Sun duo of
“New Potato Caboose” and “Born Cross-Eyed,” a fine nod
to Brent Mydland (and Jerry) with “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” and
then, out of “Space,” “Morning Dew” with Warren on
lead vocals this time—it’s interesting to hear him try a
quiet ending for this song; I think it works. I seem to recall
there’s a very brief quotation of the Allmans’ “Mountain
Jam” between the set-concluding “China Cat-Rider” duo.
Then, in keeping with the previous Shoreline show’s triple
encore (“St. Stephen> The Eleven,” “Touch of Grey”),
the 5/14 show goes on for another half-hour or so with “Scarlet-Fire”
and “Deal.” Goooood stuff!
A Bunch of Cool Things From the Other Shows
Worth Checking Out
1. “Truckin’” from Greensboro, 4/12
2. “Dark Star”> “King Solomon’s
Marbles” from Washington, 4/12
3. “Crazy Fingers” from Charlottesville,
4/15
4. “Comes A Time” from Albany, 4/17
5. “Goin’ Down the Road” and “Mountains
of the Moon” from Worcester #1, 4/18
6. “Slipknot” > “Let It Grow”
> “Uncle John’s” from Worcester #2, 4/19
7. “Smokestack Lightning” and “Stella
Blue” from Buffalo, 4/21
8. “The Golden Road” from Wilkes-Barre,
4/22
9. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” from
Nassau, 4/24
10. “Tomorrow Never Knows” > “Black
Peter” from Hartford, 4/26
11. “Days Between” from Meadowlands #2,
4/29
12. “New Speedway Boogie” from Philly
#1, 5/1
13. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” from
Chicago #1, 5/4
14. “Weather Report Suite” from Chicago
#2, 5/5
15. “King Solomon’s Marbles” > “Stronger
Than Dirt” from Denver, 5/7
16. “Saint Stephen” > “The Eleven”
from Shoreline #1, 5/10
17. “Crazy Fingers” and “Dark Star”
(verse one) from The Gorge, 5/16
Four Other Shows I Wish I’d Attended
1. Greensboro; 2. Charlottesville; 3.
Worcester #2; 4. Philly #1"
Tour Dates 2009
