#shakedown street

[krispyweiss]

Song Review(s): Phil Lesh Quintet - “Night of a Thousand Stars,” “New Speedway Boogie,” “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “Shakedown Street” (Live, March 6, 2024)

A bunch of “Wheel” teases - that’s who the Phil Lesh Quintet are.

Taking the stage March 6 in New York, the band sung an a cappella section of the Grateful Dead number before rolling into “Night of a Thousand Stars” an original from its 2002 album, There and Back Again. A bit rushed, it was nevertheless a fine performance and a real treat to hear this long-neglected gem from Lesh’s small stable of self-penned material.

The same preference for sprightly tempos marked the version of “New Speedway Boogie” that followed on the band’s generous livestream sampler from the gig. Keyboardist Rob Barraco sung this one and the mid-song jam found the musicians slowly tearing the music apart, eventually devolving to the threads of formless, but not uninteresting, improvisation, before they pieced it back together for the final verse and a cappella conclusion.

A prime example of how post-Grateful, Dead music should be explored.

Warren Haynes was back on the mic for “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” another quickly paced number that found the singer engaging with fellow axeman Jimmy Herring in a thrilling inter-verse duel that continued until bassist Lesh and drummer John Molo nudged the Traffic song toward Jamaica and a reggae jam that eventually led to more vocals and the outro.

Haynes kept on singing when an atypically slow “Shakedown Street” emerged from the post-“Fantasy” silence. The song’s essential backgrounds were rough and the livestream faded before the track ended. Seemingly no great loss, given this “Shakedown” didn’t seem destined to seriously poke around, though Sound Bites’ll never know for sure.

No matter. In the nearly 55 minutes of music that the band gave away, it reinforced why its now-periodic reunions are so highly anticipated and why - when it was a going concern during the aughts - the PLQ was such a beloved institution.

Grade card: Phil Lesh Quintet - “Night of a Thousand Stars,” “New Speedway Boogie,” “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “Shakedown Street” (Live - 3/6/24) - B/B+/A-/I

3/7/24

[groovy-hippie-chick]

What a long strange trip it’s been! 🎼💐 Fare Thee Well !

[myimaginaryradio]

Shakedown Street - Grateful Dead

[fatalebridget]

I am creating a Grateful Dead tarot deck ✨⚡️

[headsnhippies]

RFK 1993

[paradoxal-kitten]

Got to live out my hippy fantasy at a dead show ✌🏻

[spilladabalia]

Grateful Dead - Shakedown Street

[quake402]

QUAKE: Scarien and Red Peak Sound

DUBWISE BIZNESS Last month, Sept 30th we were honored to host our good friends Darrien (Scarien) and Jack of Red Peak Sound. Both currently reside in CO and graced us with some serious soundbwoy bizness. Right on the heels of their epic sets at Infrasound, they proved once again that they are truly stand-up humans with amazing taste and skills to match. I was more than honored to welcome Scarien…

[cloudroutes]

Double Rainbow at Floydfest // Summer 2022

[kiralou02]

SPINNIN round n roundddddddddddd

[krispyweiss]

Song Review(s): Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring the Wolfpack - “Artificial Flowers,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Big Boss Man,” “Me and My Uncle” and “Shakedown Street” (Live, Dec. 17, 2023)

“I thought I remembered that one better than I did,” Bob Weir told the audience after yelping and slashing his way through a rough-and-tumble rendition of “Artificial Flowers” that found him forgetting lyrics; stopping and starting over; and generally embarrassing himself as he opened his Dec. 17 concert with Wolf Bros featuring the Wolfpack that was livestreamed from New York State.

Maybe things improved in the mid- to late-moments of the first and second sets. Perhaps they did not. In any event, the five-song giveaway epitomized a band having a bad night.

Bassist Don Was and drummer Jay Lane emerged after the solo-acoustic disaster to add skittering rhythm to “Friend of the Devil.” But with amateurish, wildly off-key vocals and an almost comical acoustic-guitar solo from Weir, the rhythm section’s presence didn’t really matter.

The addition of Jeff Chimenti’s piano on “Big Boss Man” resulted in the Bros actually sounding like a semi-professional band despite Weir’s clangy, abrasive electric-guitar tone.

Chimenti and Barry Sless overlaid sprightly solos on piano and pedal-steel guitar, respectively, during “Me and My Uncle. But the sloppy underpinning rendered their efforts for naught.

Which led to a poorly-sung, 10-piece rendition of “Shakedown Street,” on which the Wolfpack seemed to still be working on its horn and string arrangements. The music was therefore pockmarked with so many quiet holes, the buzz of the monitors bled into the livestream feed.

Grade card: Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring the Wolfpack - “Artificial Flowers,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Big Boss Man,” “Me and My Uncle” and “Shakedown Street” (Live - 12/17/23) - F/D/C+/C/C-

12/18/23

[myimaginaryradio]

Shakedown Street - The Grateful Dead - 1978

[fatalebridget]