Furthur at Marymoor Park

Silvie and I went to see the band Furthur at Marymoor Park on Saturday, 9/18. Furthur is Bob Weir and Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead, along with Jeff Chimenti on keyboards, Joe Russo on drums, Sunshine Becker and Jeff Pehrson on backing vocals, and, crucially, John Kadlecik on vocals and guitar. Kadlecik is the key addition to the latest post-Jerry version of the Dead. He was at the helm of Dark Star Orchestra, the leading GD tribute band, and offers a half-decent approximation of Jerry's guitar style. Vocally, he's in the ballpark as well. I had listened to a little of the Furthur live offerings on GD Radio and other sites, and felt that John (as well as the others) were really doing the old GD chestnuts justice, so I decided to put aside my 15-year old "No Jerry? No Way!" attitude and plunked down the dough for the tickets.

It was a coolish day, and it rained steadily throughout the entire show, easing up only briefly during the setbreak. This situation, typically, did little to dampen the spirits of those in attendance. I expected a mix of old and young, crunchy and yuppie, and that's what we got. The crowd was into it, and the band was very good, indeed. Just as soon as I heard the opening notes of "Half-Step" as we entered the venue, I realized just how much I had missed this music in a live setting. It was a really fine show, and I had more fun seeing Furthur than I ever had at any Phish show. Phil and Bobby are getting up there, but both are still showing up and laying it down, and the rest of the band really cooks. It basically amounts to a cover band with two original members, but it's a truly effective celebration of what I consider to be some of the best music ever. I hope these guys come around again. Here is the setlist:

Set 1

Mississippi 1/2 Step

Stagger Lee

Pride of Cucamonga

Promised Land

Sittin' on Top Of The World

Peaceful Valley

Till Morning Comes

Sugaree

Set 2

Dear Mr. Fantasy

Cassidy

So Many Roads

High on a Mountain

The Wheel

Fire on the Mountain

Death Don't Have No Mercy

I Know You Rider

Going Down The Road Feelin' Bad

And We Bid You Goodnight

Encore: One More Saturday Night