Well, After what happened the year before in Worcester, we all had high hopes of a hot show to make up for the lost show. Having been to the venue many different times I am very familiar with the place, so when I arrived I quickly got up to the usual tapers section. But lo and behold the sound crew decided to use that area this time. I then ran into a good friend (Dave) from back home (Albany, NY). We quickly relocated our gear to the balcony and set up camp there. As usual the sound was pretty decent and we had a clear view from our seats. Bobby & Co. came out with a little jam that went right into Picasso Moon, I was very happy to catch this on the tour and it was delivered very strongly. Next as it was winding down Bird Song arose. It had a nice jam that got going toward the end before the transition into Rooster, which was raunchy as ever with some nice slide work by Bobby. This faded into a Bird Song Jam that was the segue into the acoustic tunes. I always seem to catch Blackbird but no complaints. El Paso is one of my favs and was played well. I dont know how Ifeel about the semi-acoustic Corrina. I caught it in that slot over the summer and it seems like it has some good potential in the acoustic set, but I was hoping for a L.L. Rain or maybe a Desolation Row. Bobby stayed on acoustic for a while for Bury Me, which was no slouch either. Scarlet was the perfect set closer and left everyone in high hopes for a killer 2nd set.
A quick tape flip and a beer or 2 and we were ready for the second set. They came back very strong with Maggie's, again in a weird spot. That went right into Eyes which was huge. Karan added some very well timed fills and Jay's drumming was very tight. Kenny added some nice compliment on sax as well. He's Gone materialized from the thick Eyes groove and was performed very well. Next the band went into a jam that contained hints of Bird Song, O1 and Love Supreme. Each band member locked into the groove and they cooked thought the different themes. Bobby added some vocals to the jam, always nice to see that Bobby is still, well Bobby. They then went into the Solos and then after Jay and Rob were done the rest of the band came back on and Bobby started riffing on some minor chords and next thing we know it out comes Standing on the Moon, one of my favorite later Garcia/Hunter songs. Bobby forgot a few words but laughed it off and delivered the song very strongly as it was his own, to the delight of the audience.
This was definatly the highlight of the evening for me. Next they returned to Bird Song and finished what they started way back in the 1st set. As Bird Song was winding down Bob hit the opening chords to Sugar Mags and we were all off dancin our asses off. I've always loved this song and the power it has behind it. Right before they would normally bust into the jam, before SSDD they ripped into Sat. Nite. Nice curveball by Bobby and i really didnt care (too much!?!) that we didnt get the SSDD part of the song. I figured it odd that Sat. Nite was not saved for the encore and I thought that they wouldn't do one tonite. But the house lights never came on and Dave and I discussed what we thought the encore would be. I figured maybe a So Many Roads. But when they came back out Bobby graced us with Brokedown. I guess that was his little tougue in cheek kiss off to the venue that had caused the show to be cancelled the year before. Gotta love Bobby! Weir Everywhere!
Jon Weir
