Furthur Plays Both Too Much And Too Little At The Greek Theatre - 10/5
Comments (8)
Phil Lesh of Furthur at the Greek Theater, 10/5/12 (Graham Clark/Neon Tommy)
He struck a power stance, spreading his legs far apart for maximum stability, and proceeded to play air guitar for the better part of 25 minutes.
That is to say, there were no surprises at Furthur’s show on Friday except those you could expect. Guitars were strummed, shredded and slid for five full hours, save only for an intermission and Phil Lesh’s prerequisite spiel on organ donation. Turn to someone you love, now, and say they can have your liver.
Dynamics in the set arose from sheer force of will, but also musicians’ stylistic differences. Grateful Dead carryover Bob Wier performed with a dignified, analog shuffling befitting his cannonized stature.
Slapping that together with John Kadlecik’s digitally-rendered, pedalboard-sheened sonic pyrotechnics is not necessarily a sure thing. It’s like mixing chocolate and peanut butter, if the chocolate’s been on the road since 1960 and the peanut butter was engineered by Steve Vai with a silicon transistor.
It’s a gestalt that’s necessary: what makes the show worth watching is that it still can suck. The special guests could fall flat, or Lesh’s balsa-wood thin frame could dissipate into a zephyr of dust. These are real possibilities. Behind the eponymous “Steal Your Face” logo remain real, fallible humans playing music.
Friday night’s show fired more-or-less on all cylinders. The licks were long and numerous, resulting in knee-bobbing, arm waggling and all other varieties of kinesthetic noodling.
NBA hall of famer and Deadhead hometown hero Bill Walton even turned up to laugh and otherwise allow fans to bask in his nigh-seven-foot-tall glory.
It’s no hollow hoax that fans will observe these performances night after night to catch differences in song styles, savoring what’s left of the Dead and taking steps towards building a future filled with big live music. Babies appear to maintain their Woodstock-ascribed status as one of the hottest hippy accessories, going well with everything from glowsticks, to dreads, printed skirts and tremendous beer-bellies
Wrapping this up with anything but a hokey cliché would be willfully obtuse, so here’s a whole slew: it’s not just a long, strange trip anymore. This musical entity has come to embody the audacity of working together with hope, and the timeless magnetic power of a main stage rock group. That comes with its ups and downs, but the only way to know what it’s like is to get out and push.
There ought to be a song about that.
Setlist:
1. "Truckin'"
2. "Smokestack Lightning"
3. "Brown-Eyed Women"
4. "Money For Gasoline"
5. "Any Road (George Harrison cover)"
6. "Peggy-O"
7. "Mission in the Rain"
8. "I Shall Be Released"
9. "Althea"
-Intermission-
10. "China Cat Sunflower"
11. "I Know You Rider"
12. "Cassidy"
13. "Passenger"
14. "The Mountain Song"
15. "Scarlet Begonias"
16. "Fire on the Mountain"
17. "Standing on the Moon"
18. "Shakedown Street"
19. "Gloria"
-Encore-
20. "Revolution (Beatles cover)"
Furthur will perform another show at the Greek Theater Oct. 6.
Reach Staff Contributor Graham Clark here. Follow him on Twitter here.
Comments
Writer is a fucking asshole. Obviously doesn't get it, and didn't even spell Weir right. Fuck him.
Given all that was said in the above article I will put in my two cents and hope the author uses it to get his eyes fixed and his ears cleaned.
There are few places on earth at an given time that afford a spectacle as fantastic as seeing Phil and Bob, to watch and listen to these musical treasures channel the music from the air, through their fingers, and out to the crowd..... and then have the energy fed right back at them. The quality of the product sits up there with the any single musician or ensemble available for a $65 ticket, and I am open to seeig what it is out therethat I'm missing. It's a family affair, as if you would take the time to look outside of the box you would see that the people who return time after time consider themselves bonded for good, a vibe that is scarce these days. As far as "give me your liver", I hope you become an organ donor since your heart is so little used. Your crass remark is uncalled for and I am putting you on my list of people who cannot have my liver even when I am gone.
By the way, the Dalai Lama is speaking around here one of these days. Would you go and say he spoke to low, or with a foreign accent?
And lastly, Bow Weir fans are people too...holdover? ...as that meant in a nice way...he is not a holdover to anything but spendng the last 47 years or so playing side by side with Phil in another band. Fallible? Hell yeah..part of the price is laughing at the fallibilitk of life and nobody fais better than Bob...Go Bless his dyslexic heart.
Stu
Was Bob Weir fitted with some kind of weaponry? Consult the Book of Armaments! Or... perhaps you meant "canonized".
The writer comes across as bitter and possibly jealous. I had a great time and the band was on top of their game. I'm assuming the writer brought expectations to the show rather than riding the stream. Maybe next time. I seriously doubt many had the same reaction to the show that he did; but hey, if you criticize something, it makes you sound more knowledgeable. Perhaps you should be reviewing Justin Beiber, Lady Gaga, or Steve Vai concerts. Did somebody not mention that this is Furthur and not the Dead?
Some people get it, some people do not. With a set list like that, I venture to say Graham Clark fits into the latter.
The write of this piece sounds like a very, very sad and lonely person. Maybe you should've taken some of that MDMA, sounds like you need to lighten up and enjoy the ride pal.
Does this writer know anything about music? If so, why not actually write about the show rather than offering cliched, rambling, and otherwise pointless social observations of the crowd. Oh, that's right - it's LA.
i wasn't there but this seemed like an honest review to me. don't know why people are hating. seemed like he was happy to see real musicians which i can relate to.