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Alembic Club » Miscellaneous » Archive through July 20, 2015 » Grateful Dead - Fare Thee Well - Saturday, 6/27 « Previous Next »

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dfung60
Senior Member
Username: dfung60

Post Number: 612
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 1:52 am:   Edit Post

I attended the Saturday show in Santa Clara. Phil was played the Alembic the entire night. I'm not a Deadhead, but attended with Geoff Gould who built Bob and Phil's Modulus Graphite instruments from 1982 through the 1990s.

The sound for the drums and bass was amazing from the first note - powerful and very natural. To me the guitars did not sound great during the first set (intentional fuzzbox city), but sounded better in the second.

The joint was packed. First set started around 7:40 or so, went for an hour, then there was a long intermission until the sun had set. Fireworks show too, at the start of the second set.

Levi's Stadium is fairly unrestricted on cameras, so I got some nice shots. Unfortunately, the image size limit here means you can't see much detail.

David Fung



Start of the show...

Best shot I got of Phil's bass







(Message edited by davehouck on June 28, 2015)
ed_too
Junior
Username: ed_too

Post Number: 50
Registered: 3-2011
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 5:29 am:   Edit Post

This looks like the short scale - no?
echo008
Senior Member
Username: echo008

Post Number: 479
Registered: 2-2003
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 6:27 am:   Edit Post

Double post

(Message edited by echo008 on June 28, 2015)
echo008
Senior Member
Username: echo008

Post Number: 480
Registered: 2-2003
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 6:28 am:   Edit Post

Honestly I dont know who this person is (BUT Thank you!), there are a ton of great hi def videos from last night, you can hear and see among other things Phil's Wonderful Alembic up close and personal.
https://www.facebook.com/martin.singer.58511/media_set?set=vb.100000252133799&type=2
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 8558
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 10:45 am:   Edit Post

Yes it was Phil's new Series II 6 string short scale version. He picked it up on May 8th. Both basses were made from the same board of Coco Bolo I'd been hoarding for years so they have a similar look.

How to tell the difference...Short scale 'Belarion' has black hardware, LEDs are blue with red at 12th & 24th. Medium scale 'Khaleesi' has chrome hardware with LEDs red with blue at 12th & 24th.
hieronymous
Senior Member
Username: hieronymous

Post Number: 1533
Registered: 1-2005
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 11:06 am:   Edit Post

I think seeing and hearing Belarion (and Phil of course!) is the most exciting thing for me about going to this show!
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 6123
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 11:51 am:   Edit Post

Short review:

Loved the show! Can't wait to go back tonight!



Longer Review:

THE SCENE:

I have to start by admitting that I wasn't expecting much. I'm not a big Trey guy and the ticket prices and other costs put me off a bit - was this just a money grab? Even the parking was $60!

Then a good omen: it turns out my son's girlfriend's father works at Levi's and got me parking passes to the VIP garage next to the stadium. (After all these years of putting money into raising this kid, he's finally paying off!)

Someone handed me a long stem American Beauty Rose as I entered (They gave out roses to the first 45,000 attendees).

Food and drink was absurdly expensive, as one expects at a stadium these days. Regular American beer was $10.25. Water $5.75, etc. T-shirts were $40 and a ball cap was $35 (yea, I bought one and will be getting a couple of T's tonight - but I'm not the only sucker).

THE SHOW

My seats were in the second level, on the opposite end of the stadium as the band, dead center. A LONG way away but we could easily see on the giant screens. The guys came on around 40 minutes late (Stoner Standard Time). They opened with Truckin'. At the beginning the sound was just plain bad - way too much bass (I know that's almost sacrilege around here), but by the end of the song the sound was dialed in and pretty darn good considering the size of the venue and where I was sitting.

Then, (and I couldn't make this up), a rainbow appeared above the stage!



Truckin' was followed by my all-time favorite Dead song, Uncle John's Band. Then they pulled out a bunch of old material: Alligator, Cumberland Blues, Born Cross-eyed, Cream Puff War, and Viola Lee Blues to close out the first set.

The second set started with another oldie, Cryptical Envelopment. Then they played the first three sides of Live Dead: Dark Star > St. Stephen > The Eleven > Turn on Your Love Light. This was followed by drums > What's Become of the Baby > Space > The Other One. They ended with Morning Dew and encored with Casey Jones.

Trey fit right in without being overbearing or being a Jerry clone. And it was very cool seeing that big hunk of cocobolo a hundred feet long all night.



I'm in the pit tonight for a more up close and personal experience. I not sure I can stand that long without chemical friends anymore, but I'm going to give it a try. For the Chicago shows I'll be comfortable on my couch with pay-per-view, free beer, and no bathroom lines.

lol

Bill, tgo
mavnet
Junior
Username: mavnet

Post Number: 48
Registered: 2-2003
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 11:55 am:   Edit Post

David - thanks for posting the pics, and Tom, thanks for the link to the videos.
Anyone know Phil's current signal path - what's he playing through here?
stephenr
Member
Username: stephenr

Post Number: 92
Registered: 9-2014
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 4:57 pm:   Edit Post

Here's a link to a video of the complete first set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oibbsUVOyR0
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 11818
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 7:40 pm:   Edit Post

Thanks Stephen! The sound wasn't synced with the video, but it was still very enjoyable. Glad I got to see it.
elwoodblue
Senior Member
Username: elwoodblue

Post Number: 1636
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 8:45 pm:   Edit Post

second set!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWd9PLlp6J0
hammer
Senior Member
Username: hammer

Post Number: 716
Registered: 9-2009
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2015 - 12:50 am:   Edit Post

Argh!!! In Poland and India for work and have poor and slow internet service. No chance of streaming and it took 30 minutes to download the first part of Truck'n. I'll be hoping both video and audio will be available when I return.
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 11822
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2015 - 10:44 am:   Edit Post

Second set was wonderful! Thanks!
rv_bass
Junior
Username: rv_bass

Post Number: 42
Registered: 8-2014
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2015 - 1:43 pm:   Edit Post

Hi Mavnet,
It's a Meyer Sound Lab rig similar to the one Mike Gordon uses and describes here:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8NDxginP3fk
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 11823
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2015 - 2:45 pm:   Edit Post

Nice mention of our Edwin in part 2 of Mike's rig rundown video!
pauldo
Senior Member
Username: pauldo

Post Number: 1524
Registered: 6-2006
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2015 - 4:57 pm:   Edit Post

Bill, I appreciate your review, you are a trusted source. Interested in your perspective from the pit . . . . just make sure you position yourself in the Phil Zone!

And make sure to wear a good pair of comfortable shoes.

:-D
mavnet
Junior
Username: mavnet

Post Number: 49
Registered: 2-2003
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2015 - 5:26 pm:   Edit Post

Thanks, rv, exactly what I was looking for as a starting point.
hieronymous
Senior Member
Username: hieronymous

Post Number: 1534
Registered: 1-2005
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2015 - 6:54 pm:   Edit Post

I went to Sunday's show - bass sounded nice, low end was extremely clear, had a bit of a Precision-y growl to it. Looked great of course!

Set 1 really meandered in my opinion - if you think about it, the main soloists are not really "band members" so it felt like they were tiptoe-ing around at best, lost at the worst. I almost wanted Bobby to conduct and tell people when to solo and when to stop, but of course that's not the Dead way. Things finally took off in the last song of the first set, "Hell in a Bucket" - there was a moment during Trey's solo when drummer Bill Kretuzmann was on the screen and lifted his right arm egging Trey on just as the magic was happening! That was awesome, and a great way to close the set.

Set 2 had some amazing jamming between songs, though the people around me all sat down since it wasn't a "song" but to me it was really really nice, interesting, aggressive improvisation, something I actually didn't expect, especially given set 1 (though of course set 2 is more the place for that kind of thing to happen).

I was up in the upper section furthest away from the stage (free tickets!) - kind of scary, there is only a little railing at the edge of the balcony - in fact, near the end someone in the back row behind me fell, knocked over the guy in front of him, who came down next to me - could have been a tragedy.

Phil came out before the encore and spoke - expressed his gratitude to the crowd - it was pretty amazing for them to play two nights in a 68,000 seat arena - he also encouraged everyone to become an organ donor, given that he is a liver transplant recipient.

All in all a nice show, glad that I went. Phil seemed to have a really good time - one of his comments when thanking all the people who came and made it possible was "who knew?" - maybe they'll keep playing? ;)
artswork99
Moderator
Username: artswork99

Post Number: 2046
Registered: 7-2007
Posted on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 - 6:41 am:   Edit Post

Good reviews and links, thanks everyone!
5a_quilt_top
Senior Member
Username: 5a_quilt_top

Post Number: 564
Registered: 6-2012
Posted on Wednesday, July 01, 2015 - 11:39 am:   Edit Post

Your "locationally challenged" friends really appreciate this - thanks.

The pix are great - !
rv_bass
Junior
Username: rv_bass

Post Number: 43
Registered: 8-2014
Posted on Wednesday, July 01, 2015 - 11:59 am:   Edit Post

Nice photos -

Does anyone know who the other two tall guys are standing next to Bill Walton in the upper right corner of the third photo?

Thanks!
hieronymous
Senior Member
Username: hieronymous

Post Number: 1535
Registered: 1-2005
Posted on Wednesday, July 01, 2015 - 12:03 pm:   Edit Post

There are some nice shots at the GD50 Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/GratefulDead50/photos_stream

I also posted a slightly modified version of my review at my new blog:

https://hieronymousseven.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/grateful-dead-fare-thee-well-sunday-june-28-2015-concert-review/
glocke
Senior Member
Username: glocke

Post Number: 1011
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Friday, July 03, 2015 - 7:57 am:   Edit Post

I've been catching some of this on youtube...

A lot of the jams sound awesome...completely and utterly awesome, and at the end of the day thats what it's all about for me.

Some of the songs sounded kind of rough though to me though, like they were either searching for a groove that wasn't there or they were just holding back too much..

Sort of wish i was there...(saying "sort of" because these days I simply can't fathom being an arena with 50k+ people)
pace
Senior Member
Username: pace

Post Number: 1128
Registered: 4-2004
Posted on Friday, July 03, 2015 - 11:40 am:   Edit Post

Watching the '89 Orchard Park show just now....
My 6yo daughter sits down w/ me on the couch, and I ask her if she knows if she knows what band is playing.... She takes a second and asks "is this the grateful dead"? I say yes, and begin to quiz her on who's playing what. She knows Jerry and Bobby, I show her Mickey and Brent, then a shot of Phil pops up, and she doesn't know his name.... I say 'that's Phil Lesh, the coolest bass player on earth'.... She responds 'then why is he such a nerd'?.....

Ahh... From the mouths of babes....
hieronymous
Senior Member
Username: hieronymous

Post Number: 1538
Registered: 1-2005
Posted on Friday, July 03, 2015 - 12:02 pm:   Edit Post

I remember I had a tape that had Father Guido Sarducci interviewing Jerry Garcia backstage at a show - it was hilarious - at one point he asks "who he thinks is the ugliest member of the band?" - it's at about 9:25:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igfxUvcu_-I

Actually, I think Phil has aged the most gracefully and looks better than ever! Definitely the coolest member of the band right now in my book - I am a bassist of course so I may be biased!
pauldo
Senior Member
Username: pauldo

Post Number: 1530
Registered: 6-2006
Posted on Sunday, July 05, 2015 - 9:00 am:   Edit Post

Has Bill been back to the site since he was "in the pit"?

Mildly concerned . . .

Speaking of Jerry - last night Warren Haynes did a solo set - he played Patchwork Quilt which I found very touching and appropriate.


P.S. I'm with you Harry - Phil is the coolest member of the band.

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