Phil Lesh’s Alt-Q Focus On Dead Classics At Crossroads

Grateful Dead / Furthur bassist Phil Lesh assembled his finest collection of “friends” in the early and mid ’00s with The “Q.” In that band, Lesh was joined by Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, John Molo and Rob Barraco. From this past Wednesday through Saturday night Phil has recruited Haynes, Herring and Molo; along with keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and guitarist Neal Casal for four “Alt-Q” performances at his own Terrapin Crossroads venue.

Over the past year the bassist has expanded his Friends’ repertoire well beyond the typical Dead classics that lined The “Q” setlists. Though for this run, he’s dipping back towards the repertoire The “Q” played, including songs from their lone studio album –There And Back Again. That’s not to say there were no covers as last night the group dropped a pair of Beatles gems in “She Said, She Said” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.” The first set included the Lesh/Hunter original “Rock And Roll Blues” off There And Back Again, while the encore was Haynes’ “The Real Thing” off the same album. Along with the aforementioned tunes were plenty of Dead classics such as the instrumental “King Solomon’s Marbles” and thematic “Spanish Jam” as well as Warren-sung standouts like “Morning Dew” and “Tennessee Jed.”

Here’s the setlist from last night’s show:

Set 1:
Friend of the Devil (NC $ PL)
Tennessee Jed (WH)
Rock and Roll Blues (PH) >
Mason’s Children (PL, WH, NC) >
She Said (WH)
King Solomon’s Marbles
Casey Jones (WH, PL, NC)

Set 2:
Cumberland Blues (PL, NC, WH)
Uncle John’s Band (PL, WH, NC) >
The Wheel (WH, PL, NC) >
Spanish Jam >
Birdsong (PL)
Stella Blue (WH) >
Birdsong
Help On The Way (NC)>
Slipknot >
Tomorrow Never Knows > (NC)
Franklin’s Tower > (PL)

Encore: The Real Thing (WH)

[Setlist via Philzone]

The run continues tonight with a show that will be webcast live.