PHIL LESH QUINTET | 07.26 | JONES BEACH

While listening to "Celebration" for the first time I was struck by how lyrically heavy it is. In fact all of the new tunes written for the Quintet seem to be very wordy, causing me to wonder if the band is in some way compensating for their truly open ended jamming. Song structure, for the most part, is thrown out the window in favor of free form exploration. Songs are in fact just slight islands in the thick seas of sounds that course through each show. Or at least that what usually happens. Jones Beach Theater, however, offered a nice selection of very composition oriented segments, exhibiting for the umpteenth time the versatility of three long hairs, a mop top and bald guy.

The show was also a showcase for Jimmy Herring. Warren always gets the big cheer during the introductions, and he certainly has the best name recognition, but Jimmy deserves much of the credit for the pulse pounding pyrotechnics. Not only is he the one who most of the straight intro lines and codas, his no nonsense sound is often key in pushing the band beyond itself. He is Sunshine, helping everyone else grow. Part of his increased presence here is due, ironically, to a technical problem. Not long into "Celebration" his amp went out completely and he disappeared in the mix. Warren ably ran with rest of the band for nearly five minutes while Jimmy's tech was on stage trying to get him settled. They ended up bringing out a second amplifier, and Herring, like a man with something to prove, tore through the rest of the show totally dominating the sound.

The "Scarlet Begonias" was a first set highlight with a tight, swirling jam. Its tendrils reached towards "Dark Star" and "Viola Lee Blues" and even a "Spanish Jam," but bypassed each inlet in favor of a classic "Fire on the Mountain." Jimmy took the first solo, serving up some fast paced traveling music. Warren followed with a shorter ride, but pulled out the slide after the second verse and put a soundtrack to the deepening twilight.

The "Patchwork Quilt," which includes the line "We were at Jones Beach," was a nice tribute to Garcia. Warren's vocals were passionate, and his solo was spider sweet, truly reminiscent of Jerry's style. But it was the closing "Just a Little Light" that really pulled everyone in. Rob's organ sliced through the dense intro and perforated the whole song. The space segment shot out over the water with Jimmy at the forefront, Phil raising round waves beneath. Warren joined in, trading licks with Jimmy for what seemed like eons, each pair of statements increasing in intensity before lighting the stage on fire.

During the break, Jimmy himself was on stage working on the amplifier. Phil was also there, overseeing things like a concerned host. It is also noteworthy that Phil spent almost all of Warren's short solo acoustic set at the monitor board with headphones on. This is a man who loves his band.

By the second set, the sound problems had been cleared and it was crisp. The opening "Jupiter Jam" was incredibly tight and played with intention. Phil, Warren and Jimmy were all looking at their music stands, and it was apparent that they were playing an instrumental rather than just a loose jam. A newfound concert companion got Rob's setlist after the show and it was actually labeled "Jupiter Jam." Astrological leanings have pervaded the tour, with different celestial jams showing up on lists almost every night. I was told that the "Mars Jam" between the first and second verses of "Viola Lee Blues" at SPAC corresponded to the end of three months of Mars being in retrograde (a period of frustrated goals). At Jones Beach, I noticed that inside Candice's light ring was a compass with TARO, and four other characters that looked like Hebrew, that overlapped a circle with a hooked 4. It turns out that the hooked four is in fact the symbol for Jupiter (expansion). Sector 9 has got nothing on Phil!

The "St. Stephen > Good Time, Bad Times > St. Stephen" was a treat just for the NYC fans as it brought to fruition the idea planted back in April at Roseland, when the band spontaneously launched into a short "Good Times" tease. (Phil has recently released that show; check out www.phillesh.net or www.philzone.com). As the downbeat came on, Warren twisted towards Phil and bent over, and when he does that you know something is going to happen. Within a two bars they were running at the Zep cover full steam, Warren singing the first verse before the music slipped easily into the return to Stephen. A haze settled before Phil and Rob teamed up for a nice groove that hinted at 11 and drove Molo off his stool, still pounding the skins.

After the last line of "Stephen," a splice transition plopped down "China Cat." It was loose and jazzy, sounding more like a Ratdog arrangement, although it didn't sound like Ratdog's actual arrangement. Jimmy was playing leads perfectly, but Warren's solo stretched out the song like a piece of taffy. As the playing pivoted and bent, Rob and Molo started a slick groove that melted into the beginning of "Blue Train." The band rallied around the idea briefly, blowing hard and loud. Suddenly it collapsed into a crystalline cave, which in turn shattered, unleashing a BIG "I Know You Rider." They jammed the hell out of the old standard before the first verse even rolled around. To close the show, a beautiful, calm "Stella" preceded a piano banging, swing drumming NFA. This one also drove Molo to his feet in mid song. But my favorite tune was the long "Midnight Hour" encore that ran through all the dips and turns, bending back on itself and coming out clean - my favorite Phil and Friends encore since "Like a Rolling Stone" in April of '99.

Dan Alford