Phil & Friends | 10.31.08 | NYC

Unfortunate to hear that first night did not get off on the right foot. It happens, I'm sure that the boys and lady on occasion will bounce back and throw down the way the Phillathon should be gettin down. A good show to one and all...enjoy

my favorite source of GD music!!!!!!! how I love this line-up!!!

Frankenstein? That's a song with no vocals, but a great drum solo, yeah? Who plays that originally?

What the hell is Jackie?? supposed to be? A JUNKIE! That dude makes me sick! BUT SOMETIMES HE SOUNDS PRETTY GOOD!

GO SEE BISCO!

Johny winnter

no it's Edgar Winter. and I didn't see Bisco mentioned in that review at all.

anyway, this lineup is awesome. it's crazy to see how much they've progressed and how much tighter they are now. you can tell phil loves playin with these guys as well. can't wait to see them again soon.

dude the show was weak didt you read what people said?

FIRST! I WENT LAST YEAR! GHOST>BORISS>OTHERoNE! BANGS THE "F" OUT OF THIS YEAR! GLAD I WENT TO AC

SECOND! IT IS WHAT IT IS!

the boys will prevail

This show looks fantastic.

I went sunday and monday so far...got miracled in sunday and both nights were so outrageous. just goes to show you day of the week and holiday means nothing towards what theyll play

I have to respectfully disagree with the reviewer here... I was there on Friday and had a great time. In my mind, Phil took the show to a very deep, psychedelic sounding place, more reminiscent of early Dead shows, without as much rocking, feel good, dance energy as he sometimes has. This doesn't equate with it being a bad show in my mind. There have already been shows like that in this run, and Im sure there will be more. With 14 days in which to experiment, I like to hear a few different styles from night to night. I thought the band played expertly and well. Sless was an awesome addition. There were a couple of rough patches, but there were a number of truly sublime moments (including the awesome "What's Become of the Baby" for those willing to listen with an open mind and not just bitch if Phil isn't playing the exact setlist or kind of songs that they want to hear personally...

I disagree with the reviewer. The show was excellent, I thought it was very high energy. Went to the sat. show too, wasn't anything like friday, friday was a very fun night, and the band did a great job in creating a very psychedelic show, which is what many like.

deklen - yes frankenstein was originally recorded by the Edgar Winter Group

although i think the piece was written by someone other than edgar....

the Shakedown costume is the coolest !!!!

Did John Molo go as Mr. Clean?

Molitz dressed as Campbell. And vise versa.

You can hear it for yourself (FREE) at the link at the bottom of this review, but I have to entirely disagree with the reviewer, Mr. Bravosa. Were we at the same show? The band is 10 times tighter than they were a year ago. With respect to the sound being "muddy" all night, I question Mr. Bravosa's understanding of acoustics and concert sound in general.

If you stood on the floor all night, you were not only in front of the sweet spot from the mains, but mostly hearing the (unmixed) stage sound passing through and around all the other bodies around you. If you stood on the level where the tapers were (where you could stand directly in front of the soundboard), it sounded like a million bucks. Ditto for much of the seats behind that, as they had repeater speakers in the ceiling piping crystal clear sound into your ears. Every venue will have it's unique acoustic qualities where the sound is best in certain places. You can usually count on it sounding best from near the soundboard. Finally, all the sound-checks prior to the first set are to an empty room, so the first set in front of an audience requires some adjustment on the mixing engineer's part. This is a guitar heavy line-up, so at times they can seem to all blend together.

The crowd was indeed young. I think older heads most likely would rather not hang with a rowdy and overly "medicated" crowd in Times Square of all places on Halloween of all nights! I saw more than one person pass out in the crowd, and quite a few people who had taken too much of one thing or another losing control. Jackie appeared to have done his own make-up, looking like a long lost little brother of KISS.

Now to the set. I made it in late and missed most of "the Golden Road". Good tune though and nice tempo for opening energy. The recording has the audience singing along enthusiastically and some really nice solos from Larry and Barry. Tight outro!

The jam into "Cream Puff War" was interesting and a nice opportunity for Larry and Barry to warm up. Steve brought some nice watery textures to the transition to "Cream Puff War" itself which was another welcome classic, this tune lends itself to Steve's limitted vocal range. The psychadelic groove kept the heads bopping and grooving while each of the guitar players took a turn riffing. Steve Molitz' organ work anchored the tune to it's 60's roots. The jam was not as extensive as some I've heard, as if to make room for everything else to come.

Jackie's "Cold Black Devil" had a vibe of "ok, we're finally here after all the anticipation", as the band relaxed into a slightly slower tempo for the first time in the set. It's got a funky, spooky, groove, and Jackie's vocals shine. Very nice guitar work by all three hands again, with Larry showing of his impecable slide work. The jam was killer, with John Molo bringing great dynamics to the whole tune.

From the jam, a short China-Cat tease tickled the crowd's fancy, but served merely as a transition to "It Must Have Been The Roses". I for one love this tune, and everyone around me was enthralled and many singing along to every word. If there were long lines at the bathroom and bar during this tune, I think that says more about the audience than the band! With Larry playing beautiful fiddle, sweet pedal steel flourishes from Barry, and Jackie's gentlemanly reading, this was a nice soft spot in an otherwise very high energy show. I happen to like the fact that Phil puts songs where you would never expect the Grateful Dead to have done. I also like how with the differing instrumentation they sound much more country than the classic GD did.

"Next Time You See Me" was another rocker, and the P&F reading of this tune is a very classic boogie-woogie. I half expected Jake & Elwood Blues to appear. Jackie Blues would have to suffice though, and he didn't dissapoint. Jackie's harp solo would have made Jake Blues smile for sure! Steve Molitz' versatility shined on this tune as well, sounding like a classic honky tonker. Larry and Barry traded sweet licks while the rest of the band vamped it up toward the end. It was the star of the set for me, and I note that this tune was NOT EVEN MENTIONED in Mr. Bravosa's review above. The crowd was definitely into it and singing along to every chorus.

"Mason's Children" is another gem from the classic GD era. The group singing on this tune was a bit rough, but it wouldn't be Grateful Dead music if it sounded like N'SYNC! Really good playing by everyone though, and another short but dynamic jam in the middle gave Barry some time to shred. After the closing verse and chorus, the band flowed into a nice dark jam, constructing and deconstructing the groove before slipping seamlessly into a straight-forward but acceptible "Casey Jones", with the crowd again singing along to every chorus.

The opening weirdness of the second set was not as well executed this year as last, namely because Phil's mic was muffled and quiet. You couldn't understand whatever spookiness he was reading, but it seamed deliberate...it was nothing if not psychadelic, but it didn't really get interesting until the end.

"Boris the Spider" was a raucus lift-off though, and a good indication of things to come. It was a perfect prelude to "Frankenstein", the only bust-out of the night. Phil's bass playing was thick and juicy, but Steve Molitz' synthesizer really made this tune. Molo's heavy hitting and the wicked slide-guitar/pedal steel work really made for an fat jam tinged with southern guitar-rock harmony parts.

The welcome opening notes of "Cryptical Envelopment" indicated we'd reached the meat of the show, Phil's bass leading the way, but just when you thought "the Other One" was around the corner, Jackie grabbed an acoustic guitar and they threw "Down In The Valley Woe" at us. Larry's dobro work really shined on this tune as he traded licks with Barry and comp'd Jackie's vocals.

I'm constanly impressed with this band's ability to jam from one tune to the next regardless of key or tempo. The segue into "the Other One" was interesting and perfectly executed. Once there though, it took a while for the energy to really build. Partly due to the fact that Larry was still playing dobro, much of the tune was quiet and down tempo.

I think "What's Become of the Baby" was really a treat, considering that the Grateful Dead never performed it, and it lent itself to the spooky theme of the night. It served to fill the spot that Space would have held in a Grateful Dead second set nicely. But I understand folks not familiar with the tune might have felt it was a snoozer. The star was Theresa Williams though, her vocal a beautiful counterpoint to Phil's dry baratone.

The reprise of "Cryptical Envelopment" led into a tasty little jam with all three guitarists making nice contributions and building on one another's parts, but the real treat was "St. Stephen". At the sound of the opening notes the crowd was PUMPED! There were some really nice harmony guitar moments between Barry & Larry in each jam. The second jam was a great build, but Phil broke a bit early, so Molo rounded everyone back up for a second pass, and they jumped into the last verse. Everyone was singing along and blissed out by the end. "What WOULD be the answer to the answer man?"

Imediately the first strains of "Gimme Shelter" then began to ring out, the whole crowd greeting it with cheers. Jackie gave a bluesy reading, with Theresa Williams doing a great job of channeling the female vocals on the Stones' original version. Once again great guitar playing from all three. This was a great outro for the second set. Finally, the anticipated "Werewolves Of London" encore finished off the show on a fun note. I think it was played much better this year than last. So glad Barry Sless was part of this show! He kicked much ass on this night.

Anyway, the only thing that really sucked about this show was coming out of the front of the venue to a gauntlet o

I have to entirely disagree with the reviewer, Mr. Bravosa. Were we at the same show? The band is 10 times tighter than they were a year ago. With respect to the sound being "muddy" all night, I question Mr. Bravosa's understanding of acoustics and concert sound in general.

If you stood on the floor all night, you were not only in front of the sweet spot from the mains, but mostly hearing the (unmixed) stage sound passing through and around all the other bodies around you. If you stood on the level where the tapers were (where you could stand directly in front of the soundboard), it sounded like a million bucks. Ditto for much of the seats behind that, as they had repeater speakers in the ceiling piping crystal clear sound into your ears. Every venue will have it's unique acoustic qualities where the sound is best in certain places. You can usually count on it sounding best from near the soundboard. Finally, all the sound-checks prior to the first set are to an empty room, so the first set in front of an audience requires some adjustment on the mixing engineer's part. This is a guitar heavy line-up, so at times they can seem to all blend together.

The crowd was indeed young. I think older heads most likely would rather not hang with a rowdy and overly "medicated" crowd in Times Square of all places on Halloween of all nights! I saw more than one person pass out in the crowd, and quite a few people who had taken too much of one thing or another losing control. Jackie appeared to have done his own make-up, looking like a long lost little brother of KISS.

Now to the set. I made it in late and missed most of "the Golden Road". Good tune though and nice tempo for opening energy. The recording has the audience singing along enthusiastically and some really nice solos from Larry and Barry. Tight outro!

The jam into "Cream Puff War" was interesting and a nice opportunity for Larry and Barry to warm up. Steve brought some nice watery textures to the transition to "Cream Puff War" itself which was another welcome classic, this tune lends itself to Steve's limitted vocal range. The psychadelic groove kept the heads bopping and grooving while each of the guitar players took a turn riffing. Steve Molitz' organ work anchored the tune to it's 60's roots. The jam was not as extensive as some I've heard, as if to make room for everything else to come.

Jackie's "Cold Black Devil" had a vibe of "ok, we're finally here after all the anticipation", as the band relaxed into a slightly slower tempo for the first time in the set. It's got a funky, spooky, groove, and Jackie's vocals shine. Very nice guitar work by all three hands again, with Larry showing of his impecable slide work. The jam was killer, with John Molo bringing great dynamics to the whole tune.

From the jam, a short China-Cat tease tickled the crowd's fancy, but served merely as a transition to "It Must Have Been The Roses". I for one love this tune, and everyone around me was enthralled and many singing along to every word. If there were long lines at the bathroom and bar during this tune, I think that says more about the audience than the band! With Larry playing beautiful fiddle, sweet pedal steel flourishes from Barry, and Jackie's gentlemanly reading, this was a nice soft spot in an otherwise very high energy show. I happen to like the fact that Phil puts songs where you would never expect the Grateful Dead to have done. I also like how with the differing instrumentation they sound much more country than the classic GD did.

"Next Time You See Me" was another rocker, and the P&F reading of this tune is a very classic boogie-woogie. I half expected Jake & Elwood Blues to appear. Jackie Blues would have to suffice though, and he didn't dissapoint. Jackie's harp solo would have made Jake Blues smile for sure! Steve Molitz' versatility shined on this tune as well, sounding like a classic honky tonker. Larry and Barry traded sweet licks while the rest of the band vamped it up toward the end. It was the star of the set for me, and I note that this tune was NOT EVEN MENTIONED in Mr. Bravosa's review above. The crowd was definitely into it and singing along to every chorus.

"Mason's Children" is another gem from the classic GD era. The group singing on this tune was a bit rough, but it wouldn't be Grateful Dead music if it sounded like N'SYNC! Really good playing by everyone though, and another short but dynamic jam in the middle gave Barry some time to shred. After the closing verse and chorus, the band flowed into a nice dark jam, constructing and deconstructing the groove before slipping seamlessly into a straight-forward but acceptible "Casey Jones", with the crowd again singing along to every chorus.

The opening weirdness of the second set was not as well executed this year as last, namely because Phil's mic was muffled and quiet. You couldn't understand whatever spookiness he was reading, but it seamed deliberate...it was nothing if not psychadelic, but it didn't really get interesting until the end.

"Boris the Spider" was a raucus lift-off though, and a good indication of things to come. It was a perfect prelude to "Frankenstein", the only bust-out of the night. Phil's bass playing was thick and juicy, but Steve Molitz' synthesizer really made this tune. Molo's heavy hitting and the wicked slide-guitar/pedal steel work really made for an fat jam tinged with southern guitar-rock harmony parts.

The welcome opening notes of "Cryptical Envelopment" indicated we'd reached the meat of the show, Phil's bass leading the way, but just when you thought "the Other One" was around the corner, Jackie grabbed an acoustic guitar and they threw "Down In The Valley Woe" at us. Larry's dobro work really shined on this tune as he traded licks with Barry and comp'd Jackie's vocals.

I'm constanly impressed with this band's ability to jam from one tune to the next regardless of key or tempo. The segue into "the Other One" was interesting and perfectly executed. Once there though, it took a while for the energy to really build. Partly due to the fact that Larry was still playing dobro, much of the tune was quiet and down tempo.

I think "What's Become of the Baby" was really a treat, considering that the Grateful Dead never performed it, and it lent itself to the spooky theme of the night. It served to fill the spot that Space would have held in a Grateful Dead second set nicely. But I understand folks not familiar with the tune might have felt it was a snoozer. The star was Theresa Williams though, her vocal a beautiful counterpoint to Phil's dry baratone.

The reprise of "Cryptical Envelopment" led into a tasty little jam with all three guitarists making nice contributions and building on one another's parts, but the real treat was "St. Stephen". At the sound of the opening notes the crowd was PUMPED! There were some really nice harmony guitar moments between Barry & Larry in each jam. The second jam was a great build, but Phil broke a bit early, so Molo rounded everyone back up for a second pass, and they jumped into the last verse. Everyone was singing along and blissed out by the end. "What WOULD be the answer to the answer man?"

Imediately the first strains of "Gimme Shelter" then began to ring out, the whole crowd greeting it with cheers. Jackie gave a bluesy reading, with Theresa Williams doing a great job of channeling the female vocals on the Stones' original version. Once again great guitar playing from all three. This was a great outro for the second set. Finally, the anticipated "Werewolves Of London" encore finished off the show on a fun note. I think it was played much better this year than last. So glad Barry Sless was part of this show! He kicked much ass on this night.

to the girl michelle whos number i lost, your pictures are going up on a review on another site, message me and lets go to a show, you were really sweet