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Phil Lesh & Friends | Ratdog
Kaiser Auditorium | Oakland, California | 12.30.01
Even if the winter rainstorm was frightful, the mood inside the Kaiser Auditorium was warm and festive for the Phil Lesh and Friends and Ratdog performance on December 30. Tiny white lights and multi-colored cloths were draped across the balcony, balloons were
netted up near the ceiling ready to shower the New Year's Eve crowd, and the crowd itself was friendly and relaxed. Though we didn't get the balloon drop on this particular night, we were treated to two very
fine sets by Phil Lesh and Friends, and an inspired Ratdog opener.
In the past few years I've seen Phil Lesh and Friends at several different venues and in various formations, and it's refreshing to see that they just keep getting better and better. The current lineup - Rob Barraco on keyboards, Jimmy Herring and Warren Haynes on guitars, John Molo on drums, with Lesh on bass, of course - is by far the strongest yet. As usual, they opened their first set with a long, fluid jam, teasing numerous
songs along the way (including, our taper friend insisted, "The Eleven" - twice - which I didn't catch but took his word on). When the "Shakedown" tease finally erupted into a full-blown "Shakedown Street," so did the crowd. But most everyone, including our
taper friend, was surprised by the rollicking "Loose Lucy" that followed, and the instrumental "King Solomon's Marbles/Stronger Than Dirt" let the players really show their musical chops. They concluded the set with a solid "St. Stephen" and "The Golden Road,"
a song that had the whole audience joining in on the fun. By the end of the set, it was clear that the band had our devotion.
In addition to the welcoming sound of Lesh's voice - with its characteristic waiver - Haynes' and Barraco's voices are a natural fit for the music. These guys sound great on lead vocals in their respective songs, and the band's vocal harmonies, especially during the second set, were much more refined than I've heard in
past performances. Even the band's prolonged jams seemed tighter and more engaging on this night, and the musicians seemed just as comfortable taking the lead as letting one another assume solo
responsibilities. The guitarists, though very distinct in style, complement each other nicely: Haynes' weeping guitar lends itself beautifully to the band's repertoire, and Herring's amazing guitar work is a real stand-out. And you can't beat the Lesh/Molo/Barraco rhythm section. Veteran Molo clearly knows where he's going, and Barraco's keyboard is at turns raucous and delicate. If nothing else, I sometimes found myself straining to hear Lesh. However, a sign of a strong bass player is the ability to almost effortlessly drive the music, and it doesn't get much stronger than Phil Lesh.
In their final set, the band gave us an absolutely melting version of the Beatle's "Strawberry Fields." This gem was virtually wrapped in various pieces of the "That's It For the Other One" suite, preceded by
the soft "Cryptical Envelopment" before evolving into the hard-driving "The Other One." This gave way, finally, to "The Eleven" which really showcased the musicians at their finest. Alas, the lovely "Scarlet Begonias" didn't turn into a "Fire on the Mountain," but you can't argue with "Unbroken Chain." The band then slipped into "Night of a Thousand Stars" (a new Lesh/Robert Hunter composition) before tearing it up with a rousing "Casey Jones" encore. Though this song has never been a personal favorite of mine, this particular rendition - featuring excellent vocal harmonies by the boys - was truly inspired.
As the opening band for Phil Lesh and Friends, Ratdog gave us a relaxed, jazz-infused set. The musical credentials of this line-up - Kenny Brooks on saxophone, Jeff Chimenti on keyboards, Mark Karan on lead guitar, Jay Lane on drums, Rob Wasserman on bass and Bob Weir on rhythm guitar - read like a connect-the-dots of the contemporary jazz and improv scene, not to mention other areas of
decidedly non-mainstream music. No wonder the player's smooth delivery felt just as right in their numerous cover songs as in their own compositions, particularly the favorite Ratdog triptych "Even So/The Deep End/October Queen." In true Weir form, there were various pieces of "Playing in the Band" tucked into the set; no matter how frequently I hear that song, it always makes me feel at home. The band's "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo" was warm and flowing, and the "Even/Queen" jam was followed by a searing rendition of the Beatle's "Tomorrow Never Knows," which got the crowd going strong. If my source is correct, the band even enveloped this number in a cover of an early Pink Floyd song, "Mathilda Mother." (This "mystery tune" caused a bit of uncertainty among our floor crowd, and even our taper friend wasn't positive on its title and origin.)
Half-way through the set, the band scaled down for a characteristically delicate rendition of "Blackbird," another fine Beatle's song. This was followed by "El Paso," a long-time Marty Robbins cover that Weir recently began favoring as a lilting acoustic ballad, with great results. As for "Corrina," what started as a virtually acoustic version evolved into a full-blown jam. Not only did the entire band resume the stage, but once that familiar scritch-scritch sounded out we knew DJ Logic - a frequent Ratdog guest - was in the house. Trumpeter Willie Waldman also joined the group for "Corrina" and a wonderful "Eyes of the World."
It says a lot that the musicians in Ratdog can bring performers like DJ Logic and Willie Waldman - who are seemingly at another end of the musical spectrum - into their fold. It speaks volumes that the results sound fresh and inspired. Their fine rendition of
"Eyes of the World" was a highlight of the set, and then the band scaled down to feature a new group of players: Wasserman, Lane and Logic. A Wasserman/Logic duet is always a welcome site, and with the addition of drummer Lane the results were truly electric. The
band then concluded their portion of the evening with the nice Ratdog number "Ashes and Glass," then delivered a fired-up "Help On the
Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower" that ended the set on a positive, somewhat nostalgic note. Though there was no encore song from Ratdog, the boys did leave us with enough goodies to chew on until the next time around.
Margaret Pitcher
JamBase | Bay Area
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