Greensky Bluegrass are currently in the midst of a winter run that found them moving down the eastern seaboard the last couple of nights. On Thursday the jamgrass act was in Philadelphia for a show at The Fillmore, while last night the band kicked off a two-night run in Washington, D.C. that finds them splitting time between the 9:30 Club and The Anthem.
The Michigan-based band’s opening set on Thursday in the City of Brotherly Love saw them deliver their second attempt of Dawes’ “Quitter” from the band’s 2016 We’re All Gonna Die. Other highlights included a take on Bill Monroe’s “Wheel Hoss,” as well as Greensky dusting of “Out & Under” for the first time since June of last year.
During their second set, the five-piece act welcomed out Joe Russo’s Almost Dead guitarist Tom Hamiton to join them for a stretch of tunes. The augmented act served up Steppin’ In It’s “Butcher’s Girl” for the first time since May of 2017, setlist staple “Demons” and the Grateful Dead deep cut “Mr. Charlie.” Greensky brought their night in Philly to a close with Phish’s “Chalkdust Torture.”
On Friday, Greensky made their way south of the Mason-Dixon line for the first of two shows in our nation’s capital. The band nodded to the fact that Punxsutawney Phil had seen his shadow earlier in the day by opening the night with the day-appropriate cover of Doc Watson’s “Ground Hog” from his 1963 release The Watson Family, which was followed by the Traveling Wilburys’ classic “Handle With Care.” As has become a tradition on this tour, the band welcomed opening act Billy Strings to join them once again. This time they paired up for their debut take on Chuck Berry’s signature tune “Johnny B. Goode” featuring Strings on electric guitar.
The second set in D.C. saw them bust out Thin Lizzy’s “Boys Are Back In Town” for the first time since March of last year and just the fifth time overall since a trio of performances back in 2015. The other notable setlist inclusion saw Greensky drop Last Train Home’s “My Sally” in the middle of the instrumental “Tarpology,” serving it up for the first time since November of 2015, and just their third take on it in a span of eight years.
Listen to full show audio and check out the setlists from both nights below:
Setlist (via Camp Greensky)
02/01/2018 • The Fillmore Philadelphia • Philadelphia, PA
Set I: The Radio Blues, Quitter, Run or Die, Tuesday Letter, Wheel Hoss, Out & Under, Jesus on the Mainline, While Waiting> Don’t Lie
Set II: Dustbowl Overture, Better Off, Butcher’s Girl*, Demons*> Mr. Charlie*, Hit Parade of Love, Old Barns, Broke Mountain Breakdown> Before Bring Out Your Dead> Bring Out Your Dead
Encore: Chalkdust Torture
*w/ Tom Hamilton (guitar & vocals)
Audio | Taped by Rich Stoler
Setlist (via Camp Greensky)
02/02/2018 • 9:30 Club • Washington, DC
Set I: Ground Hog> Handle With Care, More of Me, Bringing in the Georgia Mail, 200 Miles from Montana, Johnnie B. Goode*, What’s Left of the Night> Exuberance> Train Junkie
Set II: Boys are Back in Town, Blood Sucking F(r)iends, Worried About the Weather, Merely Avoiding, Fo Sho, Uh Huh, Tied Down, Bottle Dry, Into the Rafters, Tarpology> My Sally> Tarpology, Past My Prime
Encore: Fixin To Ruin
* first time played
