Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum + Bob Weir & Wolf Bros Perform At Frost Amphitheater

Frost Amphitheater in Palo Alto, California hosted sets from Planet Drum featuring Mickey Hart and Zakir Hussain as well as on Sunday. The concert at the recently renovated venue on the campus of Stanford University marked the first Planet Drum performance in 15 years.

Grateful Dead/Dead & Company drummer/percussionist Mickey Hart and acclaimed tabla master Zakir Hussain are joined in the core Planet Drum lineup by fellow renowned percussionists Sikiru Adeopoju and Giovanni Hidalgo. On August 5, the quartet will release their first studio album since 2007, In The Groove.

Isaac Eady, Danda Da Hora and Mandjou Kone augmented Hart, Hussain, Hidalgo and Adepoju at the Frost Amphitheater, a venue where the Grateful Dead played 14 concerts spanning 1982 through 1989. Planet Drum opened with “Drops” and then worked a balafon intro into “Gadago Gadago.” The latter included contributions from Red Baraat’s Sunny Jain and Puerto Rican percussionist Anthony Carrillo as per Jambands.com’s report and is a song featured on Into The Groove.

Next, Danda Da Hora and Mandjou Kone fronted a “Shekere Chant” that gave way to Into The Groove lead single “Tides.” Planet Drum went on to link “Temple Caves” from their self-titled 1991 debut studio album with the debut of Into The Groove’s “Phil Da Glass” before a drum roll bled into the live premiere of “Storm Drum” from the forthcoming LP. With “King Clave” performed to close the set, Planet Drum had played all six tracks featured on Into The Groove.

Hart’s Grateful Dead and Dead & Company bandmate Bob Weir took the stage next. The guitarist was accompanied by bassist Don Was, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, pedal steel guitarist Barry Sless and drummer Jay Lane for the full two-hour Bob Weir & Wolf Bros performance. Additionally, The Wolfpack horn and string section contributed to all but a few songs.

The Wolfpack was on hand to join Bob Weir & Wolf Bros for the “Jack Straw” opener. Weir, Was, Lane, Chimenti and Sless then went it alone for “Brown-Eyed Women” and the full band debut of “She Knows What I’m Thinkin’,” a new original Bobby played solo twice during his recently completed Wolf Bros tour. After “Ramble On Rose,” The Wolfpack returned for a complete “Weather Report Suite” that included “Let It Grow” and an “Eyes Of The World” sequence incorporating Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”

Bobby and the core band finished off their main set on Sunday with a gorgeous “Standing On The Moon” and powerful “Not Fade Away.” For the encore, The Wolfpack reemerged on an emotion-laden “Brokedown Palace.”

Watch pro-shot video featuring the start of each set and an audio recording of Weir’s performance taped by Alec VanderWoude:

Setlists

Planet Drum (via Setlist.FM)

Set: Drops, Balafon Intro > Gadago Gadago, Shekere Chant > Tides, Temple Caves > Phil Da Glass > Drum Roll > Storm Drum, King Clave

Bob Weir & Wolf Bros (via Bob Weir Instagram)

Set: Jack Straw, Brown-Eyed Women, She Knows What I’m Thinkin’, Ramble On Rose, Weather Report Suite > Let It Grow, Eyes Of The World > What’s Going On > Eyes Of The World > The Other One > Standing On The Moon, Not Fade Away

Encore: Brokedown Palace