Hear Neighbor Welcome Ryan Montbleau For Sly & The Family Stone Cover At Final Night Of Nectar’s Run

Boston-based quartet Neighbor closed out a three-night run at Nectar’s on Saturday with a sold-out concert at the famed Burlington, Vermont venue. The band unveiled three new covers over the course of the evening including a Sly and the Family Stone tune played with old friend Ryan Montbleau.

Montbleau’s guest appearance during Saturday’s second set came one night after Neighbor was joined by Dopapod’s Chuck Jones on bass for original “Move Along Little Jimmy” and former Turkuaz guitarist Craig Brodhead for a debut take on Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves Of London.” Friday also saw the group honor Nectar’s huge role in Phish history by having guitarist Lyle Brewer offer a solo version of “Bouncing Around The Room” as the encore.

Lyle Brewer and bandmates keyboardist Richard James, drummer Dean Johnston and bassist Dan Kelly opened the Nectar’s finale with live staple “You Could Be Mine.” James nodded to the location by alternating the lyrics to “it’s the people you meet in Burlington VT.” A seamless three-song run that started the night also included a rare “Upside Down” and the third performance of recently debuted original “On My Mind.” Neighbor inserted “Cucamonga Carl” and “Steel” teases within the ensuing “Into The Sun,” which bled into “Motor.”

After hinting at the song earlier, the band fully dove into “Cucamonga Carl” towards the end of Saturday’s first set. Neighbor then delivered the blues-tinged original “He’s Not Me” and wrapped the frame with a debut cover of The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends.” The four-piece went with Joe Cocker’s arrangement of “With A Little Help From My Friends” sans lyrics as Brewer simulated the vocals on his guitar.

Dean “Dux” Johnston got the final set of the run underway with a drum solo before the group launched into a tease-filled “Stranger Part Of Town.” Neighbor worked the second performance of “Hey My Name Is Lyle” within “Stranger Part Of Town” and then uncorked a nine-minute run through “The Longest Day.” Brewer and James performed a “Nature vs. Nuture” duet next before Ryan Montbleau emerged. Lyle Brewer was a member of the Ryan Montbleau Band for a few years. Montbleau helmed Neighbor’s premiere rendition of the Sly and the Family Stone classic “If You Want Me To Stay.”

Saturday’s second set rolled on with jam vehicle “Steel” featuring teases of previously performed numbers “Into The Sun,” “Cucamonga Carl” and “If You Want Me To Stay.” James then fronted the quartet on the beloved “Why I Like You” and also sang The Who’s “Squeezebox,” the evening’s third and final cover debut. Neighbor waived the “White Flag” to close the frame and punctuated the night and run with a “Mighty Apple Tree” encore.

A free livestream of the show was broadcast on Volume.com. Hear Neighbor’s Nectar’s finale via an audience recording captured by Taper Chris below:

Setlist (via Neighbor Tunes)

Set One: You Could Be Mine > Upside Down > On My Mind, Into the Sun[1] > Motor, Cucamonga Carl[2], He’s Not Me > With a Little Help from My Friends[3]

Set Two: Dux > Stranger Part of Town[4] -> Hey My Name Is Lyle -> Stranger Part of Town[5], The Longest Day, Nature vs. Nurture[6], If You Want Me To Stay[7], Steel[8], Why I Like You, Squeeze Box[9], White Flag

Encore: Mighty Apple Tree[10]

Footnotes:

• [1] Cucamonga Carl and Steel teases.
• [2] Free Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd) tease.
• [3] First time played (The Beatles). Instrumental Joe Cocker arrangement.
• [4] Cucamonga Carl, Somerville Shuffle, Tweezer (Phish), and Mike’s Song (Phish) teases.
• [5] Bathtub Gin (Phish), Into The Sun, and Hey My Name Is Lyle teases. Hey My Name Is Lyle quote.
• [6] Ricky and Lyle only.
• [7] First time played (Sly and the Family Stone). Ryan Montbleau on vocals. Crashing Down tease.
• [8] Into The Sun, Cucamonga Carl, and If You Want Me To Stay (Sly and the Family Stone) teases.
• [9] First time played (The Who).
• [10] Talk (Phish) teases.

Show Notes: Lyrics to You Could Be Mine changed to “it’s the people you meet in Burlington VT.” Lyrics to Mighty Apple Tree changed to “you can always count on Steve.”