See Phil Lesh & Friends Play Through A Torrential Thunderstorm In Boston That Led To An Early End

Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh hit the road for his first multi-venue Phil Lesh & Friends run this past weekend since July 2022. The three-show swing began on Friday at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston, where a fierce storm led to an early cancelation of the show.

Phil Lesh was joined by guitarists Eric Krasno and Grahame Lesh, multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby, trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick, drummer John Molo and saxophonist James Casey as his band for the concerts in Boston on Friday, at the Great South Bay Music Fest in Patchogue, New York on Saturday and New Haven, Connecticut on Sunday. James Casey, who was only able to perform encores with Trey Anastasio Band in Baltimore on July 6 and Asbury Park on July 7 due to health concerns, was back in full action over the weekend with Phil & Friends.

The show and run began with Grahame helming “The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)” before Eric Krasno fronted the group on “Brown-Eyed Women.” Grahame and Eric continued the back and forth with “Candyman” and “He’s Gone” ahead of a “That’s What Love Will Make You Do” featuring Krasno and Hartswick sharing vocal duties. Friday’s first set concluded with an “Althea” sung by Grahame Lesh.

Phil Lesh & Friends kicked off Friday’s second set with father (Phil) and son (Grahame) leading the band through “Jack Straw” as buckets of rain immersed the venue. Next came Phil guiding his ensemble on “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo.” Fans did their best to cram in underneath the venue’s tented roof by that point. Phil sent the crowd into hysterics when he sang, “prayed for better weather” during the Wake Of The Flood classic. Graphics alerting the audience to seek shelter were displayed on each side of the stage.

The septet stuck to material from the Grateful Dead’s 1973 studio album by moving from “Mississippi Half-Step” to “Eyes Of The World.” Sheets of rain poured from the skies as Phil & Friends played an “Eyes” featuring James Casey on lead vocals. The band then worked through “Terrapin Station.” Hartswick provided harmonies underneath Phil and Grahame’s singing. Jennifer picked up her trumpet with James on sax for the instrumental portion of the title track from the Dead’s 1977 LP.

Phil Lesh & Friends closed the show with “Terrapin Station.” At the 45-minute mark of the second set Phil stepped to the mic. “We’re going to apologize to all of you. The gods of weather are making us stop because there’s lightning coming and we don’t want all of you guys to get zapped,” Phil told the crowd. “I’m so sorry [that] was our last song. Thank you all for coming out. God bless you all.”

“Jack O’Roses,” “Morning Dew” and “Playing In The Band” were supposed to finish the second set according to the stage setlist. A question mark was left in the encore slot. Watch fan-shot footage of the storm coming through Friday’s Phil Lesh & Friends concert below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu_94mhtQ9d/?hl=en

Setlist & Full-Show Audio (via Ted Gakidis)

Set One: The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion), Brown-Eyed Women, Candyman, He’s Gone, That’s What Love Will Make You Do, Althea

Set Two: Jack Straw, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Eyes Of The World > Terrapin Station