DJ Williams Makes Phil Lesh & Friends Debut At Terrapin Crossroads

Phil Lesh returned to the Grate Room at Terrapin Crossroads on Thursday to after celebrating his 79th birthday earlier this month with a trio of shows at The Capitol Theatre. The bass player put together yet another new configuration of his long-running ‘And Friends’ project. Last night featured horn and flute player Karl Denson, keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Mark Levy and gutarists Stu Allen and Grahame Lesh Additionaly, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe guitarist DJ Williams was making his Phil Lesh & Friends debut.

Denson led the collective through “Here Comes Sunshine” to start the night, singing lead on the Wake Of The Flood gem. From there, the seven-piece act would dig in on a funky “West L.A. Fadeaway” with Denson once again stepping up to sing on “Easy Wind.” An expansive “Bird Song” came ahead of yet another detour into the Grateful Dead’s more funk-based material with “Shakedown Street” leading into a set-closing take on the psychedelic-era chestnut “Mason’s Children.”

The trifecta of “Help On The Way,” “Slipknot!,” “Franklin’s Tower” got the second frame off the ground. Phil Lesh showed off his vocals stylings on Aoxomoxoa’s acid-drenched folk ballad “Mountains Of The Moon” as its segued into Jimi Hendrix via Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower.” A run of Dead classics helped close out the back portion of the set as the septet dove headfirst into “St. Stephen” with a thunderous “The Other One” following. Phil’s beloved “Unbroken Chain” and “Scarlet Begonias” brought the set to an end. Lesh & Co. closed out the night with a sing-a-long version of The Band’s “The Weight.”

Watch pro-shot video of the openers of each set courtesy of nugs.tv and a fan-shot video below:

Here Comes Sunshine

Help On The Way > Slipknot!

Easy Wind Captured by Tom Whalen