Phil Lesh & Friends End ‘Darkness’ Show With Campfire Singalong Encore

On Tuesday night Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh welcomed a new lineup of his Phil Lesh & Friends project to Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, California for the first part of a series of shows billed as “From Darkness To Light.” Tuesday’s concert had the theme of “Darkness” and ended with the musicians and attendees heading outside for a special encore set performed around the campfire in the venue’s backyard.

Singer-songwriter Cass McCombs made his Phil & Friends debut as part of a band that also featured Circles Around The Sun drummer Mark Levy, guitarist Jackie Greene, Chris Robinson Brotherhood/Circles Around The Sun/Hard Working Americans guitarist Neal Casal and CRB keyboardist Adam MacDougall. Cass had his turn in the spotlight right away with lead vocals on the “Dark Star” that kicked off the show. The band segued “Dark Star” into Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse” which gave way to “Mountains Of The Moon.” Jackie and Cass then shared vocals on a cover of CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising.” The “darkness” theme was evident throughout the main set with Casal leading “Paint It Black” (Rolling Stones) ahead of “Comfortably Numb” (Pink Floyd). Neal also fronted the group on Tim Buckley’s “Never Asked To Be Your Mountain,” while Jackie Greene stepped into the fore front on Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane.”

The set continued with McCombs belting “Black Peter” and Jackie leading The Youngbloods’ “Darkness, Darkness.” Cass again showed off his vocal range on “China Doll” ahead of a Phil-sung “Terrapin Station” and a Jackie-sung “Black Muddy River.” Neal Casal helped the group end the set by providing lead vocals on a cover of Fairport Convention’s “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” The band then gathered around a campfire outside for a four-song encore set that included sing-a-long versions of “Box Of Rain,” “I Shall Be Released,” “Bird Song” and “Uncle John’s Band.” This evening Terrapin hosts a “Light themed show to conclude the series.

Watch the acoustic encore captured by Bruce Valentine as well as other clips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0xFSKANdfM https://www.instagram.com/p/BHguJzfBjUz

Setlist (via Deadheadland & Osty Gale)

Set: Jam > Dark Star v1 cm > Eclipse all > Mountains of the Moon pl > Bad Moon Rising cm jg > Paint It Black nc, Comfortably Numb am nc jg, Never Asked To Be Your Mountain nc > (Jeff Buckley), Hurricane jg (Dylan), Black Peter cm, Darkness Darkness jg, China Doll cm, Terrapin Station pl. Black Muddy River jg, Who Knows Where The Time Goes nc

Encore Set (sing-a-long at the fire pit in the Terrapin Backyard): Box of Rain pl all, I Shall Be Released jgre nc all, Bird Song pl all, Uncle John’s Band all