Phil Lesh & moe. Present Guest-Filled phil.moe Set At Lockn’

The penultimate set of this year’s Lockn’ Festival was the debut of phil.moe, a collaboration between jam stalwarts moe. and Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh. phil.moe’s set at Infinity Downs Farm featured a mix of moe. and Grateful Dead songs as well as a The Band cover. The group was also augmented at points by special guests including members of The Revivalists, Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and vocalist Nicki Bluhm.

phil.moe’s set took on extra importance when moe. revealed bassist Rob Derhak had been diagnosed with cancer. Sunday night’s set was the final performance from Derhak’s mates before they begin an indefinite hiatus. The timing worked out in that Lesh was able to fill Rob’s shoes for the night as Derhak was home recovering from treatment. Phil Lesh and moe., minus Derhak, opened the phil.moe performance with one of Phil’s signature songs, “Box Of Rain.”

Up next was a “Silver Sun” > “The Other One” > “Silver Sun” sequence connecting a moe. original and a Grateful Dead original. The “Silver One” sequence spanned nearly 20 jam-filled minutes and saw Phil’s son Grahame Lesh sit-in with the ensemble. moe. guitarist Al Schnier then welcomed members of The Revivalists to the stage. Vocalist David Shaw, trumpeter Michael Girardot and saxophonist Rob Ingraham led phil.moe through a triumphant cover of The Band’s “Ophelia.”

The phil.moe set rolled on with another moe./Grateful Dead pairing as guitarist Chuck Garvey started up a “Four” that would eventually wind its way into “Bird Song” and back again. Bob Weir, who was on hand for a set of his own with Phil as well as a guest appearance with The Avett Brothers, was the next phil.moe guest. Weir, Grahame Lesh and Nicki Bluhm joined in for an adventurous “The Music Never Stopped.” Bobby was sporting a “Rob” t-shirt in honor of Derhak. Phil, moe. and Weir then brought the set to a close with a sizzling “Sugar Magnolia” > “Scarlet Begonias” > “Sunshine Daydream” segment.

Watch the phil.moe. set before it gets taken down (9:39:00 > 11:11:00):

Setlist

Set: Box Of Rain, Silver Sun* > The Other One* > Silver Sun*, Ophelia**, Four > Bird Song -> Four, The Music Never Stopped***, Sugar Magnolia^ > Scarlet Begonias^ > Sunshine Daydream^

• * – w/ Grahame Lesh
• ** – w/ David Shaw, Michael Giradot & Rob Ingraham of Revivalists
• *** – w/ Bob Weir, Grahame Lesh & Nicki Bluhm
• ^ – w/ Bob Weir