Review & Photos | Terrapin Crossroads Groundhog Day House Party | San Rafael
By Team JamBase Feb 4, 2015 • 1:40 pm PST
Words and Images by: Alan Sheckter
Phil & Friends, Midnight North & Radio Galaxy :: 2.2.15 :: Terrapin Crossroads :: San Rafael, CA
Read Alan’s review of the evening after the gallery
Five months from now, Phil Lesh will be performing once again with Grateful Dead band mates Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann to celebrate the group’s 50th anniversary at three big stadium shows in Chicago. Until then, he’ll continue to present all sorts of musical highlights and hijinks at his little ol’ Terrapin Crossroads club in San Rafael, California. On Monday night, Lesh and company hosted one of their “house parties” at the venue to celebrate the whimsical holiday starring another Phil, Punxsutawney. In this format, all components of the venue were open to attendees, that is, the large restaurant and bar with all of its sitting, standing and dancing areas, and the vast patio overlooking a canal, otherwise known as the San Rafael Creek.
Funny thing, the Grate Room, which hosts most of the big-band shows, was actually closed for this special Groundhog Day event. The performances all went down in dignified fashion in the bar/restaurant/patio, making for an extremely casual experience. A friend aptly compared the scene to Hugh Hefner’s 1969-1970 TV variety show, Playboy After Dark, during which an intimate and stylish audience of partygoers would eat, drink and dance to music.
Thinking about how the vibe will surely be different when throngs of fans gather in Chicago, Phil Lesh was comfortable enough early in the evening to stroll through the restaurant and out on the patio lovingly holding -and showing off -his new grandson, Levon Lesh.
The songs were familiar during the two-set, Grateful Dead-heavy main course of this Groundhog Day party, which featured a version of Phil Lesh and Friends that on this night included the intriguing combo of Phil, Jackie Greene, Nicki Bluhm, Scott Law, Jason Crosby and Alex Koford. This ensemble was tight and strong throughout, led by the dual jamming guitar attack of Jackie and Scott, both monster improvisational players who have oft-times worked with Lesh. Songs from the Grateful Dead live repertoire, like “New Minglewood Blues” and “Turn on Your Lovelight,” were rocked out to a frenzy, with Lesh visibly enjoying the experience. “New Speedway Boogie,” a Dead classic that Jackie has mastered and worked into his own repertoire, was a bluesy, space-jamming first-set closer. In amongst the Dead songs, Nicki took the lead on several numbers, an ambitious task with hundreds of Deadheads staring at her. With Lesh at her left, she provided excellent changes of pace, leading the band by voice on the Dead’s “Dire Wolf” as well as such classics as Linda Ronstadt’s ”You’re No Good,” with Lesh delivering the prominent bass line of that song with vitality, Joni Mitchell’s “Free Man In Paris,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” and a dual lead with Jackie on the old country classic, “Jackson.”
In keeping with the Groundhog Day theme, or at least the movie of the same name, a loud alarm kept triggering, then Jackie and Nicki would sing a few bars of “I Got You Babe,” in reverence to the Bill Murray character in the movie, whose alarm would sound and then play “I Got You Babe” as he re-lived the same day over and over again.
One could listen to music from up front in the tiniest little “orchestra pit” you ever saw, or grab a view from either side of the stage or the nearby spiral staircase or from the bar. Attendees were free to roam, get plates of food from the modest but sufficient and flavorful buffet and take their conversations to any of the venue’s booths and tables, or the patio which featured an almost-full moon, modern outdoor fireplace and speakers to keep patio-sitters in the musical loop.
Musically, the evening started off with a short set by Terrapin Crossroads’ mainstay Ross James and his Radio Galaxy band (on this night including Jason Crosby, Brian Rashap, Craig MacArthur and Alex Koford), which regaled the arriving crowd with some fine rockin’ and twangin’. They turned the bar stage over to Midnight North, a band of Terrapin Crossroads roots-rock regulars led by Grahame Lesh and Elliott Peck, along with Alex Jordan, Connor O’Sullivan and Eric Saar. Their six-song set, some of which included Jason Crosby guesting on keyboards, showcased the band’s talented songwriting craftiness that is featured on its first album as well as a new record that should be ready to go in the spring. Midnight North delivered fine vocal and instrumental chops on every number, including a sweet rendition of “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.”
Before Phil Lesh joined in, Jackie, Nicki and Scott did a sort impromptu warmup set that included the hundred-year-old blues number “Don’t Advertise Your Man” -just another example of the unique performances you’ll find on a regular basis at Terrapin Crossroads.
Phil Lesh & Friends Setlist (lead singer’s initials)
Set One: Alabama Getaway (JG), Dire Wolf (NB), New Minglewood Blues (SL), You’re No Good (NB), Jackson (JG, NB), New Speedway Boogie (JG)
Set Two: Scarlet Begonias (JG) > Fire on the Mountain (SL), Landslide (NB), Eyes of the World (PL), Free Man in Paris (NB) > Turn on Your Lovelight (JG, NB), Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower (PL, NB)
Encore: Not Fade Away (all)
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