Rooster Conspiracy Makes San Francisco Debut

Grateful Dead tribute act Rooster Conspiracy made their San Francisco debut at The Independent on Thursday night. Guitarist Eric Krasno, bassist Reed Mathis, keyboardist Todd Stoops and drummer Jay Lane kept their tradition of performing set-long Dead tunes going at The Independent.

Rooster Conspiracy’s first-ever two set show began with what was essentially a 70-minute version of “Scarlet Begonias.” The quartet kept fans guessing as they kicked off the performance with a jam before launching into the first verse of “Scarlet” around 13 minutes into the set. Reed, Eric, Todd and Jay included teases, jams and quotes on fire-themed songs such as Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” and “Fire On The Bayou” by The Meters where the Dead would’ve traditionally segued into “Fire On The Mountain.”

The foursome began the second set in San Francisco with “Help On The Way.” Rooster Conspiracy once again just used the song as a launching point for another set filled with improvisation including an extended exploration of “Slipknot!” The encore saw the band joined by Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe guitarist DJ Williams, whose Shots Fired project opened the evening with a set of their own, for “Franklin’s Tower.”

Rooster Conspiracy’s current lineup made their debut at Brooklyn Comes Alive last fall, where they treated attendees to a tease and jam-filled version of “Deal.” The quartet then performed a 70-minute version of “Terrapin Station” in June as part of The Ardmore Music Hall’s Unlimited Devotion benefit concerts.

Watch video featuring the first 35 minutes of the opening set below: