Stormy Mondays | Phil Lesh’s Forgotten Band

This week Phil Lesh & Friends will finish up their fall tour, and based on the recent announcement of Phil’s agreement with Peter Shapiro, it may be their last outing that can actually be called a tour at all. The current band has been called the dirty southern edition of Phil’s rotating project, and while Phish fans eagerly awaited an album cover that never came, this group has offered almost a half-dozen full albums to date, the songs being sprinkled throughout their sets and opening performances from American Jubilee.

However, it was a show from last year’s Phil & Friends’ fall tour, featuring John Kadlecik, Jackie Greene, Adam McDougall, Joe Russo and special guest Stanley Jordan, that produced one of my all-time favorite sets from Phil, on a weeknight at NYC’s Roseland Ballroom no less. The room was perhaps sixty percent full, and it was easy to walk right up the stage as the band hit, and something about that atmosphere and the fact that the group had a few shows under their belts allowed the music to just flow effortlessly. Listen to the transition from the opening “Touch” > “Reuben”…it is spectacular, electrifying. John’s vocals were strong, Jackie’s always great and the guitars all wound around one another. Add in McDougall’s funky keys and it all combined to give the show the feeling of a ripping mid-’70s JGB gig. I cannot recommend this one enough. As always, enjoy!

•CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK’S MIX

Included in the mix: Touch of Grey > Reuben & Cerise > Jam > Ramble On Rose, They Love Each Other, It Must’ve Been The Roses, Here Comes The Sun, Good Lovin’

Written By: Dan Alford