Tom Hamilton Joins Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble For Grateful Dead Covers In Ardmore

Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble came to Ardmore Music Hall near Philadelphia on Wednesday. The former Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros bassist continued to honor his late bandmate Bob Weir, this time by welcoming Philly’s own Tom Hamilton for a run of Grateful Dead covers.

Was and his band were fresh off a two-show engagement at The Blue Note in New York City on Sunday, just a day after news of Bobby’s passing. Was fittingly opened those shows with Weir’s “The Music Never Stopped” along with other Grateful Dead numbers.

On Saturday, the band was in Ann Arbor, and received the news just ahead of their performance. At Ardmore, Was, who admitted he didn’t feel like performing in Michigan after hearing the news, began the show by sharing a story Bobby told him about when he went on to perform after hearing of Jerry Garcia‘s passing in 1995. Watch below:

Following Don’s words, Hamilton came out with the band to kick off the music with “New Speedway Boogie.” Tom, who is well-versed in the Grateful Dead catalog as a member of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, played acoustic guitar and sang throughout his sit-in.

Next, Hamilton captained one of Bobby’s signature songs, “Cassidy.” The GD classic “Truckin'” followed ahead of beloved Dead ballad “Brokedown Palace,” which carries the line “Fare you well, fare you well, I love more than words can tell.”

While Hamilton departed following “Brokedown Palace,” Don Was & The Pan Detroit Ensemble went on to deliver seven of the 11 tracks from the Grateful Dead’s 1975 LP, Blues For Allah. Additional Dead tunes performed included the Hunter/Garcia favorite “Loser” and the funky “Shakedown Street.” Was also featured songs from his own catalog such as “Carry Me Back to Old Morocco” and “You Asked, I Came.”

Watch Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble’s full Ardmore Show below: