Tom Hamilton Plays Jerry Garcia’s Iconic Travis Bean Guitar In Chicago

Tom Hamilton came to the newly minted Garcia’s Chicago on Saturday. The Joe Russo’s Almost Dead guitarist played Jerry Garcia’s 1976 Travis Bean axe for the performance.

Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia experimented with Travis Bean guitars in the mid-1970s. Travis Bean guitars utilize “a metal neck and wooden fretboard” and a “hollow pan… machined from the same billet as the neck,” as per the Travis Bean website.

Jerry reportedly liked Travis Beans for their sustain. He played two models of Travis Bean guitars — the TB1000 and the rarer TB500 — from roughly late 1976 until Fall 1977, when he returned to his Wolf guitar. It was the TB500 he played in one of the most iconic live eras of the Dead, Spring/Summer 1977.

It was Jerry’s TB500 #11 Tom Hamilton played at Garcia’s on Saturday, courtesy of Family Guitars. Check out a clip of Tommy ripping the Jerry’s Travis Bean on “Tangled Up In Blue” during soundcheck:

Hamilton and his band — bassist Taylor Ward Shell, drummer Scotty Zwang and keyboardist Thomas McKee — kicked off the concert with a cut from the Ghost Light catalog, “Keep Your Hands To Yourself,” off the 2019 album Best Kept Secrets.

The concert saw Hamilton mixing originals with a few covers. In the latter category the guitarist offered takes on The Beatles’ “Ticket To Ride,” a nice pick for the Travis Bean with its jangly guitar riff, and Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue,” a staple in the Jerry Garcia Band catalog.

The guitarist also offered songs from his Tom Hamilton’s American Babies catalog including “Old Fashioned,” “Old Time Religion,” “Synth Driver” and more. Listen to the full show below:

Setlist/Photos

Tom Hamilton has an additional solo gig in Portland, Maine on the books ahead of JRAD runs. Scroll down for his itinerary and ticket info.