6/23/18 Dead & Company @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre - East Troy, WI

I watched the classic Germany v Sweden World Cup battle.  A late Toni Kroos goal saved the Germans late in the match.  Then it was time for Dead & Co. at Alpine Valley.  The drive up was uneventful with mild temperatures and sunny skies.  There was a bit of a traffic backup at the exit off I-43.  Fortunately upon arrival in the yellow lot I was able to find my buddies Frank and Sand fairly easily.  In a crowd of 37,000 they were parked very close to where I was.  It took a long time to enter the facility where there was quite a bottleneck.  We saw our friend Brandon who we went to HS with.  I wasn't thrilled with our spot on the lawn but the sound wasn't bad and we had flat dancing room. 


The show got going with it still being broad daylight with The Music Never Stopped.  This segued into Easy Answers.  Alabama Getaway brought the energy level up.  We liked the Big River with the Davenport reference.  Jack Straw was another highlight of the set.  The guest from Bon Iver didn't really add anything during his guest appearance. We noticed his Northern Exposure shirt. 


I like The Weight as a cover choice but this was bad placement.  The falsetto singing was a bit cheesy as well.  Shakedown Street was when the second set got started.  This was a well explored version and included a "Part Time Lover" tease by Mayer/Oteil.  Althea seems like one of Mayer's favorite Dead tunes.  China > Rider at Alpine Valley felt right.  We went for a walk to the top of the venue.  It felt good to be back in this classic venue.  Drums > Space > Watchtower was my highlight of the show.  Mayer threw in some Jimi Hendrix licks while Weir stayed true to the Dylan original.  The moon was visible above the lawn earlier in the night so Standing on the Moon wasn't entirely unexpected.  Sugar Magnolia was a fun singalong to end the set.  Weir had problems with his microphone.  Everyone knew One More Saturday Night would be the encore.  I beat some of the traffic and got on the road.  This was the least engaging of the three times I've seen Dead & Co.


There was a comical looking old Deadhead on a motorcycle wearing a well worn tie dye tour shirt on I-43 who I passed on the way home.  He could have been on the cover of Shakedown Street.  I made an ill advised run for the border in Beloit.  After I had exited I-88 at Lyndon/Prophetstown I saw four deer on the road in different spots before I reached home which was nerve racking in the foggy conditions.  All told though I was home by 2:30.

5/27/18 Summercamp @ Three Sisters Park - Chillicothe, IL

Phil & Friends 2018-05-27 AUD recording


About 3 weeks ago I went with a couple buddies down to Chillicothe, IL for the Sunday of the Summercamp Music Festival.  This was my 15th year in a row that I've attended in some capacity.  The weather was extremely hot with temperatures nearing 98 degrees.  We were able to find a parking spot, got our wristbands, and through the search in a fairly quick manner.  Everything went pretty smoothly all day. 


I started the day with a stop by the merch stand and caught the beginning of the Los Lobos set.  I felt like the crowd was a tad smaller than the year before.  I could be wrong though.  At this point I got my folding chair set up by the soundboard of the Sunshine Stage.  It was extremely hot.  Umphrey's McGee played a strong set given the conditions.  I liked the jams in Bridgeless and Tribute to the Spinal Shaft.  I believe that was the third year in a row they've played Crucial Taunt during the Sunday set at Summercamp.  Africa was a nice kickdown.  They do a great job with that cover. 


Vic Wooten and TAUK weren't bad.  They kept the day going.  Vic Wooten's group didn't stray far from the Flecktones sound.  TAUK's keyboard was turned up too loud in the mix.  That was my first time seeing them.  Greensky Bluegrass is a band that I'm really enjoying these days.  I went to college with someone who dates their mandolin player, Paul Hoffman.  I especially liked their cover of "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits.  During that set I talked to a former co-worker from Moline who I hadn't seen in years.  After that I went for a walk through the RV section and talked to some more familiar faces.  The temperatures were very hot but the vibe was good.  I had a better time this year than I did the year before. 


The crowd was noticeably older when Phil and The Terrapin Family Band took the Sunshine Stage.  The guy next to me was taping.  I helped protect the microphone stand.  The first set was highlighted by an interesting take on Cassidy.  The female vocals added a lot.  This was clearly a different interpretation of The Grateful Dead compared to what I've seen from Dead & Company.  I wish the core four would still tour together but it is what it is.  Whether this was the final time I'll ever see Phil Lesh in the live setting remains to be seen but I've always viewed him as a grandfather type figure of this music scene.  During the setbreak I saw local act The Dawn perform a spirited take on Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times".  Terrapin Station was a highlight in the second set.  They ended set two with a fiery take on Neil Young's "Rockin in the Free World" which was an obvious reference to the school shooting that had occurred days before. 


We made our way to the area in front of the soundboard in the Moonshine Stage.  I was excited to see moe. again.  It had been a calendar year since I'd seen them live with them having taken time off because of Rob Derhak's cancer.  SOMP > SDB is old school moe.  The Zeppelin cover was fun.  Flo > Laz > Moth was really rocking.  I was having a great time.  moe. stepped up to the plate.  The lights and the video work were tasteful. 


The second set started with Drums and led into a setlong Brent Black sandwich. Bullet > Kyle's were played in their Wormwood order.  LL3 is a new song that references Rob's cancer battle. George always is a treat.  Four > BB was solid work.  NYC, Wind It Up sent us off into the Illinois night.  moe. won the day, but the schedule is set up to work out that way.