Manchester NH

Furthur

Verizon Wireless Center

November 3, 2011

(check out the video section for videos from this show.)

So I have had the pleasure of seeing Furthur twice, both last winter, once at this facility and once at UMass the next night in Amherst, MA.  I was impressed by the band's fluid nature, their authentic ability to capture the Grateful Dead sound, and the shows overall.  So when my brother called and let me know he was getting tickets, I told him I was in...

I traveled up there with my Dad, who is a Dead show veteran, but unfortunately my bro couldn't make it, stuck home with the flu.  We had two extra tickets, and after a decent dinner at the Shaskeen, an Irish pub down the road from the concert, we were ready to venture to the show.   Parking was pretty easy when we arrived, and the scene in front of the show was not that busy.  We unloaded the tickets pretty quickly, and went inside.

The arena is a hockey style place, and small enough to seem comfortable but certainly big enough to be an arena and not a theater or anything..  The listed capacity is around 9500, and even as the show started it was clearly not full.  The whole scene in general has down sized, and that is fine with most of the people who attend.  The crowds that used to follow the Dead have chosen to follow Phish or others instead, and the fans couldn't be happier it seems.  Those that do attend now are super knowledgeable and are clearly huge fans of the band and not there to score drugs or be considered a part of the scene.

This became evident as I did one of my more favored pre show rituals, quizzing everyone around me as to what they thought that the opener would be.  We got lots of responses for Cold Rain and Snow, as it was only a few days after the historic October blizzard in New England, a smattering of other answers like Golden Road and Bertha.  All were surprised when Bobby and company chose to open with Playin' in the Band.   It was nice and tight, and featured an extended jam that surprised me, as I thought that it would be more of a set one type of opener, concise.  But the band stretched out and it was more exploratory than I expected.

The expected Cold Rain and Snow came shortly after, with JK (John Kadlecik formerly of Dark Star Orchestra) taking the vocal lead.  Bobby came back with a really beautiful Cassidy which rolled around much like Playin had done earlier, and so exploration was to be expected for the rest of the night.  A mellow Lazy River Road followed, with the band's front members: Bobby, JK and Phil Lesh, each sharing lead vocal responsibilities.  When Lesh stood up to the microphone, he was greeted by enthusiastic applause, and he clearly was elated at being at this show and performing.  (more on that later.)   He responded with a treat of his own, my first time seeing his rarity, Pride of Cucamunga.  Those around me let me know that it wasn't so rare on the Further set lists, but it was a total treat for me.  The extended blues jam turned into a thing of beauty, with the pace and tenor of the improvisations turning dark and contemplative.  Then on a dime the band turned back to the song's theme and we were back in happy land and the major keys.  This ability to shuffle the texture of a song, to continue to reshape material that was written decades ago is the hallmark of Furthur and the whole Dead caravan of bands.

That probably would have been enough for me, certainly for the first set, in terms of rarities.  But the band shocked everyone by taking out what was my first version of the Jerry Garcia classic, Catfish John.  None of us in attendance could remember the Dead playing it in any format, and the shared vocals, and the complimentary vocal harmonies of the backing singers, really gave this song some luster.  To be treated to material that surprises us out of a band whose age is closer to a half century than not, is amazing.  The set closed with a fairly pedestrian version of Bertha followed quickly by a rollicking take on the 60s classic Good Love.

There was an extrended set break, close to sixty minutes.  My Dad was getting impatient but I commented, "Whatever they need to do to stay out on the road and performing concerts is okay with me.  What's an extended set break going to do to me?  Nothing!"  So if the guys need some time, cool- take it.  Just keep playing!

Set two opened with a playful take on Shakedown Street.  They extended the jam and even referenced the Lionel Ritchie / Commodores classic Brickhouse by adding a lil "Shake it down, Shake it down, Shake it down now!!" to the vocal jam.  It was fun and playful, and showed that these old dogs still had some new tricks to share with us.  Next up was a raucous Jack Straw:  it took me a little while to realize what song it was, despite my intense familiarity with Jack Straw.  The opening was meandering and purposeful at the same time, and they didn't settle on the opening themes for a minute or two.  This is always a great song, and with all of the vocalists in good form, the harmonies were amazing.  But the jam before the final stanza, was amazing.  The band was aggressive, assertively punctuating the rhythm.  Fans always are riveted when Lesh is on target, and this song is known for his strength during this jam segment.  He dropped numerous bombs throughout the rhythmic jam, and you would have to be blind and deaf to miss them.  Once again, Lesh had taken complete control of the band, and was elevating all of the musicians to a higher level with his energy and skill.

The band took that energy down in order to do some serious exploring through the next few songs:  Bird Song, Let It Grow, and the Wheel.  The jams were at times dark, but the band was operating on all cylinders and turning over every rock and peeking around all the corners while testing the boundaries of these songs.  JK threw a great Eleanor Rigby tease into the end of The Wheel and it made me wonder if we were actually heading there.   When the Wheel turned into drums, featuring Joe Russo (the Duo, Fat Mama and many other bands), it was the first time that we really got a taste of Joe Russo being himself.  He is very respectful in this band, and does not really stretch out into the worlds that we know he can.  Since the Dead typically were a two drummer band, and he is the only one in this band right now, his responsiblities rhythmically probably keep him from straying from his duties much.  This was not so much a full on DRUMS like we would expect from MIckey and Billy, and it quickly segued into King Soloman's Marbles.  I had seen this last year at UMass, and though rare, this version didn't slay me like that one had.  It was good, though and the novelty hasn't worn off, yet.

A lengthy take on the Garcia classic Black Peter was next and led me to believe that we were coasting toward the end of the set.  Once again the vocal duties were passed around, and Furthur's version of this song was excellent.  Sunshine Becker and Jeff Pehrson are amazing.  What had been amusing and supportive backing vocals last year, has turned into a whole vocal structure that is heretofore unknown in the Dead's world.  They add such strength to the vocals of whomever is singing lead, that it makes the band, dare I say it, a vocal band.  Now, the Dead were always known to have great lyrics and wrote vocal tunes, but they were never great singers.  While we loved the warts that they displayed at times from awkward harmonies to forgotten lyrics, they simply weren't great singers.  But, you would never know that listening to this band.  At times the number of voices would swell to six singers or more.  The foundation that Becker and Pehrson lay down is so strong, that it makes the duties for Lesh, Weir, and company that much easier to handle.  The resultant sweet sounds are so profound, it is remarkable.  Good job people!  

I was fully ready to see Black Peter end the set and was surprised when the opening notes of Gimme Some Lovin'  rang.  Jeff Chimenti (Ratdog) had been  hanging back for most of the show, and he took this obvious moment to shine with his keyboard skills.  Less hidden than he was last year with Furthur, he stretched out at times with great supportive keyboard lines and flourishes.  He is among the more reserved keyboard players in Dead history, but he is easily able to add color and decoration to each song.  But he does seem to shun the spotlight.   The Spencer Davis group classic gave way to a Grateful classic, Uncle John's Band.  It was then that I remembered the Playin' in the Band opener to the show, and knew that we would be revisited by the reprise of that song, and sure enough it followed Uncle John's right where you expect it to be.   With a set that came close to two hours, I was totally satisfied when the band left the stage.

Phil Lesh was the first to return and spent some time talking to the audience about organ donation.  He commented that he received a liver almost two decades ago from a donor, and that he would not be here playing music for us were it not for that gift.  Lucky for us, too, as Lesh's performance that night was nothing short of brilliant.  In a band full of amazing musicians who are not known for taking the spotlight, Lesh filled that role amazingly.  Weir is a great front man, but spending so many years as the rhytm guitarist and standing next to the iconic band leader in Garcia, it is understandable that he doesn't seek the spotlight.  He is easily able to step up as he did in Good Love, Playin' and countless other songs that night.  But he simply doesn't carry himself like the focus of the band.  With other band members deferring to Weir and Lesh so fully, it falls on Phil to grab the torch, and he does so with gusto.  This is clearly him loving life, loving music, loving playing in this band and he completely lacks the ego that other spotlight artists have.  This is what we want in our heroes, the ability to shine, to supply us the light that we seek in shows like this, without turning it on himself and wallowing in its glow.  He leads by example, and we are the happy beneficiaries.  I'd heard rumors that Phil was retiring soon, but you couldn't tell it on this night.

The night perfectly ended with the encore, Ripple.  The band's harmonies were tight, the audience drew even closer to the stage and to the band, and the Grateful Dead's masterpiece rang throughout the arena.  What a perfect ending to a perfect night of music.  To all of the players:  thank you so much for a great show.  Had I seen this set list twenty years ago, I would have jumped on tour.  Run, do not walk, to the next available Furthur show in your area.  It is worth it!

(check out the video section for videos from this show.)

SET ONE:

Playin in the Band

Cold Rain and Snow

Cassidy

Lazy River Road

Pride of Cucamonga

Catfish John

Bertha

Good Lovin'  (video)

SET TWO:

Shakedown Street

Jack Straw

Bird Song

Let it Grow

the Wheel  (Elanor Rigby tease) ->

Drums ->  King Soloman's Marbles

Black Peter

Gimme Some Lovin' ->

Uncle John's Band ->

Playin' in the Band Reprise

Encore:

Ripple.  (video)

Video

Default Subject

LMNR - Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 4:38 P

Furthur plays Good Love 11/3/11 Manchester NH
Furthur plays Good Love 11/3/11 Manchester NH Check out the full review of the show here: http://www.livemusicnewsandreview.com/Furthur_Manchester http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMd20lNTZ84&feature=related

Default Subject

LMNR - Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 4:36 P

Furthur plays Ripple, 11/3/11 Manchester NH
Furthur plays Ripple, 11/3/11 Manchester NH Read the review of the show here: http://www.livemusicnewsandreview.com/Furthur_Manchester http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p5nIw-NeXI