Saturday, April 28, 2012

Friday, April 27, 2012

the Q, night one

You get to Terrapin around 6:15, in time to see Warren get out of his car and walk into the venue. 

You step inside the venue and hang around the merch table. Phil and Jill walk in; she splits, he ducks directly into the bathroom. He is later cheered by the restaurant folks as he ascends the stairs to the VIP lounge.

You step outside to go back to your car and run in to Molo, who's got a coat bag slung over his shoulder. You say it's great to be able to see this line-up again. He says, "Yeah . . . it's overwhelming."

A bar patron commandeers the piano in the center of the restaurant; he puts his glass of beer on top of the it and plays, among other things, Hornsby's "The Way It Is." Dude is good. The restaurant feel is laid-back Cali beach/ocean/on the water vibe; weathered wood; minimal decoration. The side facing the creek that snakes in from San Rafael Bay is all windows. Outside there are a couple of abandoned bocce and volleyball courts. Everyone here is old(er) and seems successful; there are no tattered garments.

You walk in to the performance space for the first time and are taken aback; you're just 30 feet from the stage, which is, maybe, 25 feet wide and 15 feet deep. The room is wider than it is long, standing room only for 400 or so people. There's one bar. Phil has a single stack; Warren has two amps, Jimmy one. The band comes out around 7:45 and receives 20 - 30 seconds of applause before they play a note. You end up front and center about ten feet from the stage. A jam leads into "Shakedown" (an ode to the legendary GD Front St. space a half mile away) with Warren's gritty mutron/wah wah leading the way. Love that sound!  And if you want stereo, you got it: stand in front of Warren's amp and he takes a bit of precedence over Jimmy.  And vice versa; you can really hear the stage amps.

Warren and Jimmy in black shirts and jeans (Warren never wore jeans in the Q days); Molo has donned a red-and-black plaid lumberjack shirt. Rob seems a little tense; the band looks to him more than once to count off the song.

Rob gives the band swing; Jimmy gives it jazz; Warren gives it blues soul; Molo blasts it all off. All those elements come into play as Warren sings "Into the Mystic" and the band jams nicely in the middle.


The return of the Q!


Phil Lesh Quintet
Terrapin Crossroads
San Rafael,Ca
4/27/2012

Set 1:
Shakedown Street>
Jam>
Pride of Cucamonga
Doin' That Rag
Acadian Driftwood
Dire Wolf
Here Comes Sunshine>
Jam>
Into The Mystic>
Cumberland Blues

Set 2:
Jam>
Golden Road>
Viola Lee Blues(v1)>
Bertha>
Sicknesss Jam>
Viola Lee Blues (slow/bluesy v2)>
She Said She Said>
Sickness Jam 2>
Viola Lee Blues (uptempo v3)
Levon> Jam>
I Know You Rider
Help On The Way
Slipknot!>
King Solomon's Marbles > Jam>
Slipknot!>
Franklin's Tower
Donor Rap

Encore:
Midnight Hour