Terrapin Crossroads presents Phil Lesh and the Terrapin Family Band with Barry Sless play 2/26/1977
the Grate Room at Terrapin Crossroads
100 Yacht Club Drive, San Rafael, CA 94901 USA
7:30 PM, Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2017 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2017 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[7:41 PM lights down, band out, noodling, no Barry]

1. [7:43 PM] Terrapin Station (PL)
2. [7:57 PM] New Minglewood Blues (RJ)
   [add Elliot Peck]
3. [8:05 PM] They Love Each Other (GL)
4. [8:15 PM] Estimated Prophet (GL)
   [add Barry Sless]
5. [8:24 PM] Sugaree (EP)
6. [8:38 PM] Mama Tried (GL) $
7. [8:43 PM] Deal (AK)
   [drop BS]
8. [8:51 PM] Playing in the Band (AK) »
9. [8:58 PM] the Wheel »
10. [9:10 PM] Playin reprise (AK)
    [set ends 9:13 PM]

[9:45 PM lights down, band out]

1. [9:49 PM] Samson & Delilah (RJ)
2. [9:55 PM] Tennessee Jed (GL/AK/RJ)
3. [10:03 PM] the Music Never Stopped (RJ)
   [drop Elliot Peck]
4. [10:13 PM] Help on the Way (GL) » 10:16 Slipknot! »
5. [10:24 PM] Franklin's Tower
6. [10:32 PM] Promised Land (RJ)
   [add Elliot Peck]
7. [10:37 PM] Eyes of the World (EP) >
8. [10:50 PM] Dancing in the Street (GL/EP) »
9. [10:58 PM] Around and Around (GL)
   [set ends 11:05 PM]
    
   Encore
   [11:08 PM Phil talks briefly about the winter '77 tour; Donor rap]
10. [11:11 PM] U.S. Blues (GL)
    [show ends 11:17 PM]

• Jason Crosby: Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards;
• Ross James: guitar, pedal steel guitar, drums, lead and harmony vox;
• Alex Koford: drums, acoustic guitar, lead & harmony vox;
• Grahame Lesh: guitar, acoustic guitar, vox;
• Phil Lesh: bass, lead and harmony vox;
• Elliott Peck: lead and harmony vox;
• Barry Sless: guitar, $ pedal steel guitar.

While it was neat to hear Phil's current take on a setlist from some 30 years ago, I'm not entirely convinced that the exercise is one that merits the fairly stiff entry price ($77? yikes!).

On the plus side, I'm happy to hear that the Family Band is definitely working to deliver fresh, engaging renditions of the old repertoire. Without knowing the setlist in advance, there were a number of times tonight where I couldn't guess the tune until the singer stepped up for the first verse – a happy puzzle for this listener! On the opposite side of the same fence, it was equally fun to hear a tight rendition of Slipknot! The TFB boys might not be able to take things out as far into the stratosphere as the legendary Q, but they certainly hewed to a surefooted path through this musical maze. Two thumbs up for that!

In as much as Phil failed to reprise the monster bouncy bass line that anchored the mid-70's version of Dancing in the Street, I have more grist for the complaint mill: is it really a '77 tribute if the performance doesn't sound like '77 in any way? Yet the U.S. Blues closer was full of that sparkley razzle-dazzle we know and love: summer time done come and gone, my oh my, My OH MY!!!!!

Sadly, my setlist notes got snarfled by some sort of phone/computer syncing glitch, and I'm unable to say with any certainty that my notes about the comings and goings of Elliott and Barry are correct. I'm reasonably certain that the set one info is correct; much less so for the second. And kind of uncertain about a few of the tune start times in the latter half of set two as well. Maybe someone else can fill in the blanks?

Think I might be pissin' in the wind? Assuming all goes well on the production side, you'll be able to purchase a copy of the show from the Terrapin store sooner or later. It doesn't look to me as if they've got the website setup for downloads, but you can certainly stop by the front desk at the restaurant and ask to see what shows they have – $25 a pop gets you a thumb drive with 24/48 FLAC and high bitrate mp3 copies of the show of your choice. Such a deal!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2017 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2017 event list! ☸ On to the next event!