The Dead played a series of free shows in New York City yesterday, culminating with a full band electric set at Roseland Balroom that raged from 11:20 PM to 1:00 AM in the morning. Enjoy the following setlist, review, and download of the show here on Welcome To Now blog!
Setlist:
Althea
Cassidy
Uncle John’s Band
Eyes Of The World
St Stephen (w/ Eleven teases)>
Dark Star (w/ Eleven and Other One teases)>
Sugar Magnolia (w/ Sunshine Daydream ending)
Encore:
Not Fade Away
It was an odd scene at Roseland last night, what with the free tickets, last minute announcement, late show time, etc. It was hard to believe you were about to witness The Dead play a 3,000 person venue but at 11:20 the lights went down and the band filed out onto stage. After a few minutes of ‘dead air’, the stealthy Althea progression emerged and Warren led the band through this soulful classic. Warren did this Jerry tune justice and a patient and restrained jam followed.
Bobby then took the reins for Cassidy and delivered a suprisingly strong performance. The band began to settle in and Phil and the drummers were locked up. The boys kept the cheese factor going and broke into Uncle John’s Band next. By the time UJB rolled around, it was clear the band was both practiced and focused on keeping this a flub-free show. After Saturday night’s Allman Brothers debacle, they rightfully felt they had something to prove. While the band was executing consistently on point, it was at the cost of more adventurous and energetic jamming. At the same time, it’s clear Warren is still settling back into his role in the band – trying to find that balance of paying tribute to Jerry and playing his own southern-blues-rock style.
As the UJB sing-along subsided, The Dead switched gears and launched in the spacey Eyes intro groove. What followed was the most exciting and experimental jamming of the night. Both Chimenti and Phil really shined in the 2nd half of the show and brought about some exciting jamming. After Eyes, the band continued into outer space with St.Stephen>Dark Star – a 35 minute sequence with moments of rocking jams and moments of Phil n’ Friends-esque ‘space’. This was by far the meatiest segment of the show and the band just continued to settle in and loosen up. As it got well past midnight, the band returned from the cosmos to bring it home with Sugar Magnolia, complete with the triumphant Bobby reprise Sunshine Daydream. While this was an energetic and fun rendition of Sugar Mag, the Eleven and Other One teases heard within the previous segment left something to be desired in song selection.
After a quick break, the band returned to close out the evening with Not Fade Away, complete with crowd clapping/sing along and some of the most energetic jamming of the night. The crowd was dancing and euphoric as The Dead brought things home on a high note. The band took a bow and Phil reminded the crowd that they’d ‘be back in a few weeks’. Stay posted for full coverage of the upcoming Dead Tour that kicks of April 12th in Greensboro, including full reviews of the MSG and Spectrum shows.
Welcome To Now 
jeff bovee Said:
on March 31, 2009 at 8:40 am
yeah the show wasn’t bad, i was definitely enjoying the intimate setting, the smallest for me by far and i’ve been going since summer 85. I do however sense a litlle hesitancy in the band for them to really step up and lead some of these- jams and explorations a bit further then they did. Magical for many reasons yet different in a strange way, i can’t put my finger on it without sounding like a critic. 3 stars from this man……………………………….
TheSessionSpot Said:
on March 31, 2009 at 6:58 pm
whoa man, revolutionary…
benherebefore Said:
on April 1, 2009 at 6:28 pm
thank you !
looking forward to April !!
(~):<}
More Free Dead « Welcome To Now Said:
on April 1, 2009 at 7:48 pm
[…] the Big Apple over the course of the day. While the day closing set at Roseland Ballroom was already covered here on Welcome To Now Blog, let me bring you up to speed on the rest of the day’s events in case […]