On the occasion of Phil Lesh’s 72nd birthday, we look back twelve years to this account we published of his 60th birthday bash…

This past March 10, a concert was held in celebration of Phil Lesh’s 60th birthday at the Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium. Within days of the benefit’s announcement, tickets for Lesh’s return to the Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium were snapped up by eager Deadheads as rumors swirled among the community as to who would actually be playing. As Phil Lesh never announces the actual line-up for performances of his ad hoc band, speculation centered on such names as Bob Dylan, Bob Weir and Trey Anastasio. When Dylan announced a show for the same evening in Los Angeles, anxious Deadheads wondered who the actual band would be. A special poster created for the event by Stanley Mouse, another victim of Hepatitis-C and a fellow liver transplant recipient, featured a bass playing Lesh riding on the wings of a flying dragon.

On the day of the show, the streets surrounding the Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium were filled with buses and legions of loyal fans from the four corners of the globe. Like the good old days, the park across from the Kaiser became an outdoor bazaar. As fans patiently waited to get into the Kaiser, many reminisced about the great shows of the past. Once inside, these patrons sought out the same seats where they once enjoyed those legendary shows. Little did they know that the concert that they were about to experience would be added to the annals of those legendary shows of the past.

As the house lights dimmed, the crowd greeted by Lesh with a deafening ovation. Along with actor and original Digger, Peter Coyote (another Hepatitis-C victim), Lesh described just how far the disease reaches into our community. The two stated that “HCV is called the ‘silent epidemic.’ Statistics indicate that over one in fifty persons are infected with the Hepatitis-C virus…so it is safe to say that each of us has a friend or family member that will be affected at some time with HCV. The beneficiaries of this event are Bay Area based. Unfortunately, the San Francisco Bay Area has one of the largest concentrated groups of HCV infection in the country.”

Lesh and Coyote also urged the crowd to get tested for the disease and encouraged those who could to donate blood and to become organ donors.

The proceeds from the show will be used to benefit Hepatitis-C research. Beneficiaries included the Veterans Administration Hepatitis-C Lab, California Pacific Medical Center Liver Program Viral Immunology Laboratory, Haight Asbury Free Medical Clinic’s Hepatitis-C Program, and the first and only Hepatitis-C Specialty Clinic in Marin. All of the money raised by the concert, including merchandise, will be used to provide the initial “seed grants” to establish the programs needed to fight Hepatitis-C.

With that sobering information delivered, the time had come to give the audience what they came to hear. As the stage lights went up, there was Phil Lesh at center stage playing a candy apple red Fender Stratocaster guitar with Phish bassist Mike Gordon behind him on bass. The rest of the band was equally as stellar – John Molo on drums, Robben Ford on guitar, and Little Feat members Paul Barrere on guitar and Bill Payne on piano. While many are familiar with Payne and Barrere, Ford’s career is just as storied. As a member of Tom Scott and the LA Express in the early ‘70s, Ford undertook a world tour backing Joni Mitchell, and the legendary CSN&Y farewell tour in 1974. Later that year, Ford and Scott joined former Beatle George Harrison’s band on Harrison’s only post-Beatle “Dark Horse” tour in 1974. Ford went on to tour as part of Miles Davis’ touring band in the mid-‘80s as well as establishing himself as a jazz and blues artist.

With little fanfare, Phil Lesh and Friends began with Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone,” which was welcomed with delirious audience response. The song started slowly, then built to an explosive crescendo before the band leaped into “Box Of Rain,” a song usually reserved for performance towards the end of a show. Lesh’s vocals were excellent as the band provided superb accompaniment. Following “Box Of Rain,” Gordon left the stage and Lesh strapped on his trademark bass as the band exploded into “Playin’ In The Band,” with sensational vocals by Ford. The jamming was truly intoxicating as the band whipped into a rollicking rendition of “Deal” that was met with unanimous crowd approval.

The interaction between the members of the band was fast and furious, finally touching back to “Playin’ In The Band,” before diving head first into the Little Feat smash, “Oh Atlanta.” Payne’s vocals and keyboard work were huge as he led the band into this timeless classic. He demonstrated some sensational piano playing as the packed house sang along with him. The interplay between Ford and Barrere was no less exciting as they jammed out a tasty musical gumbo.

The Phil Lesh and Friends’ sets are usually one long medley, and this set was no different. The band wound its way back into “Playin’ In The Band” before unleashing another surprise on the unsuspecting audience as Phil stepped to the microphone to sing Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” – certainly the highlight of the show up to that point. Lesh’s emotional vocals touched a nerve with the partisan crowd as the band rocked out behind him. The set-ending “Franklin’s Tower” moved the sea of bobbing heads to the song’s beat.

After a generous set break, the band returned and sang “Happy Birthday” to Phil before breaking into a joyous rendition of “Eyes Of The World.” As the song commenced, the arena was showered with a balloon drop, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the New Year’s Eve concerts of days gone by. Barrere and Ford traded licks as Molo unleashed a pounding, poly-rhythm beat to the familiar Grateful Dead number. One of the highlights of this historic show occurred when Ford performed an explosive “Ain’t Nothing But The Blues” that literally shook the foundation of the Henry J. Kaiser before Phil Lesh and Friends dished out a sumptuous “Dixie Chicken.” During one of the song’s verses, Barrere sang, “I came down to Phil’s party, and my money flowed like wine.” It was one of those moments when the band and the audience became one as the hypnotic jamming reached a new zenith. “Terrapin Station” benefited from a faster arrangement, and the song’s middle passages were stunning.

The space that flowed into “I Know You Rider” was about as thrilling as one could imagine, and Gordon returned during a spacy jam during which he and Lesh engaged in a mesmerizing “Bass Duet.” The two bassists explored every nook and cranny of improvisational space before literally exploding into “Morning Dew.” Lesh certainly shows an affinity towards the more emotional Garcia-sung songs of the Grateful Dead repertoire, and his passionate rendition of this classic brought tears to the eyes of many in attendance. The tune featured some equally emotive playing by Ford and Barrere as the band nailed the song’s stunning ending coda with ease.

The emotional “Morning Dew” would have been a fitting end to this marathon show, but the opening strains of “St. Stephen” were met with a delirious response. The jamming was non-stop and heart-pounding as Lesh, Molo, Payne, Barrere and Ford gave the song a majestic reading, capped by a ferocious “Eleven Jam” that pounded exquisitely into the timeless, set-ending “Not Fade Away.”

The nearly two-hour set was as good as it gets and the crowd acknowledged the performance with deafening applause. Gordon returned for the encore of Phish’s “Wolfman’s Brother” before Phil Lesh and Friends came full circle with a reprise of “Playin’ In The Band” that left a smile on the faces of all in attendance.

There was a special VIP party held in the Henry J. Kaiser’s Upper Ballroom following the concert for those who contributed $150 to The Unbroken Chain Foundation. Each of the donors received a goodie bag that contained the Stanley Mouse poster and T-shirt for the event, along with a bottle of bubbles and an authentic Phil Lesh wrist sweat band.

Attendees were entertained by a string quartet as they noshed on gourmet desserts and coffee, while the members of the band mixed and mingled with the patrons. In what was a beautiful touch to a great evening, a festive parade led by Wavy Gravy as Ludwig Von Beethoven and Lesh associate Goldie Rush dressed as Marie Antoinette snaked through the small crowd. A giant wrapped gift with local country music legend Woody Vermeer sitting on top playing fiddle followed them. The string quartet accompanied Vermeer on “Box Of Rain” as the parade approached Phil who sat on stage in a King’s Chair. Gravy and Rush presented Lesh with a birthday cake, which was shared with all in attendance. Wavy Gravy, who called himself “Wolfie” for the occasion, roasted the clearly touched Lesh and brought about one of the funniest moments of the evening when he implored the crowd— “Don’t eat the brown strudel.”

Hopefully, the show will become an annual event, as it is Lesh’s hope to raise consciousness regarding this deadly disease, and also help prevent and eradicate it.