Photo Credit: Jay Blakesberg

On Feb. 20 and 21, Eggy’s West Coast Winter Tour finally cut into the Golden State with engagements at Berkeley, Calif.’s Cornerstone and Felton, Calif.’s Felton Music Hall. The rapidly rising Connecticut jamband honored the region that established their sound with several tributes to jam originators the Grateful Dead; none of these allusions were more striking than the appearance of Jerry Garcia’s iconic Alligator guitar, which was wielded by lead guitarist Jake Brownstein throughout the second set of each show.

Eggy tour into their first set in the Bay with the longtime fan favorite “One Stop Shop,” followed by emerging setlist staples “A Moment’s Notice” and “Atomic Age,” which featured a tease of Little Feat’s “Spanish Moon.” After blazing through “You,” the quartet moved along to salute the Dead’s legendary figurehead with a cover of “Cats Under The Stars,” which closed the first frame with next level jams and torchbearing flare courtesy of special guest Grahame Lesh.

When the band reappeared for their second set, Brownstein showed off his attentive instrumental versatility by confidently conjuring hints of Garcia’s sound on the artist’s famed highly-modified 1955 Fender Stratocaster, gifted to Garcia by Graham Nash in 1971. Alligator’s auratic power bolstered an opener of “Sweat Equity” that was merged into a cover of Old & In The Way’s “Midnight Moonlight,” then dueled with returning feature Lesh’s guitar on a ripping rendition of “Trixieville.”

After shredding through an encore of “Onitsuka Tiger,” Brownstein brought Alligator back for the Friday show at Felton Music Hall. For their follow-up performance, the historic axe that fetched $525,000 at auction in 2019 amplified covers of Chuck Berry’s “Let It Rock” and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Judy Blue Eyes,” as well as Eggy originals like “Bobcat Flow” and “Hux,” all seamlessly merged into one massive totally-segued second set. The instrument finally complimented the traditional “Eggy Birthday Song,” delivered in honor of Grateful Guitars’ Andy Logan.

Eggy will return to the stage tomorrow with a performance at Philadelphia’s Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia. For tickets and more information on the band’s ongoing tour, visit eggymusic.com/tour.

 

 

 

 

 

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Eggy
Felton Music Hall — Felton, Calif.
2/21/25
Set I: High Noon, Backyard Bear > Sweaters for Strawmen-> Bad Side Of The Moon[1]-> Sweaters for Strawmen, Rosetta Stone, One More Dance
Set II: Yuck![2]-> Let It Rock[3]-> Bobcat Flow-> Suite: Judy Blue Eyes[4]-> Hux[5]-> Suite: Judy Blue Eyes[4]
Encore: Eggy Birthday Song[6]
Footnotes:
    [1] Elton John cover (affectionately coined as Felton John)
    [2] unfinished
    [3] Chuck Berry cover
    [4] CSNY cover
    [5] Ending only
    [6] for Andy Logan
Show Notes: Jake played Jerry Garcia’s Alligator from Let It Rock till end of show

Eggy
Cornerstone — Berkeley, Calif.
2/20/25
Set I: One Stop Shop > A Moment’s Notice-> Atomic Age[1] > You, Cats Under The Stars[2]
Set II: Sweat Equity-> Midnight Moonlight[3], Trixieville[4], Fly Frederick Fly, Wayless
Encore: Onitsuka Tiger[5]
Footnotes:
    [1] with Spanish Moon (Little Feat) teases
    [2] Jerry Garcia cover, with Grahame Lesh on guitar
    [3] Old and In The Way cover
    [4] with Grahame Lesh on guitar
    [5] with Cam Herdt story telling, Dancing In The Streets teases
Show Notes: Jake played Jerry Garcia’s Alligator for all of set II and encore