Grahame Lesh & Friends Continue Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh with Rare Four Song ‘Blues For Allah’ Suite
Photo: Marc Millman
On Saturday, March 15, Grahame Lesh & Friends returned to the storied Capitol Theatre, for the second night of musical exploration as a part of Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh. The concert landed on Lesh’s 85th birthday, which allowed friends and family to continue the long-standing tradition of observing the occasion at the Port Chester, N.Y. location.
Joining bandleader Grahame Lesh was an all-star assembly of collaborators from his father’s vivacious career: Eric Krasno, Oteil Burbridge, Jason Crosby, John Molo, Jennifer Hartswick, Rick Mitarotonda, and a rotating lineup of special guests, including John Scofield, Natalie Cressman, Adam Minkoff and more, who turned up to bestow their musical thanks to the late bassist and his momentous impact.
From start to finish, the band’s treatments of Grateful Dead favorites and rarities displayed the teamwork rewarded to reach kismet interplay: understanding the inner workings of the music and the spirit required to bestow songs with such pertinent meaning to the audience.
“Friend of the Devil” served as the night’s jumping off point and was led by Grahame with lyrical accompaniment from Krasno. The onset of “Deal” saw a tempo shift and the emergence of smiles from the band, including Burbridge who oscillated back and forth responding to the tantalizing rhythm. Cressman’s trombone and Hartswick’s trumpet livened up the rendition with an added sense of celebration.
Crosby’s movement across the keys called upon “Althea” while Mitarotonda seized the lyrical carry on the Go To Heaven classic. “Peggy-O” received extra help from Scofield, who added to the night’s instrumental and ever-expanding tapestry. A lyrical back and forth between Mitarotonda, Hartswick, and Lesh, fully embodied the song’s dialogue and pledges of love. “Crazy Fingers” inspired a conversation between instruments, as Krasno, Scofield and Mitarotonda exchanged expressive licks.
“Stella Blue” brought forth a sense of reflection during the arduous composition sung over by Hartswick. The recognizable opening riffs of “He’s Gone” resulted in hoots from the crowd, who seized the upswing in tempo and effect: “Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.” Spirits continued to rise with set one’s final song, a pulsing rendition of “Cold Rain and Snow.”
The second half of the night resumed with a fully loaded stage of friends looking to explore the cosmos during a trippy take on “Dark Star.” Medeski joined Crosby on keys, and Burbridge set down his bass instead of the drums, sitting behind the kit next to Molo. Playful noodling transpired on Lesh’s original bass, Big Brown, during the slow tip-toe into the 1969-originating number.
In typical second-set form, the band positioned sister songs “Help on the Way” with “Slipknot.” Eventually, it petered into its Blues for Allah companion pieces, “Franklin’s Tower,” and instrumental rarity/ Phil Lesh-penned composition, “King Solomon’s Marbles.” The four-track delivery represented a significant serving of Side A off the original vinyl, which served as a particularly special discovery for fans of the Grateful Dead’s discography. For those who memorized the song placements on the 1975 fan favorite LP, anticipating what was to come stirred the intrigue. Notably, even during the Grateful Dead’s reign, “King Solomon’s Marbles” was rarely performed, arriving only occasionally and never reaching the status of a band staple, there fore, “Scarlet Begonias” represented a return to classics.
“Comes a Time” saw Burbridge step forward and deliver the melancholy slow burner. During the final song of the main frame, the band provided legs for “The Other One,” led by Grahame, with Burbridge taking a turn on Big Brown. The instrumental ascent tickled into a back-and-forth of horns, strings, keys, and thumping drums, giving the composition its proper due before reprising “Dark Star.”
For the night’s encore, the celebratory nature of the occasion reached greater heights, with Grahame returning to the stage to recognize his father’s 85th birthday and mentioning “a lot more birthdays” to come. As expected, Grahame continued his dad’s legacy of advocating for organ donation before the final delivery of music, an aptly chosen “Not Fade Away.”
nugs.net is streaming tonight’s continuation of Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh.
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Grahame Lesh & Friends
The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, N.Y.
March 15, 2025
Set I: Friend of the Devil, Deal, Althea, Peggy-O > Crazy Fingers, Stella Blue > He’s Gone > Cold Rain and Snow
Set II: Dark Star > Help on the Way > Slipknot! > In Memory of Elizabeth Reed tease > Franklin’s Tower, King Solomon’s Marbles, Scarlet Begonias, Comes a Time, The Other One > Dark Star Reprise
