Photo by James Joiner

Following the public Homecoming memorial for Bob Weir, a festival-sized mix of musicians came together to honor the Grateful Dead co-founder at San Francisco’s The Warfield last night. Billed Howling Wolves: A Tribute To Bobby Weir, the last-minute show–organized by Dayglo, 100x and The Warfield to benefit the Furthur Foundation–was promoted as Grahame Lesh & Friends with “very special guests,” which ended up nodding to several different eras of Weir’s signature career. The Hawaii-based Bill Kreutzmann, the sole surviving member of the Dead’s original lineup, was unable to attend any of the San Francisco events but posted a lengthy note on his social before the Warfield gig where he explained:

I wish I could join all of you for Bobby’s Homecoming” today but I’m having my own Hawaiian send off for his spirit, while I simultaneously grieve for the loss of my friend. I think it’s great that the community is going to gather afterwards at the Warfield—that makes sense to me, as we all know about the healing power of live music and togetherness. One last howl at the moon. You know, the Grateful Dead recorded portions of Reckoning and Dead Set during our 15-show run at The Warfield in 1980 and Jerry still has his name on the dressing room, so I’m sure the ghosts will be rocking in the rafters tonight. When we used to play there, in place of a band name, Bill Graham just wrote on the marquee: ‘They aren’t the best at what they do. They’re the only ones that do what they do.’  He wouldn’t even put the band name up there. Everyone knew. I’ll have all of you in my heart today as I look out over the waves to the horizon, while I converse with so many of the memories that have proven to last a lifetime. (I’ll also be tuning into the livestream, I’m sure). Okay, Bobby. You never were one for eulogies. But if I knew the way, I would take you home….”

For Howling Wolves, Lesh put together an expansive cast of musicians who filled the stage and served as an elastic house band for several carefully chosen guests. In addition to Lesh on acoustic guitar, that core ensemble included former RatDog saxophonist Dave Ellis, Dead & Company bassist Oteil Burbridge, Wolf Brothers’ pedal steel contributor Greg Leisz, Phil & Friends/The Other Ones drummer John Molo, Furthur singer Sunshine Becker, Midnight North singer Elliot Peck, Terrapin Family Band drummer Alex Koford, keyboardist Holly Bowling, Dead-family guitarist Stu Allen, onetime Jefferson Starship bassist and regular Weir collaborator Pete Sears, Mike Gordon drummer John Kimock, longtime Weir and Terrapin Family Band keyboardist Jason Crosby and RatDog guitar Mark Karan. The all-star group was fleshed out by Weir and Wolf Brothers’ Wolf Pack—Brian Switzer, Adam Theis, Sheldon Brown, Alex Kelly and Barry Sless, the latter of whom, like Weir himself, also clocked in time in Kingfish. Veteran Dead crew members Betty Cantor-Jackson and Steve Parish took in the show while sitting onstage.

The concert, which was announced just the night before and sold out within minutes, kicked off with an instrumental version of Weir’s classic “Cassidy,” with the crowd providing the lyrics. From there, Lesh and his company launched into Weir’s classic “Playing In The Band,” which included a bit of Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints” and segued into “Uncle John’s Band.” The musicians then moved on to the ‘70s Weir favorite “Estimated Prophet,” which led into the first verse of the guitarist’s exploratory “The Other One.”  The 94-year-old Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, who first met Weir when the future rock star was still a teenager and snuck into his dressing him to meet him, and his bassist Paul Knight then emerged for a tune outside the Dead songbook, “Waiting For A Train.” (Elliott and Weir maintained a close friendship over the years and often shared the stage at various Marin County events.”)

Next, Becker provided lead vocals on a moving rendition of “Bird Song,” and Reed Mathis, the San Francisco staple known for his work with Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Tea Leaf Green and Billy & The Kids, emerged to play guitar and lead the band on “Black Throated Wind”—before Karan sang lead on twist on “New Minglewood Blues” that highlighted ALO’s Dan Lebowitz on pedal steel. To close the set, Lesh and Peck shared vocals on “The Music Never Stopped.”

The second set commenced shortly after midnight, with Lesh and his friends bringing fans back in with the Weir classic “Jack Star,” featuring special guest Jackie Greene on lead vocals.  As expected for a second set, things moved into psychedelic territory after that thanks to an extended “Dark Star” that bled into the second part of “The Other One” and a touching “Terrapin Station” that showcased Allen, Burbridge and Lesh on vocals. That extended sequence tied up some threads from earlier in the night, shifting into a reprise of “Playing In The Band,” Weir’s best-known lead-vocal tune, “Truckin’” and a set-closing “Cassidy.”

For their encore, Greene, who often performed with Weir in his later days, returned for an upbeat “Sugar Magnolia” that moved into the “Sunshine Daydream” refrain and, finally, a sing-along version of “Not Fade Away” that kept the crowd going as they left the venue.  

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist

Saturday, January 17, The Warfield, San Francisco, CA

Set I:

Cassidy

Playing In The Band>

Uncle John’s Band

Estimated Prophet->

The Other One  

Waiting For A Train (with Rambling Jack Elliott and Paul Knight)

Bird Song

Black Throated Wind (with Reed Mathis)

New Minglewood Blues

The Music Never Stopped

Set II:

Jack Straw

Dark Star->

The Other One->

Terrapin Station>

 Playing In The Band (Reprise)

Truckin’->

Cassidy

E:

Sugar Magnolia>

Sunshine Daydream>

Not Fade Away