Furthur
Monterey County Fairground
Monterey, Calif.
October 7 and 8

The last time Bob Weir and Phil Lesh stood on the Monterey County Fairgrounds stage was in 1967, when the Grateful Dead played the legendary Monterey Pop Festival. Weir referred to the short set as “flat” and the other members of the band, and manager Rock Scully, concurred. More than 40 years later, Lesh and Weir returned to play two nights on the historic stage – where Hendrix famously humped his burning Stratocaster – with Furthur.

On Friday night, in front of nearly 7,000, they led off the first set with “Promised Land.” It was immediately apparent that Weir’s voice, even as he gets on in years, is still blessed with that powerful unorthodox tenor. But the true, heart-grabbing highlight of the first set was “Candyman,” sung with spot-on Garcia emotion and range by musical-savant, John Kadlecik. Lesh was all smiles and a big grin was even evident under Weir’s immense forest of face fur.

Set two was even better. After a trifecta, which included “Playin’ in the Band,” “Dark Star,” and “King Solomon’s Marbles,” Weir slowly edged into an epic version of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence,” which bled into a “Not Fade Away” teaser before ending with a climactic “Unbroken Chain” and “Touch of Grey” for an encore.

By the second day, the streets of Monterey surrounding the fairgrounds, had transformed into a makeshift hippie village. Plumes of pot smoke flooded the air and armies of natty dreads looking for miracles wondered aimlessly outside the venue with their dogs.

But the real enchantment came when Furthur took the stage for another couple of sets that were even better than Friday night. They even revisited classics like “Viola Lee Blues” and “Golden Road,” which the Dead had performed at the Pop Festival. Saturday’s second set – played to a beyond-capacity crowd – was something very magical and there wasn’t a single moment to come up for air: “Shakedown Street,” “Truckin’,” “Let it Grow,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Morning Dew,” “Help on the Way,” “Slipknot,” “The Eleven,” “Franklin’s Tower” and a fitting encore, “One More Saturday Night.” After Bob, Phil and the rest of the Furthur crew took a bow, it became obvious why they will never stop touring: They’re having as much fun as the audience. The two nights also more-than redeemed that performance in 67.