I finally caught one of the many shows from Phil Lesh and his latest entourage at The Capitol Theatre.  


Friday, Nov 1…was very enjoyable, especially for a Garcia-snob like myself.


Yesterday’s New York Times reported on an interesting deal Phil cut with Peter Shapiro, the owner of Capitol Theatre and Brooklyn Bowl (my favorite venue in the NYC area!), that lands Phil and his musical gang of merry men for a whole lot more shows at the two venues.


The Capitol Theatre holds 2,000 while the Brooklyn Bowl is only 600.


The deal gives licensing and merchandising rites to Shapiro…and a steady paycheck to Lesh.


This is a very innovative way to keep the music accessible and intimate to fans.  


I love the concept!  It will certainly keep me going back for more.


The crowd at the Nov 1 show was great, the music was really good, the sound quality was top-notch, the venue(s) have a good bar… only wish I caught “Cortez The Killer” on Halloween.


Here is the set list.  

Highlights for me were the opening “Truckin” jam which teased “The Other One” and built a strong level of trust with the fans that this was real Grateful Dead music.


Second was the groovy “Shakedown Street” to open the second set.  


Very strong.


With Anders Osborne as lead man and Luther Dickinson (from North Mississippi All-Stars) as guitar slinger, this Phil and Friends lineup was solid.


I could do without Phil’s son (who wasn’t bad) and more impt the constant and distracting fiddling Anders Osborne does with his eye-glasses.  


I recommend Lasik or at least Rec-specs…take a page from Eric Dickerson or Chris Sabo.