Hey Now, It's a busy time for Scott & myself as we are bidding on a new house...when things settle down, I'll eventually put some type of report up- not that there is much to add to all these detailed reviews!
Here's Matty's review of 5/22/04

_matty - 11:26pm May 23, 2004 PDT (#2588 of 2639)
Lenny Bruce is not afraid.......

Sorry I missed ya at Slim's Paul. I never got to move around too much once I found my spot.

I got there about 5 minutes before the show started and made my way up to the front w/o much trouble. I found katrinka, kemmy, irenie and scott right away and the party ensued from there. By 9PM it was getting REALLY crowded behind us, but up front it was not bad at all. It was SO crowded in the middle that I guess people must have been thinking "wow, if it's this crowded here it must be way worse up front". Not so. We all had enough room to move and everyone up front was respectful. And to make things even better there was a nice breeze blowing on us all night which made things 100x better. Oh, and the music. I almost forgot.

I'm not going to get into the fine details, but let me start by saying it's the best show I've seen so far this year. The music was strong from start to finish with very few exceptions. The first 2 sets featured several of the best Bay Area musicians going back 40+ years. Nick Gravenites was a lot of fun, the classic blues sound he has perfected is a mainstay in American culture. Seeing David Nelson and Peter Rowan on the same stage was worth the price of admission in itself. The one lull in the five and a half hour show came at the beginning of the 3rd set, but it was fleeting and once Bobby took the stage everything took off. Masterpiece was great. Desolation Row was fun to hear. I was hoping to hear some Hornsby-style Accordian playing from Pete Sears during Desolation but it didn't seem like his mic was working. The Sat Night was awesome w/Bobby and Warren exchanging some incredible solos throughout. I have to say, those 2 play well together. That was one of the highlights of the evening for me. Even the final jam was fun featuring the 3rd Bobby appearance of the evening for The Weight.

The one person I can think of right away who probably should have been there is Grace Slick. I'm sure Spencer would have requested White Rabbit though and apparently she has vowed to never sing that song again. Bummer. I would add Paul Kantner to the list as well, but then we would have run the risk of getting to hear "We built this city" which would have tainted the whole evening.

I had a great evening from start to finish. But then again, I was with friends, we were w/in 10' of the stage, plus we had fresh air and enough room to breathe it. I guess for someone half way back, where it was hot and all you could smell all night was the b.o. of the 5 people squashed up against you, the experience may have been a little less enjoyable. I couldn't read the entire room capacity # on the sign, but I know the first # is a 4. I think it may have said 406. It felt like there was upwards of 500 people in there though. I have a feeling that people who showed up w/o a ticket and had $40 were allowed inside seeing as how it was a benefit. One of the ushers said it was the most crowded she has ever seen it in there. So, in other words the show was a major success. Woohoo!
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_matty - 11:38pm May 23, 2004 PDT (#2589 of 2639)
Lenny Bruce is not afraid.......

Of course no show would be complete w/o at least one freak trying to ruin it for everyone. This particular lady had some real hard energy. Kind of like a mean drunk, but she wasn't drunk at all.
She was just plain crazy. She managed to bad vibe everyone w/in 10' of her before she got herself kicked out of our space. Geez, what is it with people like that. It seems like there's always one at every show, and they always seem end up near me or one of my friends. Crazy lady got in front of katrinka at one point and was making a nuisance of herself. I was seconds away from grabbing her and taking her elsewhere but fortunately she moved and spared me the unpleasantness.

Again- another Review! This one from Paul:

Paul Wozniak - 04:52pm May 23, 2004 PDT (#2583 of 2585)
I don't know, maybe it was the roses

Spencer Dryden Barn Raiser

The evening kicked off with Nick Gravenites and the original "Animal Mind." Doug Kilmer, Nick's bassist of many years came out of retirement for the benefit. He's been retired for close to 10 years now. The will call line was slow, and the show started early....I walked in on the 3rd song which was Flag (Long Lonesome Road). Next up was a standard Nick blues number, I forget which one....Greg Elmore (QMS) was on Drums. David Freiberg then joined, along with Harvey "The Snake" Mandel, and the band ripped an awesome Pride of Man! Wow! Nick then did a dedication to Spence, and funnily enough played "Funky News", asking Spence not to take it personally, LOL!Let's Get together followed, with Terry Hagerty joining with some sweet riffs. The set closed with Born in Chicago. Great stuff. I was so psyched to see Nick, and he delivered in spades.

DNB was up next. I forget the opener, but John Harding’s Wedding was second. David then did a great version of "Oh The Wind and Rain". Here is where IMO they really took off. Peter Rowan joined for great versions of Panama Red, Lonesome LA Cowboy and Midnight Moonlight. Tremendous. Barry Sless was really "on" all night. I've always loved Rowan, and he fit right in. They squeezed a little bit of Free Mexican Air Force in the middle of Panama Red (another Rowan dope song). It was sweet. Another DNB tune and then Weir joined. After a miscue starting "The Wheel" (DNB does it slightly differently then the Dead), they really grooved on the tune. A rousing Cumberland ended the set. Weir sounded and played great. He sang, instead of talking the verses.

Wavy Gravy mc'd between sets, and did a nice tribute to Spence, who was pretty choked up and gave a short speech.

Next up was Flying Other Brothers. These guys are just plain bad, but money buys you access. Fortunately, Barry Sless and Pete Sears were on stage and made them bearable for the two or three tunes they played before Weir hit the stage. Bobby did great versions of FOTD, Masterpiece and Cassidy (with Sless ripping it up and sounding just like Jerry). Warren then joined and took it up another notch, playing great subtle slide on Desolation Row (an odd choice, IMO). Warren sand a great version of "It Hurts Me Too." We were treated to a rousing Aiko-Aiko, and Warren kicked ass on Sugaree. Definitely his signature Garcia tune. Saturday Night followed, a classic Saturday rocker, they had to play it! Oddly enough, Pete Sears sang Stella, but it was saved by a great pedal steel solo by Barry Sless. The show closed with a ripping GDTRFB. Warren and Bob played very well together, and I now have high hopes for a great summer tour.

Slim's sucks as a venue, but it was a good crowd. Too packed for my tastes, but I saw a lot of people from the old days of Gravenites/Cipolina and GD days of old.

Last night was so much fun!!!!

Here's Dr Randy's detailed review of the evening!

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drrandy - 11:41am May 23, 2004 PDT (#2568 of 2577)

What a great time last nite. I got into SF a bit late, at 9 pm (show started at 8) just as the big KFOG annual KABOOM fireworks show over the Bay was beginning. Even though DNB is my fav band these days, I'm a sucker for fireworks so didn't go in til after the fantastic fireworks finished. Got inside just as Bobby took the stage to join the DNB- they did a sweet Wheel into a rockin' Cumberland to end their set, with Barry on pedal steel.

The Flying Other Brothers played 3 or 4 tunes on their own )with Pete Sears and Barry Sless) before Bobby came out to join them to sing Friend of the Devil, Masterpiece, Cassidy and Desolation Row- all very nice, with Barry on pedal streel, except, I believe, on electric for the Cassidy, which was really fine. Then Warren came out on slide and sang a sizzling Sugaree, followed by them playing Aiko and One More Saturday Nite. Then the Flying OB's lead singer said now we have a specail treat for you to end the set and Pete Sears started to sing Stella Blue. A woman standing near me clse to the stage by Pete loudly said, as he sang the first lines "No, don't do it, No, don't do it, I really mean it, you sound terrible, I've gotta get out of here" which was a little distracting, but I knew what she meant- Stella is the one Jerry song that seems almost sacred to me- I appreciated it when P&F did it instrumentally with Kimock. Pete a has a plain and sincere voice, but he is not a great singer and he voice was wavering and a bit flat, but it wasn't about that- Barry played a nice if unspectaclat first solo on pedal steel, but the whole reason for doing the song was the ending jam which was a prolonged ABSOLUTELY STUNNING duet between Barry on pedal steel and Warren on slide, trading licks and then playing on top of each other- BREATHTKINGLY BEAUTIFUL. It was great to hear how well Barry and Warrwn played with/off of each other, and I imagine I'm not the only one there who was thinking how great it would be to see these two play with the Dead (I don't dislike Jimmy, but since 97 or so I've been hopijng and praying to see Barry Sless playing wiht the band- would love to see David Nelson and Mookie play with them too). After that, they added on a Goin' Down the Road.

There was another break, then an "all-star jam" with rotating players with Somebody to Love sung by the woman who organized the ebay auction for Spencer, Like a Rolling Stone sung by the FOB lead singer and David Friedberg, and The Weight. A good time was had by all. I hope the woman who said "I gotta get out of here" stuck around for the Stella jam...

Need a setlist?
setlist.com- I finally found it!

http://setlist.com/ShowPhoto.asp?PhotoID=3100

Another Homepage with Dead photos and memories

http://www.reisbord.com/GratefulDead.htm

The following review is by a couple of Wayback fans, I took this review from the Waybacks forum- a link to the first part (non music) of the review is somewhere below this one..as is/are my report of the show- Here goes:

Clark and Kathy
Date Posted:   May 9, 04 - 11:54 PM

Message:   All the emceeing was done by Wavy Gravy. The music started with a rambling jam by Pete Sears (keyboardist of “Starship“) and Terry Haggerty (Original guitarist of Sons of Champlin) which was a fine accompaniment to the diner people were finishing. At eight the “concert only” ticket holders were admitted and the show began with a set by the Emory Joseph Trio. Emory Joseph is a powerful singer with an infectious good nature. Most of his songs appear to have been his own compositions, but he also did an incredible version of “King of the Road.” That song is so associated with Roger Miller it is hard to make it your own, but he accomplished it. In fact, he was well into the song before I realized that was what he was doing!

The second act was The Flying Other Brothers. They did a solid set, with some excellent lead and pedal steel guitar work, and driving piano leads by Terry Haggerty. I was unfamiliar with most of the tunes, but they could be classified as a grateful deadish rock sound. There must have been some people in the audience suffering from chronic illnesses, because it was during their set that we began to smell the healing aroma of medical marijuana!

It must have been about 10 when the Waybacks took the stage. They opened with “Down from Iona” followed by “Lets Eat.” I can’t be sure, but I suspect many present had not heard them previously. As usual their virtuosity and musicality won the audience over quickly and they completed the set with “Been Around,” “Salt Flat Rhapsody,” “Prairie Doggin’,” and the blacksmith song. There followed a brief intermission to do a raffle, and then the main event began.

The Wabes returned to the stage, joined by Emory Joseph and some of the Other Brothers. Together, they did “Here Comes the Sun” which was a favorite of Dr. Brilliant as a gift for his birthday. It was great, and the entire audience joined in. The Wabes then started to play “Bright Place” a number they often use to close the show. Those who know this piece know it has three parts, each done in an increasing tempo and complexity so that once you reach the climactic section you can hardly believe the number of notes that are being played and the intensity of the rhythm. It is clearly one of their best and most demanding pieces and it was during this number, just as they entered the third section, that Bob Weir joined in playing a solid body Fender. I know that they had rehearsed prior to the gig, because Bob was right with them as the pace got more and more furious. And it sure did!!! the whole audience was energized and at a certain point I think Bob was amazed himself at how hot they had got.

At this point the remainder of the show, which lasted until midnight, was all Dead songs. They were, in order: “The Race is On” “Big Iron” “Cumberland Blues” “Big River” and “Birdsong.” These numbers tended to blend one to the other was a lot of free form jamming. The crowd loved it. At one point James announced “We’re having a great time!” And everyone agreed. I won’t try to describe the music. Hopefully a recording of the night will come available. I know some people were taping. I do want to make notice of Joe’s ourstanding bass work during the session. He played a solid body, electric bass, the first time he had done so in months. And he was all over and ahead of it. He drove the entire jam with precision and invention.

Well, this has gone on much longer than I had expected,(too long to fit on one message!) but it was such a great event and potentially such an important one for the Wabes I just wanted to get as much as I could down on paper before it slipped away.

oh boy! found someone's long review of Seva at the Waybacks website-here's (I hope) a link!
http://pub26.bravenet.com/forum/2209478103/fetch/287918/

Finding the babysitter was key!
Luckily, Andrew (Scott's 21yo cousin) was available! Next task was to figure out how to get into the city with the least amount of hassle..Caltrain doesnt run on the weekends until June..I wasnt sure who all from the Peninsula was going to the Seva thing...With DSO at the Fillmore and Steve Kimock in Santa Cruz (about an hour or 2 away from SF) What few Deadscene people I know from here were scattered about...Folks had already made plans for those 2 other shows before Seva thing was on the radar..even so, Seva did sell out...
Had it figured out that Andrew could drop me off at the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station in Millbrae-which is by SFO and is the closest station to my house....Then, Jase (my adult son) called to say he was dropping by to pick up his mail. Jase lives in SF and offered to drop me off to Scott(working at the shop) in the Mission..
For once I was actually early! I hung out at the Pawn Shop watched Scott whirling around..usually he works the desk when I'm there but Saturday he was busy with sales. The shop was packed with folks looking to buy Mother's Day gifts....Watching the crazy goings on at the shop is a show in itself...

Shop closed about 5pm- scott changed his clothes and off we went to O'Farrell street - lots of parking available..Just as we got out of the car- Katrinka, Loie & Graceful Dead(all Deadnetters) were walking up the street. We walked together to the GAMH...The ladies had been to see Kimock the previous nights at GAMH and knew which door to stand in front of...We were the 2nd group in line..Enjoyed watching familiar faces and greeting friends as they marched toward the line....About 6 20 ish, the doors opened..Our dinner tickets got checked, our hands stamped and we were each given a Reserved seating card to hold our choice of table space...Well being among the first to be let in, we selected a table in the front row (of course!) a little on the right of Dead Bobby Center. On our immediate left, was Dr Brilliant's table (He the Macher of the evening-a board member and a founder of Seva)...
EasyWind with a friend and Karina (Deadnet) sat at the table with us. I was/am sorry that Linda & Tim didnt make it. They had called to let us know earlier, they had easily found a couple to buy their dinner tickets as the event had sold out.
Dinner and appetizers were immediately available..and the cocktail waitresses were prompt in taking orders..Wine, water, beer and soft drinks were complimentary (part of dinner) until 8pm when the doors opened up to the non dinner crowd. Scott and I drink one drink at a time, diet coke for me and water and beer for him. I hate to be the party police but a lot of folks took advantage of the "free" drinks and loaded up on the booze- ordering multiple beer/cups of wine at a time. A woman at a nearby table was hoarding at least 6 full glasses of wine, which did not serve her well later on in the evening(If you already read some of the last couple of daze of blog you already know what happened) ...
I'm eating lite these daze, so finished dinner early and went to see how the silent auction was going- it was located up stairs, the place was filling up and the stairs were full of people, I was walking up behind a tiny woman with really red hair, when she took a step, people parted like royalty was coming through,definately the person to be following! after overhearing people say "Bonnie!" a few times, I realized that the red hair, with the wide white streak was (duh!) Bonnie Raitt!
There were fun things at the auction...posters, photos,handbills,prints, some artwork, some vacation packets, surprisingly, there was a year membership to the prestigious Presidio Golf Club! But the least expensive item, was the folk forest smoker guy I made and donated for the occasion..went over to make sure he had all his pieces together and take a last look...I know he got at least one bid, and thats pleasing because even the minimum bid will help 2 people overcome blindness thanks to The Seva foundation!!
I will wait on the musical evaluation of the night for someone better versed in describing music comes along with a review (Mazzy?) Bobby was fantastic! I love the Waybacks and they looked just as stoked to be there as they looked in March at the Fillmore..They really locked in well with the Bobstar too!
Interesting song selections- the railroad & folk tunes we don't see Bobby do so often, had me glowing! But the other song selections seemed to be almost aimed right as Scott's heart...All week he had been sort of touching on Sunday being his first Motherless Mother's Day..And after all day/week of helping folks pick out gifts for their moms, he really couldnt avoid thinking of her...and I gave him a little hug and squeeze during (a very excellent version) Birdsong "Sleep in the stars" and also through Cassidy...To really cap off the personalized set, the encore was "Like A Rolling Stone!" Of all Dylan songs- We got the one with a Pawn shop reference...I can't remember when the last time if ever I've heard Bobby do that one-well, they traded off on the verses so it really wasnt
100% Bobby but still a nice surprise...
Had a few fun moments..no Bobby moment, but it was fantasical enough just sitting maybe 4ft in front of him while he was on stage..ringside primo seats...Got to chitchat with the singing AJ, as he was checking the plugs & wires for Bobby's equipment. He always looks so intent on what he is doing when he is working that I don't think I've had any interaction with him in all my years (oy! years!) of Ratdogging around...so it was nice to hear his voice, see him smile and score a little hug too...wish I hadnt asked about Europe though :o( ...He was bummed that it doesnt seem to be coming off and informed me that he had heard that the eurotraders offered to help launch the band off over there...well, before I could get too into it with him, he had stuff to go do...
But speaking of Europe... Dave B and Laurie- taper vets of the two Eurodog excursions were spotted in the house! Nice to chat with them..Dave said his favorite UK Show was Manchester...
More later...

Blogspot has just relaunched all the settings here so, bear with me if the blog looks different...
Tiny Dancer just posted this Rdog date on deadnet-
www.harvestfest.com

Okay- here's Katrinka's dnc post regarding the Seva benefit:


What a warm, wonderful ENTITLED HIPPIE LAMINATE evening in SF - and you didn't even need the lammie if you had dinner tickets and got in line early like we did. Woo HOO!

We were just hoping to be in position when they removed the tables - what a tremendous surprise when we found out the tables were staying!

Stella Blue was excellent because (imo) Pete Sears can sing it well, but more than that because of BARRY SLESS! - the Flying Other Brothers secret weapon. :-) Louie gave Barry a long stem red rose at the end of their set, thanking him for that wonderful solo in Stella Blue.

The Waybacks were even more fun than the last time I saw them. I loved it that they played a full set before Bob Weir joined them, and then they played another set with Bob!

Bird Song was beautiful, and a fine Cassidy to follow.

Must admit to being a little distracted by the drama down front, though - - - between the lady in red who seemed determined to pull a Salome routine in Bob's face before the night was over, and then the step-dancing guy in the stripe shirt who'd go shuffling across and back to the call of his own private piper.

So what was the song we all sang at the end? - oh yeah, Like a Rolling Stone. That was pretty good, everyone screaming the lyrics to the chorus. But wasn't there a Beatle tune in there, too, a little earlier? Hmm - think I'll go check out RatDog.org and see if anyone posted a setlist.

Happy Berthaday to Binki!




More on the benefit coming soon!

A Brilliant Birthday Bash!
Benefit for the Seva Foundation
The Great American Music Hall
San Francisco

Wow! I wasnt sure what to expect since one could choose either $200 or $60 dinner tickets. The higher priced tix earned karma points but not reserved tables..with the exception of Dr Larry Brilliant's table, it was whoever got there when they got there that chose where to sit- they gave us reserved table cards when we came in and we then chose our table by putting our reserved cards on them.
Scotto and I and a bunch of Deadnetters and Ratdog.orgers were first in line to get in and so naturally gravitated to the very front. Scott and I chose the table not quite DBC but just one to the side of DBC. Easywind & friend and Karina sat with us. I felt bad that Tim and Linda didnt come out. They had purchased the $200 tix but had burnt themselves out at Kimock & DSO during the previous week, so sold their extra Karma tix for $60 each. If they had known for sure that they'd get to spend the entire evening siting 'ringside' they might've come.Oh well! The show did sell out of dinner tix so they had no probs selling.
Anywaze, here's a quick post I left over at DNC. I need a little rest- got home late..had to get up early to meet the folks for Mother's day breakkie- fun but now I'm wiped out-gonna go put my old hippy tee & jeans and relax for a while-lots of funny little incidents last night, too...Sadly though, I spoke with one of the AJs(Ratdog crew) and also a rather imbedded taper and sounds like no Eurodog in Sept (ouch)
okay, here is my Deadnet post-
((Graceful, katrinka,Louie, Karina, Easywind, twirlgirl, Mazzy, Vera, Dave & Laurie, tahoe Julie & everyone!)))) It was so much fun!
Emory Joseph trio were fun- the one guitar player was a little "school of rockish" but in good spirits...Flying Other Brothers greatly improved since I last saw them...Pete Sears played and sang a nice Stella Blue-IMO,
The Waybacks were terrific and Bobby was did awesomely with them-will let Maz expound on the experience...
They ended up leaving the tables alone- so most of us -came for dinner ended up at tables on the rail...All the usual suspects were there.
Easy Wind & friend, Karina, Scott and I had a table in the first row of tables a bit to the side of Bobby...
Dinner was buffet and included complimentary wine & beer. Upstairs was where the silent auction tables were..was relieved to see someone finally bid on the folk smoker I made....Lots of fun milling around..Bonnie Raitt was around and about but didnt play. On the scene were Dennis McNally and Susana, Calico, WavyGravy, Sandy from Rex plus dozens of familiar faces....
Dr Larry Brilliant was the guest of honor , he did a quick little speech which included a comic plea to the audience to be gentle (or something like that) to his friends from the presedio golf club who were filling a few tables in the center of the room.

Okay, Gonna rest and will post more on show later!

Aha! Finding out just weir Bobstar was over the weekend! Helping his buddy Sammy Hagar open up a new fun spot inside of Harvey's casino in Lake Tahoe- The Taho Wabo? Here's the setlist which was posted at Sammy Hagar's website:

May 3rd 2004:



Tahoe Set List:

Acoustic Set:One Hour
1.Connection-with Ronnie Montrose-(Stones cover from Paper Money
2.Right Now-With the Waboritas
3.Cantcha See-Toby Keith
4.Sweet Home Alabama-Toby Keith
5.Great story about meeting Bob Weir. Got drunk and stoned and almost
backed his car over a cliff
6.Take the load off Fanny. with Bob Weir
7.Knockin' on Heavens Door-with Bob Weir,Toby, and Johnny.
8.No Excuses-with Jerry Cantrel
9.Finish What Ya Started-with the Waboritas.

15 minute break.

Sammy and The Wabos:One Hour Forty Minutes.
1.Marching to Mars
2.Stand Up and Shout
3.Sympathy for the Human
4.Shaka Doobie
5.Standing on Top of The World
6.Best of Both Worlds
7.Star Spangled Banner-with Ted Nugent
8.Kluster Fuck-with Ted
9.Route 66-with Ted
10. High N' Dry Again
11.Half Way to Memphis-duet with his son Andrew
12.Man in The Box-with Jerry Cantrel and Billy Duffy
13.Wild Thing-Ted,Jerry, and Billy
14.Mas Tequila

Encore: Bad Motor Scooter

Nice article on a good guy- Larry Brilliant-the fellow being honored at the Seva happening which is happening Saturday at the Great American Music Hall:
http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234~24409~2122891,00.html