2010

Although not the Grateful Dead, when will you see Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, a member of a Grateful Dead cover band, a non-Grateful Dead related drummer, keyboard player, and 2 vocalists on the same stage in the middle of Coney Island? Furthur has seemed to touch the souls of old deadheads, new fans, and people who wouldn’t consider themselves an avid fan at all. When people say location, location, location in real estate, you can apply the same theory in music. If you put talented musicians in a unique venue like MCU park in the historic Coney Island area, you are just asking for sparks to fly.
A Grateful Dead themed experience wouldn’t be right without the likes of a Shakedown tailgate extravaganza either. So in the spirit of Dead Head ways, a small powwow of hippies, and people who wouldn’t consider themselves as such came together to indulge into a world of peace, love, and superb music.

At around 6:00 crowds started to pour into the MCU Park. Some claimed their spots up front, others took the safe road and moved back knowing the comfort would be located mostly in the back. An hour later passed, and the venue got filled up, causing the seated field audience to stand up to accommodate the large capacity.
After a loose “tuning” jam, Bob Weir called for a start and as if a shot was fired into the air, “Golden Road” began. John Kadlecik sang out with beautiful vocals, reminiscent of a Jerry tone, but did not introduce too much of a familiar approach as he was standing in the spot Jerry Garcia would be in, had he not passed away 15 years ago.

Credit: Tyler Curtis (Shakedown Blog)

An abrupt transition into “Good Lovin’” included a killer Bob Weir vocal banter rant that he is infamous for. “The Music Never Stopped” carried on a feel-good dancing vibe that continued on through the show. Next was a flawless “Sugar Magnolia” which then went into a slow, bold “Dear Mr Fantasy” that was hot right from the beginning. Excellent guitar and vocal work from John Kadlecik. However, when John was not letting his guitar cry out, the spotlight mainly focused on keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and his crazy fingers that appropriately complimented JK’s instrumental work. As if Sugar Mag>Dear Mr Fantasy was not enough, the energy picked up into a euphoric storm when “Scarlet Begonias” ignited. Joe Russo mauled his drum-toms with fills that gives this song its dancing charisma. A jam arose at the end of Scarlet that brought me to the evaluation of if they would go into the usual Fire On The Mountain, or take it into a new direction. The new direction was chosen, and in Fire On The Mountain’s place was “Magnolia Mountain”. While this was not the most exciting song of the night, it was nice to have a low-key song as opposed to the monstrous jams that was played prior and post “Magnolia Mountain”. John Kadlecik harmonized with Sunshine and Jeff (the background vocalists) divinely, enriching a deep Ryan Adams ballad. To end the set, the last transition came into a heated “Uncle John’s Band”.
After a 45 minute set break, the sun was setting, the heat cooled off, and the band took the stage once again in hopes to drive the momentum even Furthur. “Unbroken Chain” was as powerful as I could have hoped for. It was bigger than reality in my opinion, pushing the limits of how powerful a bass player can be. Phil Lesh may be 70 years old, but by his bass playing in the 2nd set, you would think that he was much younger due to the energy that he puts into his playing. A free for all “wail on your instruments” frenzy was displayed, but all the while kept a controlled and balanced structure.

Credit: Tyler Curtis (Shakedown Blog)

“Let It Grow” was screeching with phenomenal musical chaos, with pristine playing from Weir, Kadlecik, and Chimenti, all being held together by the rhythm section of Joe Russo and Phil Lesh. Next was an appropriate “Fire On The Mountain” traveling back to its sister “Scarlet Begonias” which was in the previous set. Fire segued into a loose jam that brought its focus to an early Grateful Dead era classic “The Other One”. Phil Lesh’s bombs were magnificently present and inhabited the insides of everyone’s body who was anywhere near the bass amps (especially on the floor). At times “The Other One” wasn’t as strong as it could have been, but for the most part, kept a decent form as best as the laid-back jam approach technique allowed Furthur to go. To relax even further back, a transition into “Cryptical Envelopment” took place, and for 4 minutes, was magical bliss. John Kadlecik absolutely nailed the lead guitar part towards the end of “Cryptical Envelopment”. The last part of this 4 piece monster sandwich, “Blues For Allah” was brought out of center field. As soon as this gem began, an epidemic of jaw dropping occurred. Aside from Bob Weir’s miraculous rhythm guitar work, Sunshine and Jeff (backup singers) added a brilliant and intense touch which was spine tingling.

Credit: Tyler Curtis (Shakedown Blog)

Next was an emotionally saturated “Morning Dew”, graciously executed by John Kadlecik. His guitar work when he wasn’t singing, and his singing when he wasn’t taking a lead both proved further why he was the perfect fit for such a position. One of my favorites of the night, “Eyes Of The World” was next in order. My only complaint would have been Phil Lesh’s singing, however, I must appreciate the mans courage to sing after not singing for the majority of 30 years. To end an epic set, the trifecta of “Help On The Way> Slipknot> Franklin’s Tower” soared higher in spirit than anything earlier in the night. My mind was consumed by the antics from John, Bob, Phil, Jeff, and Joe on stage, all creating ideal situations to improvise in wondrous manners.
As an encore, “Box Of Rain” could not have been more beautiful. It was definitely appropriate because after a beautiful night, why not end it with a gorgeous song? After the song was over, the all-star lineup took their bow, and headed off stage in style. Fireworks were shot off, and the crowd left satisfied. When you hear this band coming into town, you owe it to yourself to sit back, relax, and float down stream with surreal talent and one of the best Americana catalog’s out there.

About the Author

A young, aspiring music journalist out of the Verona, NJ area.

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Comments

There are 5 comments for this post.

Meredith June 29, 2010

Great review Tyler! After the first night I didn’t think they could top it, but… it was a beautiful night.
Tony June 30, 2010

An improvement, but still not where it could be. Just scanning it again I see decent number of grammatical errors and oddly worded sentences.

I am willing to help. Let me know.

Regards,

Tony
sara June 30, 2010

how beautiful! wish i could have made it, grateful to stream it though~~~ hope you make it to more of the shows, listing again, and reading this, i could close my eyes and be there! thank you, will be looking for more of ur blog!
Tony June 30, 2010

You know what? I spent about 45 minutes typing that up trying to HELP you. I hope you took the advice even though you deleted the posts. I assure you, I know how to write and I know good writing when I read it. You have a lot of work to do and any help you can get would be a great asset to your future.

Like I said, I hope you took the advice. There were good tips in there to make your writing much better without much effort. Do as you want.
Tony June 30, 2010

Ignore the above post. I thought you deleted my comments. They did not load on the screen when I clicked it. Its 4:10 in the morning and I’m tired. I was a bit frustrated that you would delete the comments, but now I can’t tell if you did or not. I am sorry either way.

Please, use the information regardless of whether you deleted them or not.