Under a beautiful harvest moon Friday night at , continued its four-night sold out run at the venue. The nostalgic jam band contrived by Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead was greeted by a friendly Colorado crowd of tie-dyed baby boomers eager to channel their youth. By enlisting the help of Dead specialists — John Kadlecik on guitar (Darkstar Orchestra) and Jeff Chimenti on keys (Ratdog) — as well as the raw talent of drummer Joe Russo (Benevento/Russo Duo), Furthur was able to capture the communal spirit of the legendary band while also adding a modern, yet often subdued, take on the material.
Lesh, Kadlecik and Weir sang by committee throughout the night — Kadlecik imitating the great Jerry Garcia on “Wharf Rat” and “Ship of Fools” while Bobby’s soulful bellows shined in ballads like “Looks like Rain.” Backed by vocalists Sunshine Becker and Jeff Pehrson, the band’s harmonies were notably full, especially during a haunting encore of “Attics of My Life.”
As usual, the band was not afraid to let improvisation flow. The second set opened with an inspired “Truckin’” that drifted into a spacey group exploration while celebratory fireworks showered over Coor’s Field in the distance. Kadlecik’s guitar soared during the swinging blues of “Pride of Cucamondo” and Lesh’s floating bass would have been a bit chaotic if not for the locked-in backbeat of Russo. Russo’s ambidextrous chops and occasional flash easily filled the void that was once filled by two drummers in the Grateful Dead.
Despite the looseness of many jams, there were just as many moments of unexpected structure. A “St. Stephen” jam seamlessly turned into “Not Fade Away” and a clever placement of “Fire on the Mountain” got sandwiched between the often-covered hit “Scarlet Begonias.”
Furthur has announced that following a four-night run in Mexico in January the band will be taking a 2014 “hiatus” to focus on solo projects. Though Deadheads are an optimistic bunch, with Weir and Lesh aged 65 and 73 respectively, one has to wonder how much further things really will go.
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Nate Etter is a Boulder-based musician and a regular contributor to Reverb. You can reach him at Nate@EcoVessel.com.
