In this post I want do a review of the band's show at the Winery at St George in Mohegan Lake on Friday 11/27/2015. This particular show was the Friday after Thanksgiving which is a great time of the year to get out and socialize. Also, Winery is one of the finest venues in Westchester for live music as covered in my prior post The Winery at St George. In addition, this show had a lot to offer for fans of the Grateful Dead.
Set One started with Shakedown Street which is more often found in set two, but fit perfectly due to the late start time - around 10 PM. The song has a nice dance funk to it and is a call to action "Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart, just gotta poke around".
Next up was "I need a Miracle" which is also from the Grateful Dead's 1978 album Shakedown Street. A fellow fan and I observed this was the first time we have every heard the band play this song whose vocals are typically performed by Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead.
After the blues classics 'Cold Rain and Snow' and 'Big Boss Man', the band went onto "I Don't Know You" which is a upbeat tune by the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was great to see Francesca Rose back on stage with the band, and this song was the perfect showcase for her vocals. Francesca brings a softer side to the band and provides some rhythm guitar support to guitarist Jeff Thornton. Also the chemistry between Francesca and Frank is clear and also shines through on one of my band favorites 'Peggy O' which followed.
After the acoustic-styled 'Friend of the Devil', the band when on to 'China Cat Sunflower' into 'I Know You Rider' which are Grateful Dead classics and resonate strongly with long-time dead fans. The band also adds its own styling to this song and the lyrics say it all "I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone .. Gonna miss your baby from rolling in your arms".
Set one ended with 'Deal' which is a Robert Hunter song about gambling followed by Without a Net's signature tune 'Disco Cowboy'. This was a perfect way to end set one since Disco Cowboy is Frank's anthem - he is the self-proclaimed Disco Cowboy.
Set Two started with 'Sugar Magnolia' another dead favorite and arguably the only love song every performed by the Dead. That led into Scarlet Begonias into Fire on the Mountain, another classic one-two punch for dead fans. Following that was Jack Straw another dead favorite. Next up was 'Shadows', a band original about what goes through your head in the dark of night - and one of only 2 originals played that evening, the other being 'Disco Cowboy.'
Next up, the band launched into 'The Other One', a deep cut which originally occupied an entire album side on the Dead's 2nd double-live album. Part way through 'The Other One' Frank started playing a different song on the keyboard - which you would think leads to musical chaos. But I've seen him do this before - when he leads the band into a different song without a formal start and stop. After a period of transition, the following song emerged which was the Dead Classic 'Truckin.' 'Truckin' ended up in a jam which returned back to 'The Other One' to bring the song full circle.
Next up, the band lightened the mood through a few songs in the country vein, 'Me and Bobby McGee', "Mamma Tried' and 'Me and My Uncle'. Ending that section was another Dead classic 'Brown Eyed Women' from Europe '72 which ends with the enduring lyric "Sound of the thunder with the rain falling down, And it looks like the old man's getting on."
Set Two wound down with the slow and bluesy 'Morning Dew'. And the band closed the night with the Grateful Dead's 'US Blues' which is sort of a mockery of life in the USA: "Wave that flag, wave it wide and high. Summertime done, come and gone, my oh my."
Overall it was a memorable night of music at an amazing venue.
Check out the band's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/thebandwithoutanet for their next live appearance.