Phil Lesh & Friends Bring The Guitars
By:  Ben Marks
Wall of Sound
Published February 20, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO - For a band fronting a bass player who was once the backbone 
of The Grateful Dead's formidable rhythm section, Phil Lesh and Friends have 
proved a strong showcase for lead guitarists. Various incarnations of the 
Friends have featured such accomplished soloists as Hot Tuna's Jorma 
Kaukonen, Little Feat's Paul Barrere, and Phish's Trey Anastasio - all of 
whom, at one point or another, shared the stage with Zero's legendary 
guitarist, Steve Kimock, who literally sat at the center of the Friends' 
gale-force sound from the summer of 1998 until the fall of 1999, when Kimock 
abruptly left the band in the middle of a Midwest tour. 

The loss of Kimock has hung over every lineup of Phil Lesh and Friends since; 
if Lesh was seen by many Deadheads as the true keeper of The Dead's flame, 
Kimock was seen as the only mortal on the planet who had a chance of filling 
the late Jerry Garcia's shoes. 

Which is not to say that Lesh has been paralyzed by the loss of Kimock, as 
was evident Sunday for the final night of a four-show homestand in San 
Francisco's intimate, light-show bedecked, and very crowded Maritime Hall. 
Backed as ever by the indomitable John Molo on drums, the band featured the 
same lineup that has been touring with Lesh since last fall: Rob Barraco on 
keyboards and vocals, Jimmy Herring on guitar, and former Allman Brother 
Warren Haynes on guitar and vocals. (Six of the shows from that fall tour 
have been released in their entirety, for free, in digital format via 
www.thephilzone.com.) 

The five-hour show (including a lengthy break between sets) opened 
promisingly with "Dancin' in the Streets," a Dead favorite that Lesh gave a 
fresh arrangement in 1999 and which Barraco sang on Sunday night. Right away, 
the loss of Kimock was evident. Whereas Kimock would have been careful not to 
intrude on the playing of his band mates, Haynes showed all his cards early, 
running right over his colleagues with high-and-hard flights into the upper 
registers. It didn't matter if Herring or Barraco were warming to their own 
solos, or even if Barraco was singing a verse, Haynes would be there, 
occasionally challenging his stage mates to musical duels, which were 
good-naturedly answered by a smiling Herring and an exuberant Barraco, who at 
times could scarcely keep his seat. Not that Haynes' relentless slide- and 
synthesized-guitar work generated even a trace of animosity on the stage - 
but Herring and Barraco had to pick out their solos over Haynes' sometimes 
screechy guitar. The band's draining interplay moved from "Dancin'" through a 
triumphant "Scarlet Begonias" and back again into "Dancin'," this time with 
Herring playing a Garcia riff note for note. 

The second set, though, made the first set look like the warm-up: It ran for 
two hours without a break, opening with an extended jam that went on for 
perhaps 15 minutes before settling in on a cover of Traffic's "Dear Mr. 
Fantasy" sung by Haynes. This time, Herring was given a chance to show what 
he could do, which consisted of fluid picking that ran easily up and down the 
scales. Seamlessly, the band found its way into "Dark Star," followed by a 
very spacey jam, and then the first of two Beatles covers, "Tomorrow Never 
Knows." Some steam was lost as the Friends wandered back into "Dark Star" and 
then into "Wharf Rat," but the energy level was ratcheted back up for good 
with "Viola Lee Blues," a tune from The Dead's first album that is especially 
well-suited to Haynes' hard-edged style. 

Though the audience had already gotten its money's worth of music, Lesh kept 
the jam going and moved the group into a heroic rendition of "In the Midnight 
Hour" that had the crowd dancing so hard that the floor in the old hall was 
bouncing up and down with the beat. Then, as with "Dancin'" and "Dark Star" 
earlier, it was back into "Viola" to close out the second set. 

On the three previous nights, Lesh and Friends had dutifully performed a song 
or two for an encore, but on Sunday, the band played four tunes for another 
half hour or so, beginning with a Barraco-sung "Strawberry Fields Forever" 
and ending with Barraco's spare piano accompanying Haynes and Lesh on "And We 
Bid You Goodnight." 

A very good night, indeed. - Ben Marks