Since Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead died in 1995, the band’s surviving members have kept the music alive through various vehicles. The most notable are The Dead and The Other Ones reunion tours, Phil Lesh and Friends and Bob Weir’s Ratdog. The approach of these bands has always been to honor the spirit and music of the Dead by reinterpreting it, pushing it in new and different directions, not simply recreating the iconic group’s catalog note for note.

Furthur, a new band, is the first post-Garcia project featuring founding Dead members whose modus operandi is more in line with staying true to the pioneering band’s sound, specifically its mid-’70s run as a fleet, psychedelic warhorse.

While Furthur features Lesh (bass, vocals) and Weir (rhythm guitar, vocals), it is the relative newcomers to the scene that give the outfit its Grateful Dead sonic authenticity, particularly John Kadlecik. Until recently the Garcia guitarist and vocalist for noted Dead tribute Dark Star Orchestra, Kadlecik is the closest thing, vocally and musically, to the late bandleader. Jeff Chimenti, from Ratdog and The Dead, combines Keith Godchaux’s jazz piano chops with Brent Mydland’s organ sound, and Joe Russo, another young player from the avant-jazz world, brings Bill Kreutzmann’s drumming touch with some added muscle.

Sunday night’s tour-ending show at the Asbury Park Convention Center in New Jersey was a throwback to the ’70s glory days, from the dingy yet character-filled glorified boardwalk gymnasium to the setlist, which included no songs newer than 1978. Opening with Lesh’s classic “Box Of Rain” and checking into “Candyman” and a serpentine “Estimated Prophet,” the first set achieved immediate liftoff.

The post-intermission included three lengthy prog-rock workouts: Weir’s “Lost Sailor”>“Saint Of Circumstance,” a lovely, dramatic “Terrapin Station” and the classic triumvirate of “Help On The Way”>“Slipknot!”>“Franklin's Tower.” Kadlecik’s nimble guitar runs, Lesh’s booming bass, Weir’s jabbing guitar and Russo and Jay Lane’s interlocking percussion made for a sound greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a seamless feel that the Grateful Dead achieved on its best nights, Ratdog and Phil and Friends sometimes reach and The Dead rarely find.

These musicians are always at their best when they don’t know what’s going to happen next, so making long-term plans might please fans but also sap momentum. A spring tour, with dates at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, is booked. After that, why not take a page from “Saint Of Circumstance”: “I still don’t know what I’m going for/ But I’m gonna go for it for sure.”



 

Every time the circus comes to the Wachovia Arena, I tell myself I should go to the animal walk, where staffers unload the elephants and other fellows from train cars and lead them to the venue. It would make for great pictures for our paper or Web site, and plus, I love animals. But I also love sleep, and this thing usually kicks off around 7 a.m. Factor in the 25-minute drive from my place to Wilkes-Barre, and that means waking up at 6 a.m. at the latest.

This year, though, I took the plunge. I was actually up by about 5:15 a.m. today, and I got to the appointed spot: Conyngham Street near Wilkes-Barre Boulevard in Wilkes-Barre. I missed the unloading, but there the elephants were, linked from trunk to tail and traipsing down the street with a police escort. Wilkes-Barre Boulevard was shut down, and I wish I knew what some of the drivers that were forced to stop said  when they saw that the pachyderms were the reason for the delay -- not something you see every day in any city, never mind a sleepy, pre-sunrise Wilkes-Barre.

Because of the rain and the darkness, my pictures didn't come out. About 10 minutes later, the sun was up. I guess elephants aren't just good at remembering, they're also quite punctual; I wish they were a little late, then the photos would've been great. But I'm glad I went.

In lieu of the photos I planned to come back to the office with, we have a publicity photo from the circus here. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus opens Wednesday, Oct. 29, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 1

 

 

Who: Them Crooked Vultures, Mini Mansions
Where: 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.

John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl in the same room is more than enough to excite most rock fans. But to see the Led Zeppelin and Nirvana/Foo Fighters legends, along with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, play a set comprised entirely of brand new songs — so new that none of the tracks have been released yet — in an intimate club setting is pure rock-fan heaven. It also doesn’t hurt that the new tunes are insanely powerful, wild and intense.

After a boring and pointless set by Los Angeles’ Mini Mansions, the Vultures — Grohl on drums, Homme on lead vocals and guitars, John Paul Jones on bass (and other things) and touring guitarist Alain Johannes (also a Queens member) — took their positions. The hulking Homme, who looks like a taller, thicker Craig Kilborn, at center stage, Jones to his right, Johannes to his left and Grohl on a new cobalt-blue drum kit behind him. The band launched into a furious, punishing introduction that built the intensity on stage and in the sold-out-yet-intimate club of about 900 fans.

Homme’s stink is all over this band, and that’s a good thing. But it’s a fuller, different sound than the Queens of the Stone Age. Homme’s squealing guitars, wacky time changes and deadpan vocals have made it over from his day job, and there’s a Queens-ish mechanical vibe, with Grohl snapping off taut, stuttering fills and the band locking in perfectly. But there’s also a dynamic earthiness, thanks to the vocal harmonies and Jones’ funky, busy playing.

Jones, by the way, in addition to his standard bass, played a 12-string bass, a mandolin/guitar hybrid, piano, a keytar and a guitar-like instrument with a wide, angled neck that resembled a Chapman stick. He also sang backup vocals. One might expect the 63-year-old rock god to seem out of place in a club with players 20 years his junior, but he dug in, rocked out and smiled all night.

Johannes was an important part of the Vultures’ set as well. In addition to guitar and backing vocals, he added keyboards and played bass on the songs in which Jones did not play his bass.

Song titles — which include “Elephants,” “Scumbag Blues,” “Caligulove” and “Nobody Loves Me and Neither Do I” — are for the most part irrelevant, with no reference points besides YouTube clips. But the songs are solid, smart and swaggering.

It felt like being a part of history, watching some of the most revered and creative players from two different generations make music together, but the show was not a nostalgia trip. No Nirvana, Foo Fighters or Zeppelin tunes were played, and that takes a lot of restraint; promoters would’ve put this band in arenas, and the payday would’ve been exponentially bigger if the members did revisit their back pages.

Them Crooked Vultures’ debut album is expected to be released in late October in the U.S. on Interscope. If the set it played in D.C. and the legitimate fan buzz surrounding the band is any indication, we’re in for a massive new band — a super group, really, not just a supergroup.


 

Dio: "The Very Beast of Dio"

These United States: "Everything Touches Everything"

Heaven and Hell: "The Devil You Know"

Slayer: "South of Heaven"

Grateful Dead: "Workingman's Dead"

Breaking Benjamin: "We Are Not Alone"

Pearl Jam has released a documentary video about it's Sept. 20 album "Backspacer."

 

Pearl Jam - Backspacer Short

Meanwhile Bat For Lashes, the nom de stage of rising star Natasha Kahn, has released a video for "Sleep Alone," from "Two Suns," easily one of 2009's best albums. You might know that Thom Yorke and David Byrne have publicly raved about Bat For Lashes, but you might not know that she has a few NEPA connections. She has toured with Lewis & Clarke, which is masterminded by Honesdale native and Delaware Water Gap-based Lou Rogai, as well as recorded with Moon and Moon, which features Rogai and Jay Hudak, from Wilkes-Barre's An Albatross. In fact, one of the songs on "Two Suns" is called "Moon and Moon."

About the Author

Education
Penn State University, University Park
Bachelors degree: Journalism, English minor
Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia
Masters of arts degree: Writing studies
Manchester University, Manchester, England
Communications

Selected Publications
The Weekender, LexisNexis Securities Litigation, ESPN.com, The Associated Press, Philadelphia Daily News, Philly Edge, Universitywire.com, The Daily Collegian

From
Pittston

Resides
Scranton

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