Berkeley

Grateful Dead playing into the sunset

Analise Dubner — Tue, 08 May 2007 16:01:56 -0500

Grateful Dead playing into the sunset at the Greek Theatre, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA

20th Anniversary Press Conference

Analise Dubner — Tue, 08 May 2007 15:46:45 -0500

Grateful Dead, 20th Anniversary Press Conference. Greek Theatre, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA

Grateful Dead - Greek Theatre

Analise Dubner — Tue, 08 May 2007 15:14:52 -0500

Grateful Dead, Greek Theatre, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA

Grateful Dead - Greek Theatre

Analise Dubner — Tue, 08 May 2007 09:36:31 -0500

Grateful Dead, Greek Theatre, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA. 5/13-14-15/1983

Grateful Dead - Greek Theatre

Analise Dubner — Mon, 07 May 2007 23:34:48 -0500

Grateful Dead, Greek Theatre, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA. 9/11-12-13/1981

Bobby Playing in front of Crowd at Greek Theatre in Oct. 1968

Tue, 01 May 2007 19:34:39 -0500

Bobby Playing in front of Crowd at Greek Theatre in Oct. 1968

Jerry & Billy in front of Greek Theatre Crowd in Oct 1968

Tue, 01 May 2007 19:30:14 -0500

Jerry & Billy in front of Greek Theatre crowd in Oct 1968.

Grateful Dead Playing at Greek Theatre Oct. 1968

Tue, 01 May 2007 19:10:38 -0500

Grateful Dead Playing at Greek Theatre Oct. 1968.

Dan Healy's Birthday

Analise Dubner — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 17:25:26 -0500

Dan Healy's Birthday. Greek Theatre, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA

Bob Weir - Greek Theatre

Analise Dubner — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:24:18 -0500

Bob Weir, Greek Theatre, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA.

Mickey Hart - backstage

Analise Dubner — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:21:31 -0500

Mickey Hart playing a drum backstage. Greek Theatre, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA

Jerry, Phil & Bobby Play at Greek Theatre

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:52:10 -0500

Jerry, Phil & Bobby play at Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA.

Benefit for Music Programs in Berkeley Schools

Jonathan Lane — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:12:40 -0500

Benefit for Music Programs in Berkeley Schools, Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA. Acoustic Set by: Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia & Vince Welnick

Mickey Hart Performs At Seva Benefit (Wavy Gravy's 71st Birthday)

PatRhino — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 19:27:53 -0500

On May 18, at San Francisco’s intimate Grand Ballroom (upstairs from the old Avalon Ballroom), Mickey Hart was part of very strong lineup celebrating Wavy Gravy’s 71st birthday and raising a heap o’ money for Wavy’s favorite cause, SEVA.

With Wavy acting as emcee and spinning old and new stories between sets, the evening flowed seamlessly. Mickey’s Global Drum Project mate Sikuru was up first, fronting an all-percussion group that banged, bopped and rumbled through an exciting set that leaned heavily on material popularized by the late, great Babatunde Olatunji (a long-time friend of the Dead’s). Next was a 45-minute jaunt through the distinctive world of rising jam band Tea Leaf Green, who definitely got the crowd movin’ and shakin’ their collective groove thang. Then came my favorite set of the night, by Black Crowes (and occasional Phil & Friends) singer Chris Robinson & Wooden Family, a trio with Chris on acoustic guitar, George Reiff on bass and the fantastic Jonathan Wilson on electric guitar. Working through a collection of originals and covers such as “New Speedway Boogie” and Dylan’s/The Byrds’ “Nothing Was Delivered,” they established a warm, mellow vibe reminiscent of parts of Workingman’s Dead, but nicely colored by Robinson’s soulful delivery. Very cool.

After the infamous Baby Gramps stunned the crowd with a between-sets version of a down-and-dirty Delta blues-inspired song I presume was called “Scrotum” (the cat does play a mean dobro!), the latest edition of Zero hit the stage to thunderous cheers. As always, Steve Kimock built his guitar solos slowly, feeling his way through a succession of melodic flights on his way to the stratosphere, while saxman Martin Fierro honked and squonked and screeched in his inimitable way, sometimes locked in with Kimock, but often flying alone. A nice addition to this version of the group was our old JGB pal Melvin Seals on organ; a good fit for sure. Among the group’s meaty jam tunes were “Gregg’s Eggs” and “Catalina,” the latter warbled by Judge Murphy.

Closing the show was a group billed as Mickey Hart & Friends, which turned out to be sort of an extension of the current Rhythm Devils band. However, in Bill Kreutzmann’s place was the ever-monstrous Mr. John Molo, and filling in for regular RD bassist Mike Gordon was the fantastic George Porter Jr., of New Orleans’ incomparable Meters. What a great fit he ebullient Porter turned out to be! Far from being some loose, thrown-together aggregation, however, MH&F sounded seriously rehearsed and hit the ground running. With Jen Durkin belting in front, they grooved their way through a selection of RD originals, including “The Center,” “Your House,” “Fountains of Wood” and “Next Dimension,” then closed with a pair of Dead tunes: “New Speedway Boogie” (v.2!) and “Fire on the Mountain.” The place was still rocking well past the midnight hour.

Toss in an auction of cool memorabilia in an adjacent room and surprise appearances by Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and Pete Sears, and you’ve got a night of fine tunes for a good cause. Wavy’s birthday parties are always a good time. May we share many more with him!

For more on SEVA, go to seva.org.