The Dead @ John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville VA - 4/15/09

15,000 fans packed the John Paul Jones Arena on the campus of the University of Virginia last Wednesday to see the former members of the Grateful Dead along with Warren Haynes and Jeff Chimenti navigate their way through the Dead’s (almost) 45 year collection. Like most of the post-Jerry shows, the set list was fantastic.

Set 1
New Speedway Boogie, Bertha, High Time, Mason’s Children, Big Boss Man, Doin’ That Rag, SOTM

Set 2
Playin’ > Crazy Fingers > Drumz > Space > St. Stephen > The Eleven, Half Step > Playin’ Reprise, Foolish Heart

Encore
Gloria

Imagine seeing that set list twenty years ago? But, I’m not here to write about the past. My partner in crime for the night and so many other Dead shows in the early 90s, was the Butter Room’s own Sparky. We had planned to buy tickets off scalpers. With over 60 shows between us, we just didn’t feel like forking over the big bucks. But then, we scored second row tickets last week thanks to a late-breaking ticket release and I became awfully excited the days leading up to the show.

We pre-gamed with the co-founders of SHREDHED at a fine local establishment, and crammed 6 big dudes into one tiny taxi cab. After another cramped experience waiting to get in line, which closely resembled Phish @ Hampton, we rushed to get some beers and to our seats since it was already past show time. We settled in during “New Speedway”, and started to soak it all in.

First set was really unlike any other first set I’ve seen before by the Grateful Dead, the Dead, Ratdog, or Phil and Friends. With the exception of the SOTM set closer, all songs played were written before the year I was born - 1971! Bobby took lead vocals on “New Speedway”, “Big Boss Man”, and “SOTM”. Warren sang lead on “High Time” and “Doin’ That Rag”. “Bertha” and “Mason’s Children” were shared. My favorites from the first set? “Bertha”, “Doin’ That Rag”, and “Mason’s Children”. Don’t take my word for it though. Here is a video we shot of “Doin’ That Rag”.

TheButterRoom.com: Doin’ That Rag - The Dead [4/15/09] from The Butter Room on Vimeo.

Overall, I thought set one was a little disjointed and ended on a low note. I never felt that the Dead got into a groove, and “SOTM” is just one of those songs I would prefer they not play. It’s one of those sacred Jerry songs in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t horrible. I just didn’t get that warm fuzzy feeling during set one.

Set two got off to a solid start with “Playin’ > Crazy Fingers”. Sparky and I called “Playin’” only because we both used to get “Playin’” all the damn time back in the day. “Crazy Fingers > Drums > Space > St. Stephen” was the highlight of the night. I’ve never been a huge “Crazy Fingers” fan, but tonight it was the shiznit and was worthy of my loudest hoots and hollers of the evening. Phil’s bombs along with Warren’s licks were in perfect synch. It was pure enjoyment. Another surprise for me was the Drumz/Space segment. Typically a point in time I use for a piss break, it came early - real early in the set (25 minutes in). The sound was crystal clear where we stood, and that made the Rhythm Devils a special treat. Coming out of Space was “St. Stephen”. Of course, like many other Deadheads, I always wanted to see this live back in the day. The closest I ever got was the RFK ‘95 soundcheck. I thought they delivered the goods during “St. Stephen” with a nice jam in between verses, teasing “The Eleven” so much that I prematurely twittered that as part of the set list before they actually did break into the song. “The Eleven” is one of my all-time favorite Dead tunes, but I just can’t get into these late 90’s/2000’s versions. I will always be stuck in the past on that tune. Live / Dead had too big of an impression, I guess.

The remainder of the set and show was filled with great selections. Everyone in the stands was singing along the loudest during “Half-Step”. I did like the “Foolish Heart”, and thought it was a bit ironic that this was the set 2 closer considering it was the first song I ever saw the Grateful Dead play live. Finally, “Gloria” was fun to see. Beats the usual “Lovelight”, “NFA”, “Good Lovin”, “Saturday Night” or “Sugar Magnolia” closers for me. Based on Bobby’s facial expressions, I think they butchered it a bit. My ears couldn’t tell at this point. It was almost midnight and my senses were not at their sharpest. Guess I will have listen to the tapes.

Whether you are an old vet or were too young to see the Grateful Dead back in the day, I recommend you check this tour out. The crowd and the band are much more more energized than in 1995, and that’s special to see in person. I’m sure as the tour moves along, any remaining rust will wear off and the performances will get even better.

You can check our pics from the show on flickr.