Phil Lesh & Friends will jam in Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on May 28 and 31

Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
Wednesday, May 28, $49.50 – $99.50, 6:00
Saturday, May 31, $49.50 – $99.50, 4:30
www.phillesh.net
www.thecapitoltheatre.com

It’s hard to believe, but it has been almost two decades since the death of Jerry Garcia brought an end to the “long, strange trip” that constituted the never-ending touring cycle of that most distinctive of rock bands, the Grateful Dead. After Garcia passed away in 1995, the other members of the band pursued various projects of their own, as well as combining forces in varying lineups known as the Other Ones, the Dead, and Furthur, all of them building on and continuing the group’s musical journey and evolution. Any number of the musicians shuffling in and out of the band’s roster had their own musical proclivities: Garcia was a devoted fan of the bluegrass and folk music at the roots of the Grateful Dead’s psychedelicized sound. Bob Weir was a rock ‘n’ roll enthusiast. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan lived for the blues, while Mickey Hart’s interests gravitated toward world music and percussion excursions. Through it all, Phil Lesh was an anchor and a constant presence in the Grateful Dead, manning the bass guitar since their days as the Warlocks in mid-1960s San Francisco. Though his repertoire spanned the entire gamut of the group’s musical interests, Lesh’s own musical leanings veered toward the experimental fringe — Karlheinz Stockhausen and Charles Ives are influences — and in his own excursions interpreting the Grateful Dead canon a sense of improvisation and experimentation is always present.

Lesh has stayed active (and then some) since the demise of the original group. Besides participating in the post-GD offshoots with his former bandmates, he has been on the road with his own rotating collection of musical acolytes for the better part of the past fifteen years. These ensembles, Phil Lesh & Friends officially, have featured a veritable encyclopedia of musicians affiliated with any number of styles, from jam-band veterans to blues legends and any number of Lesh’s contemporaries through the years. The M.O. of his performances can vary but usually highlight songs from the Grateful Dead catalog, both obscure and popular and played in the spirit of the original band; set lists vary night to night, and the songs can be interpreted in different ways depending on the performance. Since receiving a liver transplant in 1998, Lesh has made it a point to promote organ donor awareness at his concerts and continues the tradition of playing multiple charity benefits. In recent years, the septuagenerian (yes, he’s seventy-four) bassist has taken a nod to his health and cut back on his relentless touring schedule to operate from a home base in Marin County, where he has established his own venue, Terrapin Crossroads, getting together with his ever-changing cycle of friends and family members. (Both of Lesh’s sons have joined him onstage in recent years.)

Still, an old road horse like Phil Lesh needs to ramble, and he has always had a special affinity for New York City. Last fall, he joined guitarist Eric Krasno and Furthur drummer Joe Russo for a half-hour impromptu set of jazz outside the Sheep Meadow in Central Park, to the surprise and delight of passersby. Now Lesh will bring his latest ensemble to the Rumsey Playfield stage for a one-off show in the heart of Manhattan, presented by Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre, right smack in Central Park, where the Grateful Dead performed way back in 1968 and 1969 in their psychedelic heyday. Central Park was also where Mayor Giuliani banned fans from gathering for a memorial following Garcia’s death.

The “Friends” on hand this time around will include drummer Russo, jazz-leaning guitarist John Scofield, versatile keyboardist John Medeski, and blues-rock ax slinger Warren Haynes, a veteran of the Allman Brothers, the (post-Garcia) Dead, and his own bands, primarily Gov’t Mule. Like a magic elixir or a pot of gumbo, the various elements brought to the table by each unique member in this mix of musicians makes for a different concert experience every time Phil’s Friends convene. No matter what songs the band decides to perform, expect some accomplished jamming, a heady dose of improvisation, and the heartwarming recognition of hearing some beloved chestnuts played loud and true by one of the men who first created them. Expect to be surprised: Phil has been known to pull out long-forgotten nuggets from the deepest reaches of the Grateful vault or, conversely, to perform entire sets consisting of reinterpretations of classic works like the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers or even Ryan Adams songs. Expect Phil to enjoy every second of playing for a crowd that’s wholly devoted to a musical adventure that’s been going on for almost half a century. And expect a rabid and knowledgeable crowd of aging hippies in faded tie-dye. That comes with the turf.

— guest post by Pete Millerman