reCAP :: Phil Lesh & Friends :: 2015.10.30
Phil Lesh & Friends shows circa 2015 are games of chance. The lineups change, and the inventive combinations of players create an ephemeral experience, with unpredictably interesting moments and a group dynamic that establishes itself almost on the spot, instead of over time.
True to that working philosophy, Phil's first night back to the Cap featured a band of reliables that included John Kadlecik, Jason Crosby, Tony Leone and Stanley Jordan -- a rangy show, and an affirmative one. This is chance music, as Phil himself has often described, and conversing in the language of the Grateful Dead means that combining what might be called a Kadlecik-style approach (foundational familiarity) and a Jordan-style approach (unique sensibility) to this music is as "correct" an answer as any other.
As a whole, then, the show was familiar territory with unexpected detours, from the gorgeous "Here Comes Sunshine" that melted into a Jordan-led "Greensleeves," to nearly all of an inspired 2nd set suite that spanned "Watchtower" through "Little Wing," "China Cat," "Eyes of the World," "Standing on the Moon," "Scarlet Begonias" and "Rider" -- a lot of colors to paint with and flavors to taste. And if Kadlecik and Jordan represented different points on a compass, the other players spanned those points, with Tony Leone a consistent, insistent presence throughout, and Jason Crosby perhaps more aggressive than in previous Phil ensembles in which he's played.
No one looked happier to be there than Phil himself. It was special to see him beaming, doing this thing, grinning at his grandson who bopped around the stage at times wearing adorably goofy headphones. Unbroken chain, indeed.