Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Bob Weir, of Grateful Dead fame, brought his trio, Bob Weir & Wolf Bros., and their unique interpretation of Grateful Dead material (amongst other songs), to Milwaukee on 3/20/19 for one of the final dates of their second tour.
The group, which includes Jay Lane on drums and Don Was on stand-up bass, played a Dead heavy set consisting of classics Hell In A Bucket, Mama Tried, Weather Report Suite/Let It Grow, in the first set. The second set saw a Dar Star sandwich with Passenger in the middle, as well as a China/Rider with a energetic crescendo at the “…I wish I was a headlight on a Northbound train,” mark (see SETLIST and GALLERY below).
Lane and Was were a nice complement for Weir this night, laying down smooth, yet funky backbeats for Weir, which were especially potent on Hell In A Bucket in the first set and Passenger in the second. This format allows Bob’s unique guitar style to be front and center unlike in other musical outfits (namely Dead & Co.) he plays in with lead guitarists. The low-key acoustic rhythm section also provided a nice foil for Weir’s sharp, bright electric guitar tone.
Bobby and the Bros. finished off the night with an all acoustic version of the Dead’s Ripple which was a gentle landing after the raucous China/Rider that preceded it.
Catch Bob Weir on tour this summer with his main gig, Dead & Co., starting May 31st in California: https://www.deadandcompany.com
SETLIST
- Hell In A Bucket
- Loser
- Mama Tried
- Gonesville
- The Winners
- Weather Report Suite
- Let It Grow
- Easy To Slip
- Ashes & Glass
- Don’t Let Go
- Dark Star
- Passenger
- Dark Star
- A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall
- China Cat Sunflower
- I Know You Rider
- Ripple (Encore)
