Last night, Bob Weir played an intimate solo acoustic set at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, California. During the performance, Weir ran through a number of covers, including Robert Johnson’s “Walkin’ Blues” toward the start of the set, later performing Lady Gaga’s “Million Reasons” and Daniel Lanois’ “The Maker” to close it out. In between, he played the Grateful Dead classics, “Loose Lucy” and “Peggy-O”, as well as two songs off his recently released solo album, Blue Mountain, the title track and “Only A River.”
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His performance was an intimate affair, and Weir laid out heartfelt renditions of the songs across the evening, taking moments to chat with the crowd. Notably, following “Only A River,” as he was tuning, Weir dived into an anecdote about how he secured the guitar he was playing—a Martin 0017 from 1936. “So, maybe 10 years ago I was looking at the want ads in the clinical and I saw a Martin 0017. I always wanted one of those—they’re great little blues guitars. So I went over to somewhere in Oakland, I think, and I picked it up for $1,100 bucks. The neck was pulled off the body, so you couldn’t really play the guitar, so it could have been less. [laughs] It was a Martin, so I sent it back to the Martin factory. They happily reset the neck and sent it back to me in the proper plastic, but really protective case, and you really need a good case for this one. Did you know this was made in 1936?” After pausing for a moment to focus on tuning, Weir continued, “But, out of tune is out of tune,” eliciting laughter from the audience.
After the fan-favorite “Peggy-O,” Weir warned that “This next one I’ve never even attempted to sing all the way through.” The song was Lady Gaga’s “Million Reasons,” a number that got much press after Bob Weir debuted the cover with Trey Anastasio at Wanee Festival back in April. At Wanee, during Anastasio’s surprise five-song acoustic sit-in, the two iconic jam figures alternated between lead and harmony vocals. Given that this was his first run through of the song solo, Weir performance went well, and the cover fit seamlessly into his acoustic set.
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You can check out an extended live video from Bob Weir’s solo acoustic show in Mill Valley last night, courtesy of Paul Winston. Enjoy!
Setlist: Bob Weir | Sweetwater Music Hall | Mill Valley, CA | 9/13/2017
Set: Walkin’ Blues (Robert Johnson cover), Loose Lucy, Blue Mountain, Only A River, Peggy-O, Million Reasons (Lady Gaga cover), The Maker (Daniel Lanois cover)
[Photo: Steve Rose]