On February 4th, 2008, three of the four main surviving members of the Grateful Dead including Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Mickey Hart reunited after a four-year break for a reunion concert at The Warfield in San Francisco, CA.

The one-time show was assembled for a cause important to the members of the band–supporting then-Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, in the California primaries. In addition to these original members of the Grateful Dead, the full band for the benefit was rounded out by John Molo, Jackie Greene, Steve Molitz, Mark Karan and Barry Sless.

The benefit occurred on a Monday evening, specifically, the Monday before the Super Tuesday primaries which occurred the following day. To kick off the evening, a short introduction video of then-candidate Barack Obama (seen below) played for the fans in attendance, before the band launched into “Playing In The Band” with Mark Karan joining them on guitar. “Brown Eyed Women” and “Mississippi Half Step” featured Barry Sless on pedal steel guitar, before Karan subbed in for “New Minglewood Blues” and a cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together.”

Barack Obama ‘Deadheads For Obama’ Introduction – 2/4/08

[Video: AnnMarieJames]

Phil Lesh then took center stage and gave an impassioned speech about why he felt so strongly about supporting the Democratic party candidate–a noted move considering the Grateful Dead stayed away from political affiliation throughout their 30-year career.

In his speech, Lesh noted, “To me, Barack represents the true spirit of America: can do, ingenious, inclusive, generous, and aspiring to the better angels of our nature,” which is why he was so compelled to vocally support Obama. Following the rallying speech, the band moved into a four-song acoustic set, which contained fan-favorites “Deep Elm Blues,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Ripple,” and “Deal.”

For the extended third set, the band moved out of their acoustic set-up and kicked off this segment with “China Cat Sunflower.” This was the longest set of the evening, with “Throwin’ Stones” and “Iko Iko” followed by an extended jam serving as some of the highlights. To close out this set, the super-stacked version of Phil Lesh & Friends returned to “Playin’ In The Band” for the song’s reprise.

Following the end of the set, Lesh again took over the mic, inviting those in attendance to volunteer for the campaign and to make sure to vote. He also spoke about his recent health issues and the importance of being an organ donor: “I’m a very lucky man to be standing here at all. The only reason I’m alive today is because of a young man said to his mom, ‘Hey, if anything happens to me, I’d like to be an organ donor.’ So I want to urge you all to do the same. It’s the simplest thing you could possibly do.”

To end the evening, “U.S. Blues” was chosen for the band’s encore, a fitting song choice for the evening. As they played the song, Hippie Bill took to the stage, waving the United States flag, ending the night on a jubilant and patriotic high note.

Relisten to the entire performance from the benefit below, courtesy of Ian Stone.

Deadheads For Obama Benefit – The Warfield – 2/4/08

[Originally published 2/4/19]