Last night, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh closed out their six-date “Bobby & Phil Duo” tour with a spectacular, sold-out final performance at the Chicago Theatre. As the did the previous night, the Grateful duo welcomed Jeff Chimenti (Dead & Company), Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, as well as tour percussionist Wally Ingram, for the entirety of the second set. The show’s setlist, heavily geared towards pre-hiatus Dead material, was comprised almost entirely of songs that had been played in New York or Boston. However, what the show lacked in surprises, it thoroughly made up for in execution.

The first set opened with a bouncy “Cumberland Blues”, followed by “Tennessee Jed”. The first “Alabama Getaway” of the tour came next, as one of the Dead’s most radio-friendly rock-n-roll songs was uniquely interpreted by the duo. The other highlight of the first set was the set-closing “Cassidy”. This version was masterfully stretched out, and when they finally reeled the jam back into the last chorus, they had generated plenty of vigor to power the “flight of the seabirds.”

The second set was filled with vintage, pre-1974 Grateful Dead numbers with Jeff Chimenti, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, and Wally Ingram in tow for the duration. “Crazy Fingers” opened the second set, followed by a chugging “New Speedway Boogie”. As the crowd sang along with the band, “this darkness got to give”, Phil responded with a smile and an approving nod.

The rest of the set saw one seamless stretch of music, with each successive song flowing into the next. A spacey “Mountains of the Moon” slowly morphed into “Cryptical Envelopment”. From there, “Let It Grow” built up plenty of energy before once again slowing down and moving into “The Other One”, which rainbow spiraled round and round for north of ten minutes before melting back into the end of “Cryptical Envelopment”.

Uncle John’s Band was perfectly played, harkening back to the album version which predominantly features acoustic guitars. Finally, the band ended the set with an emotional “Days Between”. This really has become a song in which Bob has mastered over the last couple of years, and as he sang the poignant lyrics one could hear a pin drop in the theater. The beautiful performance on this song, in particular, as well as the show and tour as a whole did not go unnoticed by the two founding Dead members, who shared a hearty embrace upon finishing the tune.

Smiles were everywhere but the biggest ones were shared by Bob and Phil. If the music wasn’t enough, for almost the entirety of the second set there was a little boy running, crawling, and wiggling back and forth on the stage behind Wally. It was fairly entertaining when the band finished the set and it was Phil who, instead of taking a break, took to running and chasing down the toddler, fulfilling “grandpa” duties.

With one final encore to play, the duo started just as they began: No frills, no gimmicks, just Bob on guitar and Phil on bass. “Brokedown Palace” always fits perfectly in the encore slot, and this beautiful rendition by the two founding Dead members was uniquely moving.  One can only hope that this won’t be the last time these gentlemen play together in this format.

Check out videos from the Bobby & Phil “duo” tour finale below, and see a gallery of photos from the show below via Daniel Ojeda.

Bob Weir & Phil Lesh – “Cumberland Blues” – 3/11/18

[Video: Scott Sigman]

Bob Weir & Phil Lesh – “Lazy River Road” – 3/11/18

 [Video: Scott Sigman]

Bob Weir & Phil Lesh w/ Jeff Chimenti, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Wally Ingram – “Crazy Fingers” [Pro-Shot] – 3/11/18

[Video: Nugs.tv]

Bob Weir & Phil Lesh w/ Jeff Chimenti, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Wally Ingram – “New Speedway Boogie” – 3/11/18

 

 [Video: Scott Sigman]

Bob Weir & Phil Lesh w/ Jeff Chimenti, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Wally Ingram – “Uncle John’s Band” – 3/11/18

[Video: Scott Sigman]

Bob Weir & Phil Lesh w/ Jeff Chimenti, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Wally Ingram – “Let It Grow” – 3/11/18

[Video: Scott Sigman]

Setlist: Bob Weir & Phil Lesh | Chicago Theatre | Chicago, IL | 3/11/18

Set One: Cumberland Blues, Tennessee Jed, Alabama Getaway, Loose Lucy, Lazy River Road, The Maker, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Cassidy

Set Two: Crazy Fingers, New Speedway Boogie, Mountains of the Moon, Cryptical Envelopment > Let It Grow > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment > Uncle John’s Band > Days Between

Encore: Brokedown Palace

Set two featured Wally Ingram, Jeff Chimenti, Larry Campbell, and Teresa Willaims