Fans came out in droves to celebrate Halloween with Phil Lesh at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. Nicknamed Phil-O-Ween, many attendees showed up in costume and some submitted carved pumpkins, several of which made their way on to the stage for the evening. The line-up, once again, included John Kadlecik and Stanley Jordan on guitar, Jason Crosby on keys, and Tony Leone on drums. 

The evening opened with a piano heavy JJ Cale cover, “After Midnight”, followed by “Doin’ That Rag”. Jordan really opened up early in the evening and jammed out during this song. He was visibly having a good time on stage. Kadlecik and Jordan were in sync with each other the entire evening, as they would throw the jam back and forth to each other during the majority of the show. What a fantastic treat they brought to fans. 

Lesh took a quick break offstage before they took off with Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” that featured Leone on vocals. The energy cooled down as the band took fans on an unhurried ride with “Loser.”  Crosby’s piano mid-song gave the feel of being in a smoky bar room as he pounded out the notes. An appropriate tune for the Halloween evening, “Friend of the Devil”, made its way onto the set. They went into an extended jam, chock full of waves of up and down energy.  The music would lighten up and cool down then pick up speed again throughout.  Set one closed with “Werewolves of London”, which was last year’s Phil-o-ween encore. Leone, once again, was featured on vocals. With such a hot first set, it was anyone’s guess what treats were in store for the remainder of the night.

Second set opened with The Rolling Stones tune, “Sympathy for the Devil” before sliding in to an extended, psychedelic “Cryptical Envelopment” followed by “The Other One.” With such a trippy jam they were playing, it was impossible to keep track of where one song ended and the other began.  The transitions were seamless. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” continued the colorful jam session before taking a breather with “Dark Star.”

The notes danced around the instruments while colorful images splashed around the ceiling and walls of the Capitol Theatre. Everyone was shaking their bones as the evening continued. Set two was simply on fire. The energy throughout the venue was at an all-time high. Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” was sung by Jordan. He held nothing back with this tune as he jumped up and down on stage, eventually falling to the floor and rolling around. His energy was electric. The mystical chords coming out of his guitar were insane. He was so caught up in the vibes of the moment that he had to replace a broken string during the reprise of “Dark Star.” 

“St. Stephen” flowed onto the set for an extended jam session before the set closed with “Fire on the Mountain.” This song did not follow last night’s “China Cat Sunflower”, which is a predictable slot for its appearance on the set list. It was a nice treat to have the second set end with this song. They went all out on this performance, bringing the energy to sensational high. The fans were sweating their asses off while tearing it up with non-stop dancing.  

Lesh provided his staple donor rap to Cody before encoring with “Not Fade Away.” No one wanted the evening to end. The Halloween show was mind blowing. Overall, his two performance of the three night run have been outstanding. The Sunday show will be the entire performance of The Grateful Dead’s 11/1/85 show at Richmond Coliseum. See you at the Cap!

Setlist: Phil Lesh & Friends at The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY – 10/31/15

Set I: After Midnight, Doin’ That Rag, Bad Moon Rising (TL), Loser, Dire Wolf, Friend of the Devil, Werewolves of London (TL)

Set II: Sympathy for the Devil > Cryptical Envelopment > (PL), The Other One (PL) > Death Don’t Have No Mercy > Dark Star > (PL), Voodoo Chile > (SJ) Dark Star > (PL) St. Stephen > (PL, JK), Fire on the Mountain, Donor Rap

Encore: Not Fade Away

Words by Sarah Bourque. Follow on Twitter

Setlist via Deadheadland, Photo via The Capitol Theatre/Chad Anderson