Fly Through The Night:
An Evening with The Boston Pops and Jerry Garcia Symphony
by Chadbyrne R. Dickens

Jerome John “Jerry” Garcia was a visionary, writer, guitarist, vocalist and spiritual leader.  As the grizzled veteran leader of The Grateful Dead, he (along with lyricist, Robert Hunter) shared his genius with generations of music lovers over a career that spanned four decades.  Since his passing in 1995, aficionado’s of Dead music have longed to celebrate his unique creative branding of brilliance.  The Jerry Garcia Symphony performed a show at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA on June 23rd to an energetic and packed-house of tie-died clad fans of all ages. With approval by the Garcia Estate, the most renowned orchestra in the land, The Boston Pops, teamed up with Grammy-winning guitarist Warren Haynes to reinterpret some classics penned by Captain Trips himself.  The night proved a successful exploration of Garcia’s catalog while at a beautiful outdoor venue soaking up the shine from a Supermoon in the Berkshires.

Warren Haynes is well known in the jam band music sphere.  After years playing with Gov’t Mule and The Allman Brothers, Haynes has proved to be a guitar maestro with a smooth voice.  Ranked by Rolling Stone as the #23 greatest guitarist of all-time, Haynes was also instrumental in the formation of the Mountain Jam and Peach Festivals.   He was called upon to play with The Dead for the 2004 and 2009 tours.   If his long-time pedigree wasn’t enough, he is also a close friend of John Barlow, a lyricist for The Grateful Dead.  He handpicked his band, which included professional musicians Jeff Sipe (drums), Lincoln Schleifer (bass), Alecia Chakour (vocals) and Jasmine Muhammad (vocals) and chose diverse selections from Garcia’s repertoire.

Tanglewood, founded in 1885, is home to many musical events but best known as the summer residence of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (www.bso.org) since 1937.  “The music shed” is located 3 hours North from New York City and a scant 2 hour road trip from downtown Boston in Western Massachuchetts in the heart of the beautiful Berkshire Mountains.  Tanglewood possesses a pavilion and a pristine lawn area for picnics and BYOB.  The famed Boston Pops has been led by such luminaries as Arthur Fieldler and John Williams – with Keith Lockhart conducting the troops since 1995.  He wore a newly pressed tie-dye during this performance to show his respect for the occasion.  Although he is credited with bringing a fresh nouveau feel to the symphony by asking performers like Elvis Costello, and Ben Folds to play with his troupe, he couldn’t have been fully ready for the audience adulation and participation on this particular night.

A survey of the crowd brought a kaleidoscope of aesthetics.  Many dressed in the usual Dead t-shirt and tie-dyes were mingled amongst those in more formal wear.  Even Jerry’s daughter Trixie Garcia, asked, “Do I wear a dress or a tie-dye?”  Some smart females made the wise compromise of a tie-dye dress.  One couldn’t miss a generation passing on the music to another as fans of all ages were seen gyrating to the groove as dusk settled in and turned to night below a monstrous moon.

There was some trepidation on behalf of the orchestra for this particularly unorthodox performance.  Garcia’s music is rooted in improvisation and the orchestra’s is well-trained to perform the notes straight off the page.  However, the result was outstanding even if the night started with “Dark Star”, known as one of the band’s most exploratory tunes.  It was a loose and fun version that segued into a show highlight, “Bird Song.”  The orchestra was most effective with clear fills like “Bird Song’s” melodic structure.  Haynes, dressed to kill in a button down and sports jacket on a steamy night, exuded confidence as the band leader on stage.  There was some controversy over Warren Haynes using Garcia’s guitar, The Wolf made by Doug Irwin.  Some suggested it remain shelved in respect to Jerry while others suggested that Garcia would want it to be played.  The Joshua Tree Light Show presented memorable and surreal visuals throughout.

Often it was difficult to discern if one was watching a symphony or just another rock concert.  The band simply overpowered the symphony which was seated upstage.  It didn’t help that there were translucent plastic partitions separating the band from the symphony, probably to block leakage and noise.  However, the major criticism of the night was that one really couldn’t hear the symphony.  The symphony should be louder in the mix, like at a Trey Anastasio symphony shows, not the other way around.

Other highlights included a fiery and punch “Scarlet Begonias” which segued into the danceathon anthem, “Shakedown Street.”  There was not much room for improvisation jamming from Haynes except for extended introduction to certain numbers.  The mature crowd soaked up the mellower tunes where the symphony could demonstrate their chops like “Morning Dew” and “Standing on the Moon.”   A unique take on the epic, “Terrapin Station” concluded the 2nd set as it segued into “Slipknot” before being truncated before the third verse.

The Symphony announced eight dates, including Red Rocks and the Greek Theatre, for the national tour highlighted by an August 1st Jerry Garcia Birthday Celebration in San Francisco.  This night in Western Mass proved to be a destination location for many as it was the only Northeast date of the tour.

Jerry Garcia’s music has come a long way – from humble hippie beginnings to Haight-Ashbury in the Bay Area to a reinterpretation by the Boston Pops.  Some  may find it ironic that on this date there was a “Supermoon” where it shined 15% brighter than usual.  Perhaps it was Garcia himself shining on us from above:

“Standing on the moon
With nothing left to do
A lovely view of heaven
But Id rather be with you – be with you.”

Jerry’s Kids were fortunate to have another night sharing love and a celebratory event amidst his classics.

Set List:

Dark Star>Birdsong, Crazy Fingers, Scarlet Begonias, Russian Lullaby, Shakedown Street, Morning Dew 

Mission in the Rain>High Times, Standing on the Moon, Uncle John’s Band, West LA Fade Away, Terrapin Flyer> Slipknot>Terrapin reprise (last verse not played) Encore: Ship of Fools

“Jam > Scarlet Begonias > Jam > Shakedown Street”:

“Standing On The Moon”:

“Uncle Johns Band”:

“Terrapin Station”: