After two nights of celebrating the Grateful Dead legacy with some of the young bloods keeping it going, drummer Bill Kreutzmann wrapped his Mahalo Dead run on Sunday on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Following a tribute to late Dead bassist Phil Lesh on Friday and wide-ranging tributes from Brent Mydland to Paul Simon on Saturday, Mahalo Dead closed out with covers of Bob Dylan, Phish, Janis Joplin, and a whole lot of Grateful Dead.
Before the matinee show officially began at Kilauea’s intimate Porter Pavilion, rising guitarists Daniel Donato and Jake Brownstein (Eggy) treated early birds to a mini duo set. With Brownstein backing him up on lead guitar, Donato eased audiences in with Ernest Tubb‘s “Drivin’ Nails in My Coffin” and Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue” before getting spiritual Sunday going with Merle Haggard hymn “Sing Me Back Home”.
Daniel Donato, Jake Brownstein — “Drivin’ Nails In My Coffin” (Ernest Tubb), “Tangled Up In Blue” (Bob Dylan), “Sing Me Back Home” (Merle Haggard) —11/24/24
[Video: keaton6921]
Following the brief warm-up set, it was time for the feature presentation. Bassist Reed Mathis (Billy & The Kids), keyboardist Adam MacDougall (Circles Around The Sun), vocalist Kanika Moore (Doom Flamingo), and percussionist Jason Hann (The String Cheese Incident) joined Donato, Brownstein, and ringleader/beatkeeper Bill Kreutzmann for the third-ever performance by the decorated motley crew. The diverse smattering of Grateful Dead disciples afforded room for each of them to display their unique skills, whether that was Donato’s chicken pickin’ prowess on “Dire Wolf”, Mathis’ bombastic bounce on the disco-tinged “Dancing in the Streets”, MacDougall’s interstellar keyboard voyages on “Scarlet Begonias”, and Brownstein’s brilliantly cooperative Garcia/Weir interplay throughout the show.
One of the standout moments of Sunday’s Mahalo Dead closer was Kanika Moore’s fearless take on Janis Joplin’s iconic “Piece of My Heart”. Since joining the extended Billverse a little over a year ago, Moore has become a frequent and favorite collaborator for her ability to command any stage she steps foot on and to quite literally sing the Grateful Dead legacy in her own voice. Invoking the late Queen of Psychedelic Soul, Moore’s thunderous blues vocals were a show-stopping moment that finished the first set as she walked offstage with a little piece of everyone’s heart.
Then at the center of it all was Bill Kreutzmann. The 78-year-old drummer has maintained a low profile since opting out of Dead & Company‘s The Final Tour last summer, giving rise to questions about his health—queries he immediately settled with a Billy & The Kids show in New Orleans and sitting in on a 45-minute “Dark Star” with Donato. In the past year and a half, he’s played only half a dozen shows and notably missed his band’s last show in November 2023 due to illness. As the remaining Grateful Dead members continue growing into old age, every now and then Bill is required to emerge from his island paradise to show everyone he’s doing just fine. After three nights of leading a band featuring musicians a third his age, it’s clear the Rhythm Devil can more than keep up with this generation’s top talent. Now let him get back to the beach.
Check out videos from the final Mahalo Dead show courtesy of keaton6921.
Mahalo Dead — “Quinn The Eskimo” (Bob Dylan) — 11/24/24
Mahalo Dead — “Piece Of My Heart” (Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns) — 11/24/24
Mahalo Dead — “Iko Iko” (James Crawford) > “Man Smart (Woman Smarter)” (Harry Belafonte) > “Iko Iko” — 11/24/24
Mahalo Dead — “Back On The Train” (Phish) — 11/24/24
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Setlist: Mahalo Dead | Porter Pavilion | Kilauea, HI | 11/24/24
Set One: Quinn the Eskimo (Bob Dylan) (Donato), Dancing In the Streets (Mathis/Moore), Loser (Moore), Jack Straw (Mathis/Brownstein), Dire Wolf (Moore), A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Bob Dylan) (Mathis) [1], Piece of My Heart (Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns) (Moore)
Set Two: Scarlet Begonias (Moore) > Iko Iko (James Crawford) (Moore) > Man Smart (Woman Smarter) (Harry Belafonte) (Moore) > Iko Iko, Second That Emotion (Smokey Robinson) (Moore), Back On The Train (Phish) (Donato), Been All Around This World (Traditional) (Mathis), Dark Hollow (Bill Browning) (Mathis), Wharf Rat (Moore), Franklin’s Tower (Donato)
Encore: So Many Roads (Moore)
[1] with The Other One jam