Bob Weir & Wolf Bros‘ winter tour is in full swing, with the Grateful Dead guitarist bringing his band through the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville on Friday for its second show on the road.
After opening the tour on Thursday in South Carolina, Weir, Don Was (bass), Jeff Chimenti (keyboards), and Jay Lane (drums) headed to northern Florida to get a little sun on the winter tour. Alongside the pack of Wolfen brethren was The Wolf Pack, an auxiliary string/horn outfit comprised of Brian Switzer (trumpet), Adam Theis (trombone), Sheldon Brown (saxophone), Mads Tolling (violin), and Alex Kelly (cello) along with Barry Sless (pedal steel guitar).
The show began with a loose, slinky jam that very well could’ve turned into “Sugar Magnolia” before Chimenti’s grand piano and Bobby’s downward chord progression took the song south through “Hell In A Bucket”. Friday’s show was almost entirely bookended by Bob Dylan covers, with “Queen Jane Approximately” arriving in the two slot and an “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” encore closing the show.
The first set took turns down several different Dead-centric avenues, from the Bobby-favorite cowboy cover “El Paso” to the Jerry Garcia composition “Mission In The Rain”. Weir even gave a nod to his own solo work with RatDog‘s”TwoDjinn” before finishing off the first set with the classic Dead movement of “Weather Report Suite” into “Let It Grow”.
After opening the second frame with “Dark Hollow”, things took on a decidedly more set two feel with Weir’s ’80s cautionary query “Victim Or The Crime?”. The improvisational meat of the show followed, with “Shakedown Street” giving way to a continuous stream of improvisation through “Dark Star” > “Uncle John’s Band” > “Supplication” > “Uncle John’s Band” > “Black Peter”. Bringing audiences back from the brink of psychedelic insanity was Chuck Berry‘s stabilizing “Around & Around” to close the set ahead of the aforementioned “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” Bob Dylan encore.
Weir’s tour continues tonight, February 4th, in Ft. Lauderdale before heading north for a four-night run at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. Tickets and full tour details are available on his website.
Bob Weir & Wolf Bros ft. The Wolf Pack – Florida Theatre – Jacksonville, FL – 2/3/23 – Full Audio
Setlist: Bob Weir & Wolf Bros ft. The Wolf Pack | Florida Theatre | Jacksonville, FL | 2/3/23
Set One: Hell In A Bucket, Queen Jane Approximately (Bob Dylan), El Paso (Marty Robbins), Brown Eyed Women, Mission In The Rain (Jerry Garcia), Two Djinn, Weather Report Suite > Let It Grow
Set Two: Dark Hollow (Bill Browning), Victim Or The Crime?, Shakedown Street, Dark Star > Uncle John’s Band > Supplication > Uncle John’s Band > Black Peter, Around & Around (Chuck Berry)
Encore: It’s All Over Now Baby Blue (Bob Dylan)