Bob Weir & Wolf Bros brought their term in the nation’s capital to a close with two more shows at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday and Sunday. The back-to-back concerts saw the Grateful Dead guitarist again joined by the National Symphony Orchestra for opulent interpretations of the band’s back catalog.
The residency opened with a pair of shows on Wednesday and Thursday, and by the Saturday show, many of the particulars of the program had taken definite shape. For starters, each show began with an Overture performed by just the Symphony Orchestra. Weir would then emerge with his Wolf Bros Don Was (bass), Jay Lane (drums), and Jeff Chimenti (piano) along with The Wolfpack brass and string quartet, and the band members would all perform together through the first and second sets, with the classical musicians leaving the psychedelic sojourners to their devices for the encore.
Each night’s setlist was a unique configuration, though they were sure to carry over classics like “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider”, “Shakedown Street”, and “The Other One” from night to night. Jam vehicles like “Playing in the Band” and “Dark Star” provided fertile ground for improvisation for Weir and his Bros, even as the Orchestra members read from their meticulously notated arrangements. One of the greatest crossover triumphs of the weekend was the “Reprise” arrangement, wherein Weir, Bros, Pack, and Orchestra moved seamlessly through reprises of “Dark Star”, “Playing in the Band”, and “Uncle John’s Band” one after the other.
Even as songs repeated from one night to the next, Bobby’s latest musical venture once again tapped into the Grateful Dead mantra that no two performances are exactly alike. Each night presented new additions to the core setlist, as Saturday featured the first “Morning Dew” of the run, interestingly placed at the end of set one that night and the next.
The grand finale of the residency came with an encore performance of the full “Terrapin Station” suite on Sunday. This was no doubt the moment that many in the audience had eagerly waited for the whole week, as the orchestral centerpiece to the Dead’s 1977 album seemed the most logical crossover for a show with the National Symphony Orchestra. Unfortunately, that was not the case on Sunday as Weir took the stage for the encore with only the Wolf Bros and Wolfpack. The nine-piece ensemble weaved through all the movements—”Lady with a Fan”, “Terrapin Station”, “Terrapin Transit”, “At a Siding”, and “Terrapin Flyer”—just as it did back on 6/14/21 in Vail, CO, when the National Symphony Orchestra wasn’t waiting in the wings. In the end, it was the unpredictability of the Grateful Dead at its finest. The suite they recorded with an orchestra is the suite they will perform live without an orchestra.
Next up for Bob Weir & Wolf Bros is a three-night run of 75th birthday concerts at The Warfield in San Francisco on October 14th–16th. Join the waitlist for those sold-out shows here. A gallery of images from Saturday’s show is available courtesy of Bolt of Sunshine. Revisit Live For Live Music‘s coverage of the Kennedy Center run: Wednesday | Thursday.
Setlist:Â Bob Weir & Wolf Bros | The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, D.C. | 10/8/22
Set One: Overture [1], China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Row Jimmy, The Other One, Morning Dew
Set Two: Playing in the Band, Lost Sailor > Saint of Circumstance, Wharf Rat, Shakedown Street, Sugar Magnolia > Sunshine Daydream
Encore: Ripple [2], One More Saturday Night [2]
[1] NSO only
[2] Just Wolf Bros
Setlist: Bob Weir & Wolf Bros | The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | Washington, D.C. | 10/9/22
Set One: Overture [1], Playing in the Band > Uncle John’s Band > Dark Star [2], Jack Straw, Morning Dew
Set Two: The Other One, Shakedown Street, Days Between [3], Reprise [4], Brokedown Palace
Encore: Lady with a Fan [5] > Terrapin Station [5] > Terrapin Transit [5] > At a Siding [5] > Terrapin Flyer [5]
[1] NSO only
[2] First verse only
[3] Weir & NSO only
[4] Contained “Dark Star”, “Uncle John’s Band”, and “Playing in the Band”
[5] Weir, Wolf Bros, and Wolfpack
