Bob Weir & Wolf Bros rounded third on Friday in their four-show run at The Capitol Theatre, welcoming harpist Mikaela Davis for much of the show.
Though the band just returned from a well-deserved night off, Weir was still right on the money when he opened the show with “The Music Never Stopped”. A segue into “Easy Answers” proved his assertion accurate prior to a reprise of “Music Never Stopped”. Weir, his Bros Don Was (bass), Jeff Chimenti (keys), and Jay Lane (drums) alongside Barry Sless (pedal steel guitar) and The Wolf Pack horn/string section of Brian Switzer (trumpet), Adam Theis (trombone), Sheldon Brown (saxophone), Mads Tolling (violin), and Alex Kelly (cello) laid their cards down on the following “Loser” ahead of a ride down Johnny Cash‘s “Big River”.
Weir dipped into the more recent end of his songbook with “She Knows What I’m Thinkin'”—a new song debuted just last year—followed by a return to the classics with “Deal”. Mikaela Davis then made her first, though far from last, appearance of the night to lend her harp to a pensive “Candyman” and the set-closing “Bird Song”.
Back for the second set, Weir and his Pack of Bros caught fire early with “Fever”. The sultry cover made famous by Peggy Lee proceeded a sandwich of the Jerry Garcia Band favorite “Don’t Let Go” stuck between two slices of RatDog‘s “Ashes & Glass”. Neither song had been seen since October 26th, 2022 in San Diego when they were stacked together in an identical sandwich.
Davis reemerged from the wings to help set the coordinates for the Grateful Dead‘s portal through time and space, “Dark Star”. The harpist remained with the band through the rest of the show, sticking around for a segue into “Shakedown Street” followed by a pairing of “The Wheel” and The Beatles‘ “Tomorrow Never Knows”. Weir reached the emotional high point of the evening with a reading of the latter-era Garcia/Robert Hunter reflection “Days Between” ahead of a traditional set-closing stomp through “Not Fade Away”.
Amidst a chorus of clapping, the band returned to the stage—with Davis still in tow—to send the audience home singing “Ripple”.
Bob Weir & Wolf Bros return to The Capitol Theatre tonight, February 11th, to finish out the four-night run. Join the waitlist for tickets here. Revisit Live For Live Music‘s coverage of the Tuesday and Wednesday shows.
Setlist: Bob Weir & Wolf Bros ft. The Wolf Pack | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY| 2/10/23
Set One: The Music Never Stopped > Easy Answers > The Music Never Stopped, Loser, Big River (Johnny Cash), She Knows What I’m Thinkin’, Deal, Candyman [1], Bird Song [1]
Set Two: Fever (Peggy Lee), Ashes & Glass > Don’t Let Go (Roy Hamilton) > Ashes & Glass, Dark Star [1] > Shakedown Street [1], The Wheel [1] > Tomorrow Never Knows (The Beatles) [1], Days Between [1], Not Fade Away (The Crickets) [1]
Encore: Ripple [1]
[1] w/ Mikaela Davis on harp