Santa suits and holiday sweaters were mixed in with the usual tie-dye and Grateful Dead shirts as fans packed the sold-out The Capitol Theater for ‘Home for the Holidays: Celebrating Jerry Garcia‘ this weekend. An all-star group of musicians took the stage on Friday and Saturday night, playing mostly Jerry Garcia Band favorites with a few Grateful Dead classics mized in.

That classic soulful JGB sound was anchored by keyboardist Melvin Seals, a member of the Jerry Garcia Band for fifteen years and current leader of Melvin Seals and JGB. Jacklyn LaBranch, who was in the band from 1982-1995, provided backup vocals alongside Bay Area singer and Melvin Seals and JGB member Lady Chi. Dead & Company bassist former Allman Brothers Band member Oteil Burbridge took center stage next to Joe Russo’s Almost Dead/Ghost Light guitarist Tom Hamilton. The core of this group has performed in various iterations over the past few years, but this combination seems to be one of the tightest, especially with the addition of Widespread Panic drummer Duane Trucks.

The show started with live JGB classic and Marvin Gaye original “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”, a perfect song to set the tone with trading organ and guitar solos between Seals and Hamilton. They bit right into a soaring jam right after the first verse as Seals’ deep sound put everyone in the right mood. Next, they jumped into two more soulful JGB staples in “Expressway (To Your Heart)” and “The Way You Do The Things You Do”, classics by the Soul Survivors and the Temptations, respectively.

After three JGB favorites, they moved into the Grateful Dead catalog, as the familiar hanging first chords to “Shakedown Street” caused the crowd to erupt. Steal Your Face logos were projected all over the roof and walls of the beautiful venue as Deadheads started to boogie. Seals’ organ added a layer of depth to this song that the original Dead never provided, and Hamilton’s intense solos really came through here.

Burbridge took lead vocals for the first time on a bouncing take of Junior Parker’s “Mystery Train”. Oteil shined on this song with his soothing vocals and a groovy bass solo. After slowing things down on Bob Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate”, they jumped back into the Grateful Dead songbook for a rocking “Eyes Of The World” that morphed into “Dancing in the Streets” to close the first set. Lady Chi added some improvisation on the set-closer with a funky vocal breakdown amid the incredible jams.

“Stop That Train”, a Peter Tosh reggae classic, kicked off the second set. After The Drifters original “Money Honey”, the group rocked through an awesome “Tore Up Over You”. Chi and LaBranch grounded this one with beautiful harmonies and Hamilton continued to shred and provide the same energy always apparent with JRAD.

The group then worked through “Scarlet Begonias” and “Positively 4th Street”, the second Dylan cover of the evening. Bruce Cockburn’s “Waiting For A Miracle” was next, followed by the gospel song “My Sisters And Brothers”, a longtime staple Jerry Garcia Band cover that made everyone smile, as the lyrics about love and peace fit the scene of a holiday Jerry celebration.

They closed the second set with the Garcia original “Reuben and Cherise”, a song Hamilton has truly mastered playing with JRAD. A glowing guitar solo ended the song as the crowd screamed for more. The band emerged one more time for the beautiful “Shining Star”. Originally performed by the Manhattans, Garcia started performing this song in the late ’80s and historically put all of his soul into the performances. The band was up to the task as LaBranch and Lady Chi provided emotional vocals before letting the audience sing along happily to end an incredible evening of music.

The band will disperse into their various projects, but with the intensity and tightness of this particular group of musicians, it would be a surprise if they did not play again together at some point in the future.

Below, you can check out a gallery of photos from the show courtesy of photographer Andrew Blackstein as well as pro-shot videos and full audio of Saturday’s ‘Home For The Holidays’ celebration.

‘Home For The Holidays’ – Set One [Pro-Shot, Through “Shakedown Street”] – 12/14/19

‘Home For The Holidays’ – Set Two [Pro-Shot, Through “Scarlet Begonias”] – 12/14/19

Home For The Holidays – The Capitol Theatre – 12/14/19 – Full Audio

[Audio: cabinetmusic]

Setlist: Home For The Holidays | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 12/14/19

Set One: How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), Expressway (To Your Heart), The Way You Do The Things You Do, Shakedown Street, Mystery Train, Simple Twist of Fate, Eyes Of The World, Dancing In The Streets

Set Two: Stop That Train, Money Honey, Tore Up Over You, Scarlet Begonias, Waiting For A Miracle, My Sisters And Brothers, Reuben And Cherise

Encore: Shining Star