Lukas Nelson + POTR wrapped a two-night run at The Fillmore in San Francisco on Thursday by welcoming local luminary Bob Weir for a sit-in. The Grateful Dead guitarist joined Willie Nelson‘s son for runs through the Grateful Dead‘s “West L.A. Fadeaway” and The Crickets‘ “Not Fade Away”.
After kicking off the four-song encore with an epic and accurate full-fledged telling of Pink Floyd‘s “Echoes”, Nelson welcomed the founding Grateful Dead guitarist and Bay Area icon. Now, anyone who has seen Weir in the Grateful Dead offshoot Dead & Company will attest that tempo has always been something of a hot-button issue. Bobby likes to keep things slow, adding to the stoic storyteller image he’s crafted over the past decade. So it was fascinating to see Bobby’s reaction to POTR’s moderately-paced take on In The Dark classic “West L.A. Fadeaway”.
Just a minute or two into the cover, viewers can see Bobby slow the beat down in real-time, giving on-the-fly instructions to Nelson’s ace backing band. Lukas + POTR rolled with the punches through the tempo changeup and into some interesting, unconventional guitar soloing from Weir which filled all the spaces around the rhythm. By contrast, Lukas laid down some more traditional fretboard work that aligned with his Americana roots-rock aesthetic, while still honoring the inherent sleek blues bounce of the source material.
In addition to Weir, Lukas also brought out his brother Micah Nelson—who performs under the name Particle Kid—to add lap steel guitar to “West L.A.” before sending Bobby off with The Crickets’ “Not Fade Away”. Bobby and Lukas previously performed the singalong stomper with Sturgill Simpson and Margo Price at last year’s Farm Aid. JamBase also points out that Lukas previously covered “West L.A. Fadeaway” with Weir in San Francisco in 2017.
Watch Lukas Nelson + POTR cover “West L.A. Fadeaway” with Bob Weir in San Francisco, as well as the band’s dutiful performance of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes”. Nelson’s tour continues with a weeklong stretch of California dates. For tickets and a full list of concerts visit his website.
Lukas Nelson + POTR, Bob Weir – “West L.A. Fadeaway” – 2/29/24
[Video: acidpalace]
Lukas Nelson + POTR – “Echoes” (Pink Floyd) – 2/29/24
[Video: acidpalace]
Setlist: Lukas Nelson + POTR | The Fillmore | San Francisco, CA | 2/29/24
Set: Entirely Different Stars, Sticks And Stones, Alcohallelujah, Fool Me Once, Piano Explosion of Goodness, (Forget About) Georgia, Icarus, Carolina, Die Alone, All The Pretty Horses, Lying, Just Outside of Austin, Life on Mars? (David Bowie), A Few Stars Apart, Everything Is Bullshit (Particle Kid), Everytime I Drink I Think of Her, Wrong House, Ladder of Love, Bloody Mary Morning (Willie Nelson), Find Yourself, Set Me Down on a Cloud
Encore: Echoes (Pink Floyd), West L.A. Fadeaway (Grateful Dead) [1], Not Fade Away (The Crickets) [1], Something Real
[1] w/ Bob Weir