Phil Lesh was back at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on Friday to celebrate his 79th birthday amongst a group of his musical friends and the always-faithful legion of Grateful Dead fans. Lesh was joined again for the second night of his three-show birthday run at the historic venue by an all-star backing band comprised of Benmont Tench, John Scofield, Jackie Greene, his son Grahame, and John Molo.
Related: Phil Lesh Opens The Capitol Theatre Birthday Run With Lively Mix Of Grateful Dead Favorites
Lesh and friends started the night with “Liberty”, the title track from Robert Hunter‘s 1987 solo album. The first half of the show continued with “Casey Jones”, followed by “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” featuring Phil on lead vocals, which transitioned right into a cover of Jerry Garcia‘s “Loser”. The band then returned to the Dead catalog to close out the first half of the show with “New Minglewood Blues” into “West L.A. Fadeaway”, followed by a lively rendition of “Bertha” featuring Grahame Lesh on vocals to send the audience into the set break. Fans can check out the video below to watch the band’s rendition of “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” from Friday’s show.
Phil Lesh & Friends –Â “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” – 3/15/2019
[Video: Sean Roche]
The birthday celebrations continued as the band returned to start the second half of Friday’s show with “Playing in the Band”, which transitioned right into “Shakedown Street”. The band jammed their way through the 1978Â Dead disco tune before returning to “Playing in the Band”. The second half of the show powered on with the classic two-song combination of “Help on the Way” into “Slipknot!”, which then continued into “Mountains of the Moon”, the mystic, early-Dead tune from the band’s 1969Â Aoxomoxoa album. Phil then returned to the mic to belt out his beloved ballad, “Unbroken Chain”, a fitting performance for the birthday boy who has spent his life “searching for the sound.”
The second set came to a thrilling climactic end beginning with “He’s Gone” with Grahame and Jackie Green sharing vocals, followed by the psychedelic anthem, “The Other One”, and closing out with “New Speedway Boogie”. Fans can watch the video below to relive the second set performances of  “Help on the Way” > “Slipknot!”.
Phil Lesh & Friends –Â “Help on the Way” > “Slipknot!” – 3/15/2019
[Video: Sean Roche]
The band returned to the stage for a two-song encore beginning with a cover of The Crickets‘ “Not Fade Away” before sending the audience home on a touching note with a performance of “Ripple”. As expected, the night wasn’t without its share of birthday moments, which included a huge birthday banner hung from the front face of the venue balcony, and Grateful Dead-themed projections lighting up the upper walls of the old venue. Pete Shapiro also ended up making his way to the stage to present Phil with an enormous birthday cake, as the two shared a hug and a smile to close out the night.
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Lesh will return for the third and final show of his weekend birthday run at “The Cap” on Saturday night, where he’ll be joined by Tench, Greene, Luther Dickinson, Amy Helm, Grahame Lesh, Molo, and Sisters of the Strawberry Moon.
Setlist: Phil Lesh & Friends | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 3/15/2019
Set One: Liberty (Robert Hunter cover), Casey Jones, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo > Loser (Jerry Garcia cover), New Minglewood Blues > West L.A. Fadeaway, Bertha
Set Two: Playing in the Band (Bob Weir cover) > Shakedown Street > Playing in the Band (reprise), Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Mountains of the Moon > Unbroken Chain, He’s Gone > The Other One > New Speedway Boogie
Encore: Not Fade Away (The Crickets cover), Ripple