On Thursday, gearing up for their headlining Red Rocks Amphitheatre performance next week, Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band offered a hometown warmup gig at Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads venue in San Rafael, CA.
Phil Lesh and his band opened up their first set with “Mason’s Children”, which was followed up by a number of Grateful Dead favorites including “China Cat Sunflower”, “Mr. Charlie”, “Jack-A-Roe, and “Brown Eyed Women”. Next, Phil stepped up to take the vocal lead on a cover of Robbie Robertson‘s “Broken Arrow” before moving forward with three American Beauty cuts, “Candyman”, “Till The Morning Comes”, and “Sugar Magnolia”. “Sugar Magnolia” segued into a proper “Sunshine Daydream” to bring the first set to a close.
Following a brief setbreak, Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band returned to open their second with an exploratory “Scarlet Begonias”, which smoothly flowed into a Ross James led cover of Link Wray’s “Fire and Brimstone”. The band moved forward with solid takes on “Comes A Time”, “Eyes Of The World”, and “Unbroken Chain” before sandwiching “Throwing Stones” in between a scorching “St. Stephen”. The biggest surprise of the night came next, as singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis emerged and stepped up front and center to an extra microphone. Terrapin Family Band multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby is no stranger to Lewis, as he’s a member of her regular touring band. With the added touch of Lewis’ soulful vocals, the band charged into “Shakedown Street”. Smoothly moving out of “Shakedown”, Lewis led the band through “You Are What You Love”, off of her 2006 Rabbit Fur Coat album featuring The Watson Twins. Phil, Lewis, and The Terrapin Family Band weaved back into “Shakedown Street” to close out their second set. The band offered up a lone encore of “Sugaree” with Lewis on keys.
Luckily for fan who were unable to attend Thursday’s show, there’s some great fan-shot footage you can enjoy below:
Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band – 5/23/2019 [Set One]
[Video: Deadheadland]
Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band – 5/23/2019 [Set Two]
[Video: Deadheadland]
For a full list of Lesh’s upcoming tour dates and ticketing information, head to his website.
Setlist: Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band | Terrapin Crossroads | San Rafael, CA | 5/23/2019
Set One: Mason’s Children, China Cat Sunflower, Mr. Charlie, Jack-A-Roe, Brown Eyed Women, Broken Arrow, Candyman, Till The Morning Comes, Sugar Magnolia > Sunshine Daydream
Set Two: Scarlet Begonias > Fire And Brimstone, Comes A Time, Eyes Of The World, Unbroken Chain, St. Stephen > Throwing Stones > St. Stephen, Shakedown Street* > You Are What You Love* > Shakedown Street*
Encore: Sugaree*
* featuring Jenny Lewis
[H/T JamBase]