The latest episode of Terrapin TV, with host Phil Lesh, featured appearances from Anders Osborne, Luther Dickinson, and, of course, the Terrapin Family Band.
The weekly live stream raises money for employees at Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads restaurant and venue in San Rafael, CA which is closed indefinitely due to COVID-19. Two previous installments of the Grateful Dead bassist’s program have featured Mike Gordon with his daughter Tessa, as well as John Scofield.
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After a brief introduction from Lesh, he introduced Osborne for a take on the singalong classic, “Friend of the Devil”. Audiences joined a disheveled Osborne in his kitchen for an upbeat rendition of the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter tune from 1970 album, American Beauty. After unsuccessfully beckoning his wife Sarah to join in on harmonica (“a G this time”), Osborne runs through the titular refrain once more, this time with a bit of vocal accompaniment before sending it back to Lesh.
Next came a rendition of another classic Dead singalong, “Ripple”, from Luther Dickinson and his daughter. The North Mississippi Allstars frontman came equipped with a semi-hollow body acoustic guitar which he used to play Garcia’s lead notes, rather than Bob Weir‘s rhythm part as would be customary for a solo, acoustic performance. Just as he is rounding out the final verse of la’s and da’s, he is finally joined by his daughter who steps, reluctantly and only after prodding from her father, into the frame.
Finally, the Terrapin Family Band closes out the stream with a performance of “Brokedown Palace”. Yet another song from American Beauty—as all of the episode’s songs were—this one is given a bit more texture by a full band lineup. Even though the song is another tender ballad from the Dead, this one at least doesn’t have the acoustic open-mic feel from your local coffee shop. Seeing a full band, including two Leshs, perform a thorough rendition of a Grateful Dead song not in their Spotify top five is the kind of content that Terrapin TV should be putting out.
Watch episode three of Terrapin TV featuring Anders Osborne, Luther Dickinson and his daughter, and the Terrapin Family Band featuring Phil Lesh.
Terrapin TV — Episode 3 — 5/17/20
[Video: Terrapin Crossroads]
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