9/8/2000 Reviews

September 8 Coors Light Amphitheatre, Scranton, PA
Dark Star > (Bobby and Bruce)
Truckin >
Ramble On Rose (Bruce)
Down the Road >
Dark Star Jam >
Big Railroad Blues (Bobby)
Me and My Uncle (Bobby and Mark acoustic, Bruce on accordian)
Preacher in the Ring (Alphonso acoustic, Bruce on piano, Mickey on tar, Steve)
Hell in a Bucket >
Drumz/Jam >
He's Gone > (Bruce)
The Wheel >
Dark Star >
Touch of Grey (Bobby)
E: Ripple (Bobby, Mark, Steve, and Alphonso acoustic, Bruce accordian)

This show was all about the jam. And of course, the centerpiece was a Dark Star that would kick the show in psychedelic fashion and be revisited many times throughout the set.

As soon as they launched into the jam that would eventually lead into the first verse, it was obvious that this was a different band then 1998. The 1998 incarnation was really a rock band with some jams and a space segment. The 2000 incarnation is more about taking chances. They swung, they jazzed, they got out in the zone, and rocked (albeit at a disappointedly low volume, more on that later). They also fumbled on occasion. I found all of this exciting from a musical standpoint. While the 1998 show blew my head off, I rarely (if ever at this point) revisit my tapes from that summer. Why? After a few listens, I heard all there was to hear. I could tell last night that the tapes from this show (and likely this summer) will be more fun to pick apart (in a good way) and enjoy because there was A LOT going on musically.

First things first, and I don't care who I offend here: YOU MARK KARAN BASHERS ARE NUTS! I love Steve Kimock as well, but Karan dives in there, gives at all, and comes out a winner. With that smile beaming on stage and the way he goes at the music, how can you not respect the guy? Big ups for Karan. His acoustic work on Me and My Uncle was delightful, and his twin-electric attack with Kimock was an absolute joy. Kimock, per usual with TOO, seemed to hold back, albeit a lot less then in 1998. I've seen what this guy can do in KVHW and at times last night it seemed like he was on the verge of bubbling over, but turned down the heat to avoid the boil. There was one song in particular that this was painfully true. However, he also had his shining moments and took a few great leads, and he was extremely graceful throughout. He blends wonderfully with Karan and Weir (who needs to be TURNED UP!).

Now, the setlist. The setlist on the page (for now at least) is missing "Touch Of Grey" and some important notes. I believe the setlist should read as this:

Dark Star (first verse) > Truckin' > Ramble On Rose, Down The Road > Dark Star Jam > Big RR Blues, Me and My Uncle (acoustic), Preacher In The Ring (acoustic), Hell In a Bucket, Drums, Jam (w/Dark Star hints from Bruce -- jam featured Bruce, Alphonso, Kimock) > He's Gone, The Wheel > Dark Star (second verse) > Blues Jam > Touch Of Grey. Encore: Ripple (w/Bruce on accordion)

The jam out of Down The Road was very sloppy at first and felt like it was on the verge of collapsing, but they pulled it together to drive straight in to an obvious Dark Star jam, which was excellent, very psychedelic with lots happening. This streamlined into Big RR Blues, the first of only two real rockers (aside from an OUTSTANDING Hell In a Bucket). This was my first Big RR Blues, and I was extremely psyched.

Back to Down The Road. I like this song on the Mystery Box album. However, live, it just needed more meat or something. I'm not bashing Mickey here; his vocal performance was strong and with the lyrics, even thought-provoking. Kimock shined on this one with some excellent slide work. The rest of the band dragged though. But, thumbs up to Mickey and Kimock (and Hunter for that matter) for making it intriguing and occasionally satisfying in the least.

The drum segment really took me back to my 17 Dead shows. What can I say: IT'S FUCKING GREAT TO HAVE BILLY BACK!!! Just watching him up there with Mickey would've been worth the price alone. The two of them attacked their barrage of instruments playfully, thoughtfully, gracefully, intensely. They challenged each other to no end. They moved around back there in more ways then one: They played around, under and over each other both literally and speaking musically. Just a blast to watch and soak in. The interesting jam out of drums featured Kimock, Alphonso and Hornsby, with Bruce playing with the Dark Star themes and Alphonso really proving his worth. Alphonso also did very well on the standup for Me and My Uncle and Preacher, making some very interesting and challenging runs. He also took a full out bass solo in one tune that blew my mind; I just can't recall with song. However, I CAN tell you it was excellent. He may not be Phil Lesh, but I can't think of a better replacement. I love Phil, but I didn't miss him, and that's a fact.

An emotional He's Gone was a high point. Soulful vocals from Bruce led into a wonderful vocal workout between Hornsby, Weir and Karan. That Karan guy can also sing very well; he provided solid backup vocals all night. A solid version of The Wheel led into yet another great bout of Dark Star jamming, which slid effortlessly into an impeccable second verse. Musically, from Drums on, the band was perfect and really took some chances. This Dark Star jam was excellent, plowing into a VERY cool blues jam that didn't last long but said a lot. Karan was all smiles, as was Kimock. So much fun to watch. This led somewhat sloppily into a triumphant Touch Of Grey. For the encore, I got my first Ripple. The band loved it, as did the crowd.

Overall, a very fun show that saw this band taking a lot of chances. There were no weak links; when a jam faltered, it was the entire band faltering together and picking each other up. There were a few missed lyrics (Truckin' comes to mind), but that never bothered me; I almost find it endearing. Weir is also at the top of his game. RatDog has yet to fully win me over, but I am a Bobby fan, and it was fun watching him up there beaming with such confidence and power. Hornsby provided an excellent supporting role while occasionally grabbing the bull by its horns and stepping up to the forefront.

My only complaints: The show seemed a bit short (I think 2 hours and 15 minutes) and the volume was really low. I could just be going deaf (really, I could, I listen to my music WAY too loud), but there were times that I think some extra volume could have taken the crowd to higher places. I think Truckin', while played fine, suffered from the low volume.

Also, boy do the cops at Montage Mountain suck. I never thought I'd say this, cause I'm not Mr. Anti-Cop at all. But they were pricks, at least where I parked. Searching people for no apparent reason, hassling anyone they could, being general dickheads. They made my wife pour out her beer. They started to hassle us a bit and then I think they realized they were wasting their time with us and went for some younger kids. What jerks.

I can't WAIT for Camden!

--Brian

* * *

Well, lets just say it was great!!!! My 1st show of the Other Ones 2000 was fun besides the dust bowl cop-filled lot in Scranton which I'm local to!! Lucky me!!

As for the show Dark Star opener nice! And from there it was all songs about traveling if you look at the set. The boys where right on it seem the whole show and looked to be liking how much the crowd was into it!!! If you talk to anyone that was there I'm sure they will agree that The Wheel was the best part of the night. Also to hear Billy and Mickey playing together again, not since the last show for me, was a great emotional rollercoaster that I've longed for since. The boys are great can't wait for the Meadowlands, see ya there, peace!!!!

--doglog

* * *

Great show, shitty venue. Montage (Coors Light Amp.) even makes Piss-on Pavilion seem cool. Whoever designed that place & the planning commission that approved it outta be tarred n' feathered! Asshole cops, dust, bad beer, & rude Yankees tried their darndest to ruin this ole boys good time, but thank googly-moogly for quality music!!!!!!!!

Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers were great. Sadly, as is usually the case, most Deadheads preferred to hang out & drink bad beer, smoke cigarettes, & watch their buddies get hassled by cops instead of seeing the true legacy of Robert Nesta Marley perform kickass upfull music.... The pavilion area only had 10% of the seats filled until Jammin', near the end of the set, & then it began to fill up as we approached TOO set. Sad.... Highlights of the set for me included Small Axe, I Shot the Sheriff, & a new tune they played for the encore, Uncle Sam Blues, which was awesome. I really wish that they (TOO) would jam with Ziggy some more this tour...

The Other Ones were absolutely awesome. (By the way, the setlist above is presently incorrect--they went into Touch out of Dark Star to close the set) It was so cool to see & hear those two drummers again words cannot do justice. I didn't get the feeling there were too many mistakes/miscues at this show, but then again I was extremely wasted & of course prone to delusion. (Ripple really rocked my world--I even cried a little!) These guys are just getting going, & the potential for all involved is unreal--let's hope they tour a lot more, because in so many ways it's like nothing's ever changed.....

--John Chapman

* * *

kind, very kind

--J Berchin

* * *

Here's an update on that setlist from Montage: Dark Star>Truckin'>Ramble On Rose,Down the Road>Dark Star>Big Railroad Blues. Band switched up to acoustic instruments and did Me and My Uncle. Then what appears to be a long piss break w/o Bob, Bill, and Mickey; Bruce then goes into Preacher in the Ring. This is followed by Hell in a Bucket. Then a drum solo w/ Mickey and Bill> drum solo by Bill himself for about 2-3 minutes>then Mickey rejoins Bill for another round of Drums. Rest of band comes back on and they revisit Dark Star>He's Gone>The Wheel>Dark Star>Touch of Grey to end the show. Encore was a great Ripple done on acoustic by everyone. Comments: See you all at the Meadowlands on sunday, Camden next saturday and then at Phil and Friends at the Beacon. Also got to meet Mickey Hart at a register to vote table which was set up on the lawn before the show last nite around 5:30 pm. Now that was F'n cool! Peace and good shows...

--TieDyeEMTF

* * *

The sound for both bands was poor. Ziggy's sound was loud enough (louder than TOO I think.. get to that later) but very mushy. I had a hard time picking out the vocals especially. I tried to go to different areas to get a better sound but it was bad everywhere. It's too bad because the Melody Makers were really grooving and deserved to have an adequate sound system.

First of all let me say that I hate the idea of having a single open ended song being the theme for the night. The band is forced to work it's way into Dark Star as a basis for a jam instead of naturally flowing into a jam that might come out of the end of the segueing song. Everyone in the band and audience can see Dark Star.. or the Other One.. or Playin.. coming from a mile away. It takes away from the natural flow of the show.

I don't think Dark Star works as an opener, but they managed to slug through a few minutes of uninspired noodling and transition nicely into the waneenaneenanee opening riff of Truckin'. At first I thought they were just easing their way in a soft volume to Truckin' , but halfway through I realized that the volume level of the house sound was way low. It's too bad because they were really trying to rip a good opener and if the volume would have been at a decent level they would have torn the roof off. Truckin' segued nicely into a rather uninspired Ramble on Rose. Down the Road had a slightly different, somewhat clunkier rhythm than the '98 version and Kimock's smooth slide work was the only thing of note. The song kind of plodded along until the end where everybody sped up into this frenzied Samson and Delilahish jam that really got everyone in the band going. Bobby was really strumming hard and it was starting to get interesting, and then all of the sudden they stopped and fell into a train wreck, sorry, more like a golf cart wreck, of a Dark Star jam. Everyone on stage was looking at each other waiting for someone to play something even remotely interesting... something to latch onto and go with, but nobody had any ideas. It was embarassing to see all of these great musicians stand up there and completely fumble, not even trying, for 5 or 10 minutes.The one image burned in my mind is that of Bobby on the big screen in the lawn moving his fingers like mad and absolutely no sound was coming from his guitar. SOMEBODY PLEASE TURN BOB'S GUITAR UP!. I know that having all three guitars at a loud level seems like overkill but Bob plays so sparsely and is so deft at getting out of the other guitarists' way that having his volume up would work. Nobody wanted to step up and it almost completely fell apart until Big Railroad Blues came out the abyss. Big Railroad Blues would have been good, but again the low volume level definitely hurt the energy level of both the band and the crowd. Also, by this point, probably due to the horrendous Dark Star jam, Kimock was detached. Me and My Uncle was standard with some nice fills by Karan on acoustic. Preacher in the Ring was the first song delivered with any sort of real emotion. Bruce was actually playing from the heart rather than thinking it through. That seems to be the problem with TOO... everybody is thinking real hard of what their role is and not just letting things develop naturally.

At this point I was worried. The mixture of poor sound, the faltering Dark Star Jam, and the looks on everybody's faces made me think that they had no idea how to save the show. I was worried that they would just try to coast through a few more songs and get their money and get the hell out of Dodge. Just when I thought all was lost, Bobby and the rest of the band came out and absolutely ripped through one of the best Hell in a Buckets I have heard since GD '95. I think Bob took the negative numbing energy from the first half of the show and channeled it into a fiery Hell In a Bucket. Having Billy back at the helm providing the right driving rhythm helped out a lot too. There is no way that the Hell was planned to be played at that part of the set.... It was a great choice by Bob to kind of restart the show, kind of a second chance opener to kick everyone into gear. Drums>jam>He's Gone>Wheel were played with intensity, especially He's Gone. They got into a really deep, loping groove and the emotion of the song really hit home, ending with a great gospel ending with falsettos from Bruce and Bobby. Wheel was alright, pretty standard, and then they fell into another disastrous Dark Starish jam. Karan was really leaning into his PRS and trying to make something happen but he just doesn't produce the sonic tones that inspire the rest of the band. Kimock chipped in a little to help but he didn't give enough. They stumbled on for a few more minutes and finally Bob got fed up and started Touch of Grey. The Touch was the best version I'd heard in a while (due mostly to Billy's drumming) and the Ripple encore was ok.

If you are more into the vocals and a tighter delivery, The Other Ones are your band.
They take some improvisational risks, but with the two drummers and three guitars it's very hard for them to turn the corners when they need to turn. More often than not the jams fall flat.

If you are more into a complete dedication to the collective jam, Phil's the man. Phil's bands fall flat on their face sometimes too, especially vocally, but they seem to try harder and with only one drummer and better guitarists who come with a fresh approach to the music, the jams frequently travel into new territory.

--Bocephuz

* * *

First of all, the show was great! 3rd row center seats made a big difference from last week in the taper pit up in Darien. My DATS did come out a slight bit better in Darien than they did in Montage.

The sound from Ziggy was muddy and too loud, but the band can jam.

There are to many individuals that are over critical of T.O.O. Jerry is gone and nothing is going to bring him back. You guys need to be thankful that existing band members are still dedicated to preserving a community centered around friends and music. Hey, if you can't go to an Other Ones show with an open mind and take what is given to you and enjoy hearing some Dead songs played by a solid band, then you should stay home with your music collection for company. Get over it!

Thanks for the party, see you down the road.
Looking forward to Camden.

--Chris

I am sorry to disagree with all of the other reviews. I was very dissappointed with the Scranton show. I am not attempting to compare to old shows, recent renditions, or Phil. I simply was let down by TOO. They never seemed to get it together and the lack of energy was apparent all night long. Bobby seems likes he needs a serious rest. Weak, weak,weak for sure. I WANT these guys to succeed, but they simply need to reconsider their desire to be up there making music. I wish I could put my finger on what it is exactly that is botching this up and creating such a catastrophy. I think for one there are too many guitars. They need to hand over the controls to one man. NO, that person will never be Jerry, but he doesn't have to be either. What he does have to do is LEAD... and that is what Garcia did best. Secondly, I did not find the forgetfulness of words, etc."endearing" as another reviewer put it. I can understand being lost in the moment as a reult of music that exalts one to a higher plateau, but to forget the second verse of Truckin' is silly and maddening. Third, to believe they can simply go out on the road without substantial practice is an insult to us ticket buyers. I spend a good amount of money, travel a sizable distance, deal with asshole cops. I expect quality music at the end if this journey. Instead, I was insulted by a less than professional attempt at entertainment. Please get it together guys, the world still needs you!!!!!!

--Rob Simpson