Much anticipation preceded The Other Ones’ Saturday show at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wis. For while music critics and Deadheads don’t always agree, both camps spread the word these past few weeks that The Other Ones have faithfully captured the transcendent magic of the Grateful Dead’s best concerts.
The band–consisting of ex-Dead members, friends and a few fresh faces–did exactly that, without taking on the aura of an oldies show or paint-by-numbers tribute.
What the capacity crowd at Alpine saw was a musical version of a souped-up psychedelic tour bus, going down the road feeling good. And though Jerry Garcia was not around to take the wheel, The Other Ones drove their music home with ample finesse. For roughly 2 1/2 hours, the eight-piece outfit executed the tightest turns and alternated seamlessly between rubber-burning muscle and smooth scenic cruising.
Nor was this band afraid to expand on the Dead sound. Instead of replacing Garcia with some six-string sound-alike, The Other Ones employed two additional guitarists who engaged each other in the Allman Brothers tradition. From the opening notes of “Dark Star,” Mark Karan and Steve Kimock established themselves as tasteful, distinctive voices conversant in the Garcia guitar style. Karan’s phrases tended toward a darker tone and more fluid phrasing, while Kimock provided bright bursts of punctuation and counterpoint.
Longtime Dead alumnus Bruce Hornsby stepped into Garcia’s vocal void, bringing the grace of a Southern gentleman to the proceedings. Hornsby–who had his two young sons sitting by him on stage–sounded laid-back on “Sugaree,” a wonderful contrast to the waves of percussion that crested just as they hit a feverish peak.
Hornsby’s longtime drummer John Molo played a huge role in bringing fresh energy to the Dead’s trademark sound. His rock-solid playing, combined with the world-beat influenced percussion of Mickey Hart, created a wall of rhythm on “Jack Straw” that rivaled any grunge band for energy, any jazz-rock outfit for virtuosity and intricacy.
There were some slight letdowns. A new original, “Baba Jingo,” had plenty of rhythmic spunk but fell short of matching the spell the band weaved during the rest of the show. And while bassist Phil Lesh did yeoman’s work singing “Box of Rain,” the song lacked the distinctive harmonies of the recorded version.
And from there, The Other Ones never looked back. “St. Stephen,” a song the Dead all but retired from their concert repertoire in the ’80s, proved a highlight of dazzling proportions. Hornsby, Lesh and rhythm guitarist Bob Weir locked as one voice, while Lesh engaged in his trademark loping bass runs that playfully danced between lead guitar runs.
The encore, “One More Saturday Night,” proved both satisfying and teasing. By the concert’s end, The Other Ones had established their unquestioned right to continue as successors to the Dead. The question, which may have to wait until summer’s end for an answer, is will they?
