Many parallels exist between Bob Dylan and former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, who shared a bill Halloween night at the UIC Pavilion. In addition to both Dylan and the Dead being ’60s icons, Dylan and Lesh have demonstrated artistic revivals after near-death experiences, Dylan with a heart infection a couple of years back, Lesh with a liver ailment that resulted in a transplant near the end of last year. Factoring in the fact that both their audiences and set lists overlap, the duo’s pairing sounds like a match made in heaven.
For the last year or so, Lesh has been working with a changing cast of musicians under the moniker of Phil Lesh and Friends. The Chicago show featured drummer John Molo, a frequent collaborator with whom Lesh first played in the Other Ones, along with guitarist Paul Barerre and keyboardist Bill Payne, both from Little Feat. The Chicago show marked the Lesh band debut of hot young Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks, who stepped into the breach after the sudden departure of lead guitarist Steve Kimock.
Like the Dead in their heyday, Lesh and Friends used the songs in their set, mostly derived from the band’s late ’60s repertoire, as jumping off points for adventurous, often spectacular improvisations. The opening medley of “St. Stephen,” “The Eleven,” “Mountains of the Moon” and “Fat Man in the Bathtub” ranged widely through Allmanesque twin slide guitar passages, an atonal section, and a bebop figure that was woven between the verses of the third song. The band’s outstanding instrumentalists were Trucks, whose style not surprisingly hails from the Duane Allman school of emotive slide playing, and Payne, whose diverse playing ranged from dense jazz chording to ripping Little Richard riffs. Lesh’s normally thundering bass was regrettably low in the mix.
Lesh and company’s set ended with a driving rendition of Phish’s “Wolfman’s Brother” sandwiched inside a marathon exploration of the Dead’s early period showpiece “Viola Lee Blues.” The band encored with an uptempo version of “Casey Jones” that swung like mad.
Following a short, bizarre standup monolog by comedian Steven Wright, Dylan took the stage, aided by an energetic, four-piece country-rock band composed of Austin, Texas, guitarist Charlie Sexton, former Garcia band drummer David Kemper, bassist Tony Garnier and guitarist Larry Campbell, who played lap and pedal steel instruments for most of the show. Opening their lengthy acoustic set with a sparkling bluegrass version of Ralph Stanley’s “I Am the Man, Thomas,” the Dylan band’s arrangements were as tight as Lesh’s were open-ended.
Focusing largely on his most familiar material, Dylan ran through a crowd-pleasing set that showcased his players, particularly on fiery electric pieces like “All Along the Watchtower.” After nearly four decades of touring, Dylan’s voice is definitely the worse for wear, and his experiments with phrasing do little for familiar pieces like “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Tangled Up in Blue.” Stylistic differences aside, both Dylan and Lesh seemed focused, and very pleased to be alive and on tour.
