We’ve had plenty of opinions aired on this site about the various incarnations of post-Grateful Dead bands — including praise for Joe Russo’s Almost Dead last year at Brooklyn Bowl and Phil Lesh and Friends at last year’s Mountain Jam. What we got here at Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield this past Wednesday was a kind of turbocharged version of the last Phil and Friends set we saw, with this one featuring Warren Haynes, Joe Russo, John Medeski, Ross James, Jordan Levine and John Scofield. With this kind of monster lineup, even by Phil and Friends standards, it was kind of hard to go wrong. This set featured a sweet lineup Grateful Dead classics and other people’s songs they liked to play, fully realized in these musicians’ own unique style. Vocal duties were shared among the group, with Haynes a welcome addition on that front. The park was packed for the sold-out event, and despite the unpredictable and chilly weather, the band had the crowd dancing in no time. By the time the 10PM curfew arrived, cutting short what could have been a longer “Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad”, we had already been treated to three and a half hours of music, making for a memorable night that we still didn’t want to end.
I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones in the official tapers’ section, which was behind the soundboard. While it should be as good or better than any other tape from that location, I’ll admit it’s nothing special. The Rumsey Playfield sound system isn’t loud, there was a walkway in front of us, and the section itself wasn’t exactly the most attentive portion of the crowd, either. That said, it’s an accurate reflection of the night, and if you weren’t there, it’s worth hearing what you missed.
Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC (16-BIT)] | [FLAC (24-BIT)]
(Note: 24-bit FLAC files cannot be used for CD burning)
Stream “Not Fade Away”
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Phil and Friends
2014-05-28
Central Park Rumsey Playfield
New York, NY USA
Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Schoeps MK4V (BOB, PAS)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2>Sony PCM-D50>24bit/48kHz WAV>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (fades, tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Set One
01 Jam>
02 Not Fade Away [The Crickets]
03 Sunshine of Your Love [Cream]>
04 Sweet Jane [Velvet Underground]
05 Bird Song [Jerry Garcia]
06 Just A Little Light [Grateful Dead]
07 West L.A. Fadeaway [Grateful Dead]
08 Sugaree [Jerry Garcia]
Set Two
01 Shakedown Street [Grateful Dead]
02 El Paso [Marty Robbins]
03 Uncle John’s Band [Grateful Dead]
04 Stella Blue [Grateful Dead]
05 I Know You Rider [Tossi Aaron]
06 Unbroken Chain [Grateful Dead]
07 The Other One [Grateful Dead]
08 Terrapin Station [Grateful Dead]
09 [encore break]
Encore
10 Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad [traditional]
If you enjoyed this recording, please support Phil Lesh, visit the website, and purchase the official releases at the dead.net Store [HERE]
Nice work. Sorry I missed it, thanks for sharing
Sweet Jane & Sugaree alone were worth the price of admission.
good
You are your own toughest critic, acidjack; this is a damn fine recording and pretty spot-on, soundwise, from what I remember that night. Well done and a very enjoyable listen!
Point of note, the cover of “Sweet Jane” that Phil & Friends played is the ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal’ version as they included the Dick Wagner/Steve Hunter intro from that album.
This is a great recording acid jack, thanks again! Hopefully tonight will be just as good
Thanks very much! Looks Great!