After a five-night stay in Port Chester, Bob Weir & Wolf Bros checked out of the opulent Capitol Theatre on Sunday to finish off a residency with no repeated songs. The final night of the guest-filled run featured an appearance by drummer Omar Hakim (Weather Report), who jumped in on “Samson & Delilah” in the first set.
While Weir and company haven’t repeated any songs this run, they have stuck to the same repeated show format. Every night has seen the Grateful Dead guitarist step out onstage alone to start the show acoustically. As the set progresses, he is gradually joined by his bandmates Jay Lane (drums), Don Was (bass), Jeff Chimenti (piano), Barry Sless (pedal steel guitar), and finally The Wolfpack string/horn section.
Weir started out the show with a rare take on “Artificial Flowers”, made famous by ’60s pop singer Bobby Darin. Bobby (our Bobby) perhaps could’ve used some support on this one, as he got a little tripped up with the words and chords, at one point even letting out an “ah, shit” before finding his footing to applause from the patient and loving audience. “I thought I remembered that one better than I did,” he mused as Lane and Was joined him for an acoustic “Friend of the Devil”, which Weir knew like the back of his Birkenstock.
Bob Weir & Wolf Bros – “Artificial Flowers” (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick), “Friend Of The Devil”, “Big Boss Man” [Pro-Shot] – 12/17/23
As Weir plugged in for an electric “Big Boss Man”, the presence of Chimenti was definitely felt with his addition of honky tonk grand piano. Barry Sless then joined the band for the first of several Biblicly-inspired songs of the evening, “My Brother Esau”, before The Wolfpack came out to keep the Sunday spiritual going on “Greatest Story Ever Told”.
After thumbing down the road with “Black Throated Wind”, Weir welcomed out venerated drummer Omar Hakim who, in addition to being a member of Weather Report in the mid-1980s, has recorded with everyone from David Bowie to Daft Punk. For the sit-in, Lane graciously offered up his drum chair to Hakim and in turn, took a seat next to Chimenti as the band powered through the Grateful Dead Sunday staple “Samson & Delilah”. Perhaps in reference to their special guest Hakim, who left after “Samson & Delilah”, Weir and Wolf Bros followed up his sit-in with “Weather Report”, which segued into “Let It Grow” to close the set.
Bob Weir & Wolf Bros, Omar Hakim – “Samson & Delilah” (Traditional) – 12/17/23
[Video: sgibson818]
Coming back for the second set, Bobby and the Bros took the stage sans Wolfpack for a trip down south on “Me & My Uncle”. Some tempo discrepancies between Weir and his backing musicians made for a bumpy ride, though Bobby’s ace backing band proved its ability to roll with any on-the-fly changes. As The Wolfpack returned to the fray, Weir slowed down the beat for a crawl down “Shakedown Street” which saw the band’s rhythmic realignment. The long jaunt to the heart of town was a sign of things to come, as a lengthy exploration of “Help On The Way” > “Slipknot!” > “Franklin’s Tower” served as the improvisational centerpiece of the second set.
Bob Weir & Wolf Bros – “Me & My Uncle”, “Shakedown Street” [Pro-Shot] – 12/17/23
As the clock wound down on Weir’s Capitol Theatre residency, he and the band launched into one last sonic exploration. The free-flowing avante-inspired jam was pushed along by Lane’s precision drumming, ultimately bursting through space and revealing itself as “The Other One”. The bus came by and the band got on, riding the rhythmic momentum into a cataclysmic set-closing “Morning Dew”. Finally, to close the show, the weekend, and the run, Weir bid the Port Chester audience fare you well with an encore of “Brokedown Palace”.
Bob Weir & Wolf Bros – “The Other One” – 12/17/23
[Video: Grateful Lux]
Check out some videos from Bob Weir & Wolf Bros’ final night at The Capitol Theatre. The band will reconvene for a three-night New Year’s Eve run in Fort Lauderdale, FL December 29th–31st before Bobby, Don, and Jay jet down to Mexico for the inaugural Dead Ahead festival in Riviera Maya. For tickets visit his website. Revisit Live For Live Music‘s coverage of the Bob Weir & Wolf Bros residency here: night one | two | three | four.
Setlist: Bob Weir & Wolf Bros | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 12/17/23
Set One: Artificial Flowers (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick) [1], Friend Of The Devil [2], Big Boss Man [3], My Brother Esau [4], Greatest Story Ever Told [5], Black Throated Wind, Samson & Delilah (Traditional) [6], Weather Report Suite > Let It Grow
Set Two: Me & My Uncle [5], Shakedown Street, Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower, The Other One > Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson)
Encore: Brokedown Palace
[1] Bob Weir solo
[2] Bob Weir, Jay Lane, Don Was
[3] Bob Weir, Jay Lane, Don Was, Jeff Chimenti
[4] Bob Weir, Jay Lane, Don Was, Jeff Chimenti, Barry Sless
[5] w/ The Wolfpack
[6] w/ Omar Hakim on drums, Jay Lane on piano with Jeff Chimenti
Notes: Full band with The Wolfpack unless otherwise noted