Furthur on tour, got my tix

pglbook

I am excited - I just bought tix to see Furthur in concert July 14, Cooperstown, NY (Baseball Hall of Fame).
They are playing outdoor at Doubleday Field there. I saw Dylan there a few years ago and, provided it doesn't rain, it is a cool place to see a show.

I have never seen Furthur in concert (I have seen the Dead a few times) but hear they are great!

I did not know they were coming to the East Coast but popped on the Grateful Dead website about a half hour ago and saw the announcement.

I just wanted to pass along the info to any Grateful Dead fans out there.

Also, if anyone on CP has seen Furthur, please let me know what you thought of them.

Thanks.

rromeo923

I have seen Phil and Friends, "The Dead" and Furthur many times. They are good and it is fun. If you have no expectations you will enjoy. If you want them to be The Grateful Dead w/Jerry Garcia you will probably be disappointed. I consider Furthur a very good cover band. I do not go out of my way to see them.

Have fun!

nspindel

Seeing them on Thursday in Port Chester, NY

pglbook

nspindel, enjoy the show! And let me know how you liked it.

I saw that Furthur sold out all 4 or 5 shows in Port Chester. The Grateful Dead, as I am sure you know, played some classic shows in Port Chester so that is a very historic place for the group. Where are they playing there?

I would have liked to have seen Further in Port Chester myself but, unfortunately, I just saw the Furthur tour dates yesterday (I do not know how I missed it!) and, by that time, of course it was too late for Port Chester. But I am excited to be able to see them in Cooperstown, which is actually closer to me, and is a beautiful town to visit.

nspindel

They're playing the Capitol Theater, same place the Dead played back in the day. There are more like 8 or 9 shows, all sold out. I bought a ticket on Stubhub.

pglbook

Very nice! Thanks for the info. I did not know the Capitol Theater was still around. Enjoy the show!

Gatecrasher

pglbook wrote: »

I am excited - I just bought tix to see Furthur in concert July 14, Cooperstown, NY (Baseball Hall of Fame).
They are playing outdoor at Doubleday Field there. I saw Dylan there a few years ago and, provided it doesn't rain, it is a cool place to see a show.

I have never seen Furthur in concert (I have seen the Dead a few times) but hear they are great!

I did not know they were coming to the East Coast but popped on the Grateful Dead website about a half hour ago and saw the announcement.

I just wanted to pass along the info to any Grateful Dead fans out there.

Also, if anyone on CP has seen Furthur, please let me know what you thought of them.

Thanks.

They are great and the best to see live. Just listen to any of the hundreds of bootlegs out there from each show.

FYI

Lots of undercover Narcs at the NY Furthur shows. One of the worst states for such treachery and heavy-handed police activity but the shows are excellent regardless.

nspindel

Disagree. It's a cover band. Don't kid yourself.

I hadn't been to any reincarnation of the Dead since Jerry died. I have been to cover acts, DSO for example. I may go see DSO again in May. But I never saw Phil and Friends, The Other Ones, The Dead, Further, or any of the Bobby, Micky, or Billy acts either.

But last week I decided to go check out Further since they were playing in Port Chester. The theater is 20 minutes from my house.

The band itself is excellent, do not get me wrong. The keyboard player has a grand piano, keyboards, and an organ, and has great chops. So he can do throwback stuff to styles of Pigpen, Keith, and Bruce Hornsby. He didn't do much that reminded me of Brent, and certainly didn't sing any Pigpen.

The drummer is tight. Definitely plays the Dead well, no complaints there.

But those two are basically along for the ride, along with two backing vocalists.

Then there's Jerry-clone, I forget the guy's name, but he's the one they plucked from DSO. Looks like Jerry, sings like Jerry, plays like Jerry. Close your eyes, and it's like you're hearing Jerry again. But 1970's Jerry, not 1990's.

Then, there's Bobby and Phil.......

Phil is the man. Still can rage and play an amazing bass, he is still going strong.

But Bobby needs to hang it up. He is old, and he is done. I was there for this (watch the video):

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/bob-weir-falls-onstage-during-furthur-show-20130426

It was a total disaster.

pglbook

nspindel, wow, that was something to watch. The amazing thing, when watching the video, is that none of the other band members bother to do anything to help Bobby. The guitarist looks over a few times but keeps on playing. Phil doesn't even bother to look over at Bobby at all. And they keep playing that song for another 11 minutes. I understand that the "show must go on," but I would have hoped that they had some compassion and humanity for their fellow band mate. I can only imagine what it must have been like to have been in the audience as you were. The official word from the GD camp (take it for what it is worth) is that Bobby had shoulder problems and the stumble and fall was a side effect from pain meds to treat his shoulder. He did go ahead and play in Atlantic City 2 nights later and the online accounts say he was in fine form in Atlantic City. Thanks for posting about this and sharing the link. I had not heard about it. And I am still in shock at the total callousness of the rest of the band.

nspindel

I don't blame the rest of the band at all. It wasn't just during that one song, it was the entire show. He was useless on stage the whole night. The stage crew came out to help him multiple times. The stage hands were with him, there was nothing for any of the band to do, and the show must go on. When that song ended the band left the stage, were off for about 5 minutes, then came back and finished up the set.

nspindel

It happened right in front of me. I was further back during the first set. But then at the end of the first set, tons of people who were in front made a dash for the lobby, so my friend and I moved up. We saw the second half from maybe 10 feet from the stage, right in front of Bobby. It was downright sad to watch, but I think as long as his handlers have him under control, the show must go on is the right move for the rest of the band.

pglbook

I see that the link to the video is now blocked and one cannot watch it. Obviously, Furthur and GD do not want this to be viewed all over the web.

I thought it just happened all of a sudden during that song. But, since you say Bobby was like that the whole night, it's a shame he went on at all as he apparently was in no condition to play.

rromeo923