Smith's Picks Volume 5

Smith’s Picks Volume 5

This installment of Smith’s Picks brings us to a favorite stop for me on Furthurs summer 2012 tour, Coney Island in Brooklyn NY. The stomping grounds and home to drummer Joe Russo this minor league baseball park is full of good energy and vibes from a rather lit crowd on a Friday the 13^th show. This mid tour show was full of gems on a hot and sticky July night. Highlights of this set for me include Greatest Story Ever Told, a once a tour song that I consider myself lucky to have caught. Bobby is animated and excited for this tune and the band nails it! Sunshine and Jeff add some serious vocal power to this rocker but the true highlight of this shortened 1^st set had to be the bodacious Jack Straw. The end jam starts out with Chimenti banging the crap out of the Grand Piano before handing the reigns over to John K to tear this jam apart on his new guitar his been playing this tour. John gets some radical overtones in his solo as his magical solo screams through his rig and into the crowd. You know Johns on when you can hear his rig over the PA! Phil brings the band together for the signature Furthur hits and Phil bombs right before Bobby yanks us back into reality for the closing verses. A comical confusion after the song as Bobby gets cut off by Phil as he goes to announce set break has them both laughing about it after riding high for a monster first set, even if it was only 7 songs instead of the typical 8 or 9.

What was said to be a “really quick” break was more like an hour as the July heat had everyone hot and sweaty. As the crowd cooled down the band sure did not. Coming out of the gate with a smoking Scarlet>Fire this set was unreal. Bobby teased us hard by accidentally going into Lost Sailor before realizing it wasn't in the set and even gave himself a chuckle. The Weather Report Suite was beautiful and got super spacey post rise and fall jam to lead us into Dark Star. This magical set is amazing and phenomenal playing by the whole band. Encoring with Ripple this show was a real delight and was one I was gladly in attendance for. Smith’s Picks Volume 5 is July 13^th, 2012 at MCU Park in Coney Island, NY, enjoy!

Furthur live at MCU Park July 13, 2012

Smith's Picks Vol. 4

Smith’s Picks Volume 4

On a cold and rainy Thursday night in New York City Furthur once again brought the heat. An up-tight venue that caused many to miss the majority of the first set brought mixed vibes to this run but if you were lucky enough to get in on time you were treated to a beautiful first set. Starting in the key of C Furthur was sitting on top of the world this night, only the 5^th show of this legendary tour. Highlights of this set are the Furthur original and seldom played High on a Mountain and the Sailor>Saint that’s sure to steal your face as it did to mine. Just when you think there goanna go off stage for sure they come barreling through with a steroid injected Casey Jones that leaves the place speechless as Joe Russo drives that train full speed to set break!

Set 2 has some amazing moments, this show has not 1 but 2 original Furthur songs, Colors Of The Rain and a High On A Mountain in set 1. Colors had some people scratching their heads both old heads and new heads. A real curve ball came out when a mid-set slipknot was thrown into the mix that took everyone for a ride. Something got into Bob Weir this night in a good way as he belts out an amazing Other One with absolutely no breaks between the verses. The show was cut short due to annoying time restrictions and left us pondering if a Playin Reprise was on deck. A Gloria encore sent us all home High On A Mountain as Night #1 of a 5 night stint was a memorable one. Smith’s Picks Volume 4 is March 10^th 2011 at Best Buy Theater.

Furthur Thursday, March 10, 2011 Best Buy Theater, NY

Prelude

Prelude

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f you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is why am I doing this, for the love of Furthur why else. For the sake of living through the tail end of Grateful Dead music performed by some actual members and for the sheer fact that this is a great band that pushes the limits of music and explorers the unknown.  This all sort of happened on a whim. A daily post of Facebook of my favorite Furthur shows rainbowed and exploded into my version of Dicks Pick's. Archive.org makes is easy for one to listen to Furthur concerts. Aside from talking about shows I been to and know well the purpose or scope of this blog is to create awareness of the many great performances by Furthur. One of the most exciting things is listening to shows I have not actually been to.

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efore I burn off both of your ears I invite you to poke around and enjoy a daily dose of some Furthur. One final note as a glutton for HI-Fi, (meaning that this is the highest possible fidelity you can get with the TK-421 modification which I do right here in the store), I will try to link up shows that have soundboard recordings available but that won’t limit me to occasional audience recording from time to time.  Enjoy!

Smith's Picks Volume 3

Volume 3

Why start at volume 1 when you can start at 3? OK, truth be told I didn't think of actually creating a blog, kudos to my friend Scott who saw my post on Facebook and suggested I start this. With regard to my titles, it’s a takeoff on Dick’s Picks, the coveted CD series released by the Grateful Dead featuring cherry picked concerts by the late grate Dick Latvala, so kudos to Matt for that suggestion. Got to have a little help from my friends, so I present to you, Smith’s Picks Vol. 3 enjoy!

                                                                                 

Today's show comes again from the fall 2010 tour. This Sunday night show is from November 14, 2010 at the U.S Bank Arena in Cincinnati Ohio. Formerly called Riverfront Stadium this legendary venue has had its fair share of performers over the years. If you’re a Who fan you know very well about the 1979 incident at this venue but that’s not focus of this post. Wrapping up a four night stint of shows this show certainly delivers. From a funky Dancin in the Streets opener in the style of the late 1970's to the Bird Song>Promised Land to close out set 1, this show packs a punch. Seven Hills Of Gold, a new Hunter/Furthur tune also makes an appearance in the middle of the 1st set. 

Set 2 opens with a smoking Deal that’s sure to let us know what’s about to go down. A Sugar Mag> Scarlet Begonias to follow makes for an interesting 2nd and 3rd song with some loose ends foreshadowing an epic ending to set 2! Don't miss the 17+ minute Estimated Prophet which meanders into a proper He's Gone as this 2nd set has Bob Weir written all over it. Brooklyn’s own Joe Russo shines on Kings Solomons really showing the tastefulness and power that this guy can accomplish! From balls to the wall full throttle jamming at 9,000RPM the set takes a beautiful turn into the last Hunter/Garcia collaboration Days Between. Chimenti leads us in with a delicate into on the piano and John K toasts Weir with his haunting lead work. The Fire On The Mountain>Throwin Stones>Sunshine Daydream closes out a marathon 2nd set. Smiths Picks Vol. 3, enjoy!

Furthur Live at U.S. Bank Arena on 2010-11-14 (November 14, 2010)