r/GrahameLesh

For two queer women (my wife and I) who basically blew our savings at middle-age to make a week in SF work (and see Bobby's final shows, as it turned out), this was a highlight of the Heart of Town festival Grahame threw in a warehouse (for some reason). The spores of inclusion were floating all around the room for this little interlude! 💀🌹🏳️‍🌈

This is the final encore of the 4-show run that restored my hope that innovative Dead was still a thing after Phil's passing in Autumn of 2024. The first two nights felt like a very fitting tribute to Phil and Friends, the "version" of the Dead that I most followed since the 90s. But on the third night, Gramahe started stepping out of his father's shoes, and taking things in new directions of his own. And on this final night, Grahame led the Phil Lesh Quintet in a way that both honored Phil and also showed his own innovative spirit - the genius spark had passed from father to son. This encore had me, and most of the audience, crying alongside Grahame.

It was a genuine joy dancing up in the balcony to this ripping medley, played during Unbroken Chain (a celebration of recently-passed Phil's 85th birthday) at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. Some of the younger heads were kinda confused by this jam, which was hilarious. Us old-timers were grinning like idiots.

A jazzy version of the song that got me into the Dead - and synchronicity! - was played at my very first show (The Other Ones, Darien Lake, 1998).