On Wednesday, November 13, Bob Weir and The Wolf Bros, complete with the horn section known as The Wolf Pack, brought their stripped-down renditions of the Grateful Dead catalog to the historic Cincinnati Music Hall. This show, however, was unlike any prior Wolf Bros concerts in previous tours. The band was joined by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, led by conductor John Morris Russell, in an elegant evening of classical renditions of Weir’s familiar tunes.
Before Weir or his band took the stage, the orchestra treated the crowd to A Grateful Overture, a composition written by Stanford professor Dr. Giancarlo Aquilanti. Aquilanti also penned the orchestral arrangements for the rest of the evening’s setlist. The overture danced its way through many familiar Grateful Dead melodies, culminating in a beautiful crescendo featuring the melody of Truckin’. The 10-minute-long composition was met with a standing ovation.
As Bob Weir and his bandmates, Jay Lane (drums), Don Was (bass), Barry Sless (pedal steel), and Jeff Chimenti (piano), took the stage, all but Weir were dressed elegantly in all black. Almost exactly 52 years ago to the day, on October 26, 1972, the Grateful Dead performed on the same stage. “Bobby is back,” Russell excitedly announced to the audience.
They opened up their performance with Jack Straw, and it quickly became obvious that this was a special and unique experience for anyone in attendance. Sure, no version of a Bob Weir song is ever the same, but hearing the music supported and elevated by dozens of additional musicians brought an entirely new dimension to the classic songs. Jack Straw culminated with the brass and string sections providing strong contributions to the music as they wrapped up their first piece.
Next up was a melodic and dreamy version of Lost Sailor that had the crowd swaying and spinning in the aisles of the opulent theater. Sailor merged into Saint of Circumstance, which featured a heavy presence from the horn section of The Wolf Pack. The music’s ability to fill the entire space within the venue was not lost on the concertgoers, as the orchestra complemented the band’s playing beautifully.
Quite possibly the most special moment of the evening came next when the orchestra began their next composition. As the music started to pick up, it became clear that they were about to take one of the most psychedelic and improvisational tunes in Weir’s catalog for a spin. The recognizable opening notes of Dark Star began taking form. While the rigidity of the orchestral music did not lend itself to much improvisation, the result was just as much of a sonic journey as most versions.
There were moments when the orchestra took the reins musically, while at other times it seemed that the only musicians playing were the core members of the Wolf Bros. Everybody joined together, though, for the finale of the first set—Truckin’. You could notice the musicians in the orchestra looking into the crowd with unfamiliarity as fans belted the timeless lyrics, “Lately it occurs to me… What a long strange trip it’s been,” before erupting into thunderous applause. While they were clearly not used to the energy of a crowd full of Deadheads, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra understood the moment for what it was and got a big kick out of the experience.
During the brief set break, fans enjoyed the classy artwork and architecture surrounding them throughout the venue, which was built in 1878 and is a National Historic Landmark. The crowd wore a mixture of formal wear and classic tie-dyes, creating a juxtaposition nearly as unique as the pairing on stage that night.
After the set break, Bobby returned wearing a familiar cowboy hat to match his poncho and sandals. The various sections of the orchestra were having fun lending their contributions to the Dead’s classic dive into funk music as the second set opened up with Shakedown Street, featuring an incredibly moving violin solo toward the end.
On the next song, Playing in the Band, Jeff Chimenti took a moment to show off his piano skills while engaging in a bit of call and response with the orchestra. Chimenti moved away from his keyboards and electronic tones that he normally uses on stage and remained at a classical piano all night. After a lengthy and tranquil musical journey, Playing in the Band wrapped up.
Almost immediately, the orchestral strings began firing out the opening notes of The Other One. With its strange time signature and unique guitar riffs, the crowd enthusiastically welcomed the song, eager to hear how the orchestra would make it their own. While it was not clear if Weir forgot to sing the second verse or he was letting the music tell the story, the song was nonetheless well-received.
As The Other One concluded, the orchestra ceased playing while The Wolf Bros began to dive into the final song of the night, The Days Between. Weir delivered his most powerful vocal performance of the night on this song, accompanied only by Jay Lane on the drums and the orchestra. As the performance began to wrap up, they had one more trick up their sleeve.
While there was a notable lack of improvisation throughout the night, the orchestra delivered a fantastic medley of songs that had already been played. As The Days Between began to transform into a reprised version of Dark Star from the first set, it soon transitioned back into Uncle John’s Band before morphing once more into Playing in the Band. Music Hall erupted into applause as the crowd stood and cheered for the memorable performance that the more than 50 musicians on stage had just delivered.
Bob Weir and The Wolf Bros will play four more orchestral shows in the next two weeks. On November 15 and 16, they will be in Chicago performing with the Chicago Philharmonic. The following weekend, they’ll join the New Orleans Philharmonic in Louisiana for two more shows.
Setlist:
Grateful Overture (just the orchestra)
Jack Straw
Lost Sailor
Saint of Circumstance
Dark Star
Eternity theme
Truckin’
Shakedown Street
Playing in the Band
Uncle John’s Band
The Other One
Days Between
Dark Star Reprise
Uncle John’s Band Reprise
Playing in the Band Reprise
