On a cool and windy but exquisitely sunny day, just a short jaunt from the Terrapin Crossroads nightclub and restaurant presided over by Grateful Dead co-founder Phil Lesh from 2012 to 2022, a similar collective of staff and musicians offered their third “Sunday Daydream” on July 21, along the San Pablo Bay in San Rafael, Calif. Headlined by a jam-alicious two-hour set from a swell incarnation of Phil Lesh & Friends, grand and gratifying versions of such Grateful Dead classics as “Scarlet Begonias,” “Playing in the Band,” “Wharf Rat,” and “Truckin’” were released into the air and into the attentive and devoted audience’s consciousness.
“Welcome back, Terrapin Nation,” Phil Lesh said to the crowd at the set’s outset. “It is so good to see you all here. This is just as good as what we used to have back there at the Crossroads, believe me. Thank you for coming out.”
This particular version of Phil & Friends included an abundance of fine guitarists – Stanley Jordan and Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz on lead guitar (Lebo also played delightful lap steel at several junctures), and Grahame Lesh on rhythm and lead guitars. They were complemented by Jason Crosby on keyboards, and John Molo on the drumkit. Stu Allen (another guitar and vocals) joined in for a significant portion of the set, and Elliott Peck lent vocals to a couple of songs. Harpist Mikaela Davis, slated to be a part of the band, was unable to attend as her flight was canceled as part of the global computer outage that wreaked havoc on air travel and was unable to rebook in time, according to one of the event coordinators.
Phil Lesh and Friends’ set started with a noodling improvisational jam into one of the Grateful Dead’s standard openers, “Jack Straw,” sung by Lebo and Phil Lesh, followed by “Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodeloo,” also sung by the 84-year-old Lesh, who played sturdily and remained standing through the entire set. Next, another gentle, gradually evolving jam led into “Scarlet Begonias,” vocalized by Peck, Lebo, and Grahame Lesh. It started out slow and clunky, but quickly morphed and crescendoed into a 15-minute monster. The band, with Allen on vocals, then offered an epic, four-guitar (plus bass) “Sugaree,” unofficially closing out the first half of the performance.
The second half of the set, for which Allen remained onstage throughout, included a big sequence of iconic Grateful Dead selections. Starting with “Playing in the Band,” sung by Grahame Lesh with backing vocals by Peck, some heavenly instrumentation led into the beloved ballad, “Wharf Rat,” as voiced by Allen. The jam out of “Wharf Rat” rose into the good ol’ opening notes of “Truckin’,” sung by Lebo. The overall vibe was splendid, with intricacies and sweet jamming interludes being the order of the day, rather than rock ‘n’ roll powerhouse presentations – perfect for a sunny afternoon at the beach.
“Truckin’” transitioned into a bit of “Nobody’s Fault” (a traditional song that Blind Willie Johnson recorded about 100 years ago), before Jordan took on the guitar lead for an enchanting interpretation of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – indeed the Harold Arlen/E. Y. Harburg ballad performed by Judy Garland in the 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz.” The sublime rendition of the song ended with a “back into” jam that brought into focus the ending of “Playing in the Band” to end the set. Phil Lesh then thanked the assemblage, and invited everyone to tune into the Terrapin Crossroads YouTube channel and said to expect a podcast in the fall. A crowd-pleasing “Sugar Magnolia,” sung by Grahame Lesh ended the proceedings.
Stu Allen and Mars Hotel, which like Phil Lesh and Friends has a revolving set of players, on this day included Allen on lead guitar and vocals, Holly Bowling (keyboards), Brian Rashap (bass), Alex Jordan (guitar, vocals), and Jerry Saracini (drums). Peck, who was uber-busy on this day, appeared on vocals on “Row Jimmy” and “Terrapin Station” during the 75-minute set. Allen, another Terrapin Crossroads protagonist, is one of the highest-profile Jerry Garcia-tribute players in the land, plying that craft for about 20 years with tenures in Melvin Seals & JGB, Dark Star Orchestra, and Ghosts of Electricity.
While Allen’s lead guitar work is quite reminiscent of Garcia’s, circa the 1980s, Allen’s voice, somewhat akin to that of Boz Scaggs, is soulful and clear, lending itself well to the Grateful Dead catalog. Bowling’s inclusion in the band was clearly a coup, with her marvelous and dexterous finger-plinking adding brightness to each piece of music, which included their opening sequence of “China Cat Sunflower” into “I Know You Rider,” and a complete “Terrapin Station” suite to close their portion of Sunday Daydream 3.
Fronted by Mother Hips’ Greg Loiacono, who also frequented Terrapin Crossroads on numerous occasions, his band Stingray opened the main stage festivities. The hourlong set by this 1½-year-old ensemble, which featured Vicki Randle, who played with the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” band for 18 years and George Benson for 10 years, on percussion and vocals, Kofy Brown (Skip the Needle, Kofy Brown Band, on bass/vocals), Danny Eisenberg (Mother Hips, G. Deloian Band, in-demand session work, on keyboards), Michael Urbano (John Hiatt, Smash Mouth, Lindsey Buckingham, on drums), and Scott Ayers (guitar/vocals), offered a pleasing mix of smooth, mid-tempo rock with discernible elements of funk and soul.
Loiacono and Stingray’s set included plenty of material off Loiacono’s 2022 release, “Giving It All Away,” including their captivating take on the Genesis pop classic, “That’s All.” Scott Law joined the band for the Sade tune, “Nothing Can Come Between Us,” and Grahame Lesh guested on the band’s final number, “Away From the Stones.”
Performing three 45-minute ‘tweener sets at the intimate, under-a-tree “Keep it Weird” stage, Terrapin Crossroads mainstays Scott Law and Elliott Peck (with sit-ins by Alex Jordan and Grahame Lesh) seamlessly kept the action going. Law, an improvisational guitar wiz and songwriter steeped in knowledge of rock, jazz, blues, and folk music that came before him, has, in recent years, played with Brokedown in Bakersfield, Cosmic Twang, Strings for Industry with Darol Anger, and plenty of onstage solo/duo work. The multitalented singer/songwriter/guitarist Peck is well-known for co-fronting Midnight North and gathering a great number of renowned musicians for her solo efforts, on record and stage.
Together, the pair offered their own selections, including Law’s “Leave The Leavin' Up To You,” “Nothing But the Dance,” and “Hope Someday,” as well as Peck’s “The Colors Here,” “Good For You I Guess,” and “Highway Song.” Along the way, they also delivered crowd-pleasing renderings of such classics as “It Ain’t Me Babe” (Bob Dylan), “Blue Eyes” (Gram Parsons), “Tear My Stillhouse Down” (Gillian Welch), “It Must Have Been The Roses” (Garcia/Hunter), “Mr. Charlie” (Grateful Dead), “Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie” (Elizabeth Cotten), “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” (Traditional), and “How Sweet It Is” (Holland-Dozier-Holland).
On the day when the news hit that President Joe Biden would not seek a second term and instead endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for that lofty position – news that quickly spread across the venue – Grateful Dead co-founder Phil Lesh, 2½ years the President’s elder, showed that he isn’t ready to retire.
Sunday Daydream Vol. 4 is set for Aug. 18 at McNears Park and is scheduled to include Phil Lesh and Friends (Phil Lesh, Taylor Goldsmith, Stu Allen, Holly Bowling, Natalie Cressman, Griffin Goldsmith, and Grahame Lesh), as well as the Sam Grisman Project (paying tribute to the musical legacy of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman), Wolf Jett featuring Alex Jordan, and Jon Chi. For tickets and information, visit terrapincrossroads.net.
Phil Lesh and Friends: Jam, Jack Straw, Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodeloo, Sugaree, Playing in the Band, Wharf Rat, Truckin', Nobody’s Fault But Mine, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Playing in the Band (reprise), Sugar Magnolia.
Stu Allen & Mars Hotel: China Cat Sunflower, I Know You Rider, Big River, Row Jimmy, Around and Around, Brokedown Palace, Terrapin Station suite.
Greg Loiacono & Stingray: Can’t Forget, Close Your Eyes (We’ll Be There Soon), That’s All, Tell It to the Trees, Even Though I Lost, Bad Summer, Nothing Can Come Between Us, Giving it All Away, Come Back Home, Hoping We Get to Dance, Away From The Stones.
