The Livery, Benton Harbor’s premier live music venue, is known for hosting the best holiday events. This Halloween was set to be a live Dead party featuring South Bend’s own Grateful Dead cover band, the Happy Campers. However, the untimely passing of Phil Lesh transformed the celebration into a heartfelt farewell to honor his legacy.
Phil Lesh’s death deeply affected the community, but for Happy Campers’ frontman TJ Kanczuzewski, it was especially personal. TJ also plays with Midnight North, the band of Phil’s son, Grahame Lesh. TJ had the privilege of knowing and performing alongside Phil, so this scheduled Halloween concert became a tribute to the 'father figure' of the Dead.
The doors opened an hour early to allow guests time to enjoy excellent food and freshly brewed beer, setting the celebratory mood. The band performed dressed as the original members of the Grateful Dead: TJ as a young Bob Weir, Tyler Kanczuzewski and Bob Henry as Mickey Hart and Billy Kreutzmann, Kyle Paulk as an older Jerry Garcia, and Karl Edmonson channeling a mid-70s Brent Mydland. Jay McDaniel made an attempt at early-70s Phil but, in his own words, ended up looking “like someone not allowed near schools.” The 70s are hard to pull off!
Originally intended to be a set of originals, the first set became a mix of originals and seasonal covers. The band kicked off with "Help on the Way>Fire on the Mountain," igniting the costumed crowd into dancing and singing. They followed with a reggae original before welcoming harmonica virtuoso Nick Kavach to the stage. "Friend of the Devil," "I Need a Miracle," and Warren Zevon’s "Werewolves of London" rounded out the set.
TJ shared personal stories about his time with Phil, bringing warmth and humanity to the legend, who always radiated those qualities. The stories celebrated the joyful times spent learning from Phil, the consummate teacher. As TJ put it, Phil’s wisdom reminded everyone to “pull out the positive and love” from the music, and you could feel the audience imagining Phil looking down in approval.
The second set began with Phil’s best-known song, "Box of Rain," sung in his memory. "Estimated Prophet," "Eyes of the World," and "Not Fade Away" filled out the set, with the night closing on an uplifting note with "Dear Mr. Fantasy."
The evening was a fitting tribute to one of rock’s true innovators and all-around good guys. The world could use a little more of Phil’s spirit, so let’s keep those positive vibes flowing.
