Elvis Costello, that is. Deadheads know this as Elvis covered Ship of Fools and It Must Have Been the Roses on Deadicated and has been performing those songs live for a few years.
Last night at Radio City Music Hall, Deadheads, including yours truly, got to see Elvis as a Deadhead first hand as he joined for Furthur on stage for most of the first set and the encores. And it didn't end there. Preceding Elvis on stage was Larry Campbell, all around musical stud, who is presently working with Levon Helm after a long run as Bob Dylan's ace in the hole. But wait! There's more. Shortly after Larry and Elvis joined the boys, out comes Larry's wife, Teresa Williams. What a set of pipes and how cool it is to hear female vocals, a staple of the Dead in the 1970s, a decade many think to be their best.
So I'm a pretty happy guy. 10th row, right side facing the stage. Special guests galore and lo and behold out trots Diana Krall. Diana is married to Elvis Costello, so it is a real family affair at Radio City. Perfect, by the way, as the band and the Deadheads are nothing if not a community. Diana leads the band in the opening set closer, that most revered of Grateful Dead songs, Ripple.
All four guests came back at various points in the second set including a rousing triple encore capping a second set that ran two hours and forty minutes. Lots of unusual tunes pulled out again including the very strange and spacey and too long What's Become of the Baby. Setlist below.
And props to Joe Russo. That boy drives this band with incredible drumming. There remains controversy over Furthur not including Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart. Well, Russo is doing an amazing job. Just another reason you got to get out and see this band.
I: Samson and Delilah > Chest Fever*, Tennessee Jed*+, Friend of the Devil*+, Ship of Fools*+, It Must Have Been the Roses*+, Ship of Fools*+, Cassidy, Ripple*+#
II: Throwing Stones, Sunrise%, St. Stephen > What's Become of the Baby% > The Eleven, Uncle John's Band* > Unbroken Chain > The Wheel > Morning Dew, Sugar Magnolia
E: Days Between > Fever*+#, Attics of My Life*+%
*-w/ Larry Campbell; +-w/ Elvis Costello; #-w/ Diana Krall; %-w/ Teresa Williams (Elvis/Larry vox on "Jed", Elvis vox on "FOTD," "Fools," & "Roses", Diana vox on "Ripple", Diana/Elvis vox on "Fever")
Only ''Fever''; Only ''Chest Fever''; Previous ''Ship of Fools'' 2/13/2010 [86 shows]; Previous ''What's Become of the Baby'' 5/30/2010 [64 shows]; Previous ''Sunrise'' 5/30/2010 [64 shows]