The Dead in Chicago: Day Two
Lightning rarely strikes twice, but it happened in Chicago as The Dead brought us back-to-back magical nights. As Aunt Bea would say, “Goodness gracious sakes alive!”
First, let me remind you that I am neither a reviewer nor a critic. I simply write about what I love, and I LOVE THE DEAD! If you think I’m gushing, it’s because I am. In my little rock & roll stew, they are first among equals.
All day I had a feeling this would be another special night…and special it was.
We were immediately off on another splendid journey as the boys treated us to a stellar opener, “Dancing in the Street,” before shifting gears for a soulful “Tennessee Jed.” Next up it was time to party with “Golden Road (to Unlimited Devotion),” which absolutely blew me away.
The rest of the set continued the groove through “Mr. Charlie,” “They Love Each Other” and “Touch of Grey,” before closing with a wonderful twenty-minute voyage through “Weather Report Suite.”
As I settled in for what turned out to be a 90-minute second set, I was digging it with all the fiber of my being. The rock & roll gods were smiling on me once again.
The adventure continued with an eighteen-minute “Truckin’,” as an adoring tribe appreciatively roared our approval while singing along. “Throwing Stones” kept us dancing with reckless abandon, before kicking back with Phil’s glorious masterpiece, “Unbroken Chain.”
As anticipated, that took us into “Drums” and “Space,” with the Rhythm Devils again on fire. Billy and Mickey never cease to amaze me.
The love fest continued with a powerful version of The Beatles’ “Come Together,” a tune I’ve been blessed to see Bobby play the last couple years. Pure freakin’ bliss…
The tempo then soared for my life’s story (and I mean that in the best possible way, which I’ll explain in another post) with “Hell in a Bucket,” and the adrenaline continued pumping through an extended “I Know You Rider,” which brought us full circle after Monday’s “China Cat” opener.
The encore, a gentle trip through “Brokedown Palace,” sent us off sweetly swaying to the sound.
Another rendezvous with rock & roll royalty.
Nothin’ left to do but smile, smile, smile…
May 7th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Two incredible shows, back to back. I’m jealous. Sounds like it was excellent.
May 8th, 2009 at 9:58 am
It was phenomenal, Sean.
And last night it was nearly 4 hours of Billy Joel & Elton.
May 10th, 2009 at 10:12 am
[...] evening, my wife Lisa made her delectable pizza from scratch as we listened to Tuesday’s Dead show. While the pizza’s were in the oven, we were both attending to other household chores when [...]
May 11th, 2009 at 6:13 am
[...] evening, my wife Lisa made her delectable pizza from scratch as we listened to Tuesday’s Dead show. While the pizza’s were in the oven, we were both attending to other household chores when the [...]