Go Ahead with Brent Mydland and Bill Kreutzmann Tour History 1986 (Brent Mydland II)

The poster for the Go Ahead show at The Omni in Oakland, on December 19, 1986 (from GD Archives)

Brent Mydland was always in the shadow of the other members of the Grateful Dead, because he was always "the new guy." One of the many interesting aspects of the Grateful Dead was that fans could see the musical interests and abilities of the individual musicians in their various side projects, and then see how those sounds were integrated or excluded from the Dead's sounds. Most Deadheads, however--and I am certainly including myself--paid little attention to Brent's individual activities outside the band because they were too busy following Garcia or Weir.

Certainly, if you were a Bay Area resident, and you had a chance to see Jerry Garcia or Brent Mydland in a club, you would generally pick Jerry. Also, like most Dead fans I liked many kinds of music, and being fortunate enough to see the Grateful Dead regularly, I made a point of seeing other groups rather than the spinoff bands. As a result, Brent Mydland projects tended to be somewhat off the radar. In the Summer of 1985, Brent had ventured East in the band Kokomo (along with guitarist Kevin Russell, ex-Santana bassist David Margen and Bill Kreutzmann). By all accounts, they were just a bar band, but a very good one.

The enterprise must have been promising, however, since another version of the band reconstituted itself the next year. Go Ahead toured a surprising amount in the Fall of 1986, mainly because Jerry Garcia's illness canceled a lot of Grateful Dead dates. Fortunately, Go Ahead was a pretty good band as cover groups go, and they filled a lot of people's need for a Dead substitute, while presumably making a little money for the players as well. This post will attempt to identify all the Go Ahead performances for 1986.

The Kreutzmann-Margen Band
Go Ahead was presaged with a few dates in the Summer of 1986 by the Kreutzmann-Margen Band. It is generally forgotten now that for much of the early 80s, Kreutzmann regularly played shows around the Bay Area and sometimes toured elsewhere as well. Besides filling in with the Jerry Garcia Band, he played with the Healy-Treece Band, and the even more obscure Bill Kreutzmann's All-Stars. In 1984 and '85 he played with a reconstituted version of Kingfish. Bob Weir was a regular guest with Kingfish, and Brent Mydland even sat in a few times (Jan 21-24, 1985). However, after a dispute between Kreutzmann and Matt Kelly, Kreutzmann left Kingfish around March of 1985.

Kreutzmann and Mydland turned up in the Summer of 1985 with Kokomo, but the band did not survive the year. Kreutzmann must have enjoyed playing bars, however, and probably needed the money, since he played a few East Coast dates in the Summer of 1986 with yet another band.  No one but me seems to recall the Kreutzmann-Margen Band, despite a few obscure tapes, but they generally sounded a lot like Go Ahead. The group's lineup was:

• Jerry Cortez-lead guitar
• Alex Ligterwood-guitar, vocals
• Nate Ginsberg-keyboards
• David Margen-bass
• Bill Kreutzmann-drums

Bassist David Margen, who had played with Kreutzmann in Kingfish and Kokomo, had been in a 70s lineup of Santana. A fellow member of that group was singer/rhythm guitarist Alex Ligterwood. Ligterwood, a Scotsman, had come to San Francisco around 1976 with Brian Auger and The Oblivion Express (a truly great band), and he had ended up joining Santana. Ligterwood had been the lead vocalist on such Santana hits as "Well All Right" and "Winning" in the late 70s and early 80s.

Jerry Cortez had been playing lead guitar with Jesse Colin Young and also with the revived version of the Youngbloods. Keyboardist Nate Ginsberg was a veteran of many Bay Area bands, including Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, Herbie Hancock, Cold Blood, Steve Miller Band and many others. I only know of a few East Coast dates for the Kreutzmann-Margen Band. A few tapes have surfaced, from July 27 at the Lone Star and July 29 in Chicago. Anyone who attended the shows or has additional information is encouraged to Comment.

July 25-27, 1986: Lone Star Cafe, New York, NY: Kreutzmann-Margen Band
July 28, 1986; The Tide, Beachhaven, NJ: Kreutzmann-Margen Band
July 29-30, 1986: Carol's, Chicago, IL: Kreutzmann-Margen Band

Go Ahead
In July of 1986, Jerry Garcia slipped into a diabetic coma, and the Grateful Dead world was turned upside down. A lot of concerts were canceled, and the Dead at the time had no other meaningful source of income. During the Summer, no one knew how long it would take Jerry to recover, nor when touring could possibly recommence. It is not surprising that Kreutzmann and Mydland, the two band members with the least income from recording royalties, apparently made plans to start touring. Fans in the Bay Area were somewhat inured to appearances by Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, so shows featuring other band members were hardly events. In the rest of the country, however, any appearance by a Grateful Dead member, much less two, was at least a mini-event. Mydland replaced Ginsberg, and Go Ahead looked like this

• Jerry Cortez-lead guitar
• Alex Ligterwood-guitar, vocals
• Brent Mydland-keyboards, vocals
• David Margen-bass
• Bill Kreutzmann-drums

From the point of view of nightclub owners, a band whose fans came early and stayed a long time were always desirable, so there seems to have been a fair amount of interest and the clubs that Go Ahead played were fairly large. In any case, there had to have been a lot of fans who were looking forward to seeing the Grateful Dead who must have been happy just to see a part of them.

With two current members of the Grateful Dead and two former members of Santana, Go Ahead roughly fell into the territory shared by the two groups. Go Ahead played extended versions of various rock cover songs, some of them made famous by one or the other band (like "Women Are Smarter" or "Well All Right"). The band played jammed out version of some of the more straightforward Weir second set numbers, some more rock Santana material and some classic rock covers (like Traffic's "Medicated Goo"). There was a lot of nice jamming, but none of it got too outside. Brent sang a few of his own ballads, and some of the material associated with the Dead, but most of the lead vocals were handled by Alex Ligterwood (including "Iko Iko"). 

Go Ahead was not an earthshaking band, just some excellent nightclub fun, but when taken in that light they were well worth the price of admission. Kreutzmann in particular is a great rock drummer in a conventional context, which can be easy to forget. It's also informative to listen to them--certainly I would have enjoyed it if members of The E Street Band or The Heartbreakers had played rock covers in nightclubs, but only Dead members seem to have had the energy (or poor judgment) to do so. Fortunately, there are a fair number of nicely recorded audience tapes floating around on Sugarmegs and elsewhere, and you can decide for yourself.

Because of Garcia's illness, instead of just playing a few quick dates, Go Ahead made a more substantial tour of the East than most Dead spinoff groups. Since they played a lot, by the end of the tour they sounded pretty tight, and some of the jamming sounds quite good. I think I have most of the dates, but I could be missing some. I am certainly missing some opening acts. Anyone with corrections, insights or observations is encouraged to mention them in the Comments. I am particularly interested in what acts might have opened for Go Ahead.

Go Ahead Performance List, Fall 1986
September 25, 1986: Lupo's, Providence, RI: Go Ahead

September 26, 1986: The Ritz, New York, NY: Go Ahead/Robert Hunter
Robert Hunter had a solo tour on the East Coast around this time, and he opened for Go Ahead in a few of the larger venues.

September 27, 1986: The Boathouse, Norfolk, VA; Go Ahead

September 28, 1986: The Bayou, Washington, DC: Go Ahead
Kokomo had played The Bayou the previous Summer, so I take that as a sign that the club owner had been happy with the turnout.

September 30, 1986: Toad's, New Haven, CT: Go Ahead

Ticket stub from the Go Ahead show at The Channel in Boston on October 1 1986

October 1, 1986: The Channel, Boston, MA: Go Ahead/Robert Hunter
There are some interesting comments in passing about this show, from a page where someone has collected all his ticket stubs. It gives a good perspective on how Go Ahead was a welcome diversion in the absence of a Dead tour.

October 2, 1986: Hunt's, Burlington, VT: Go Ahead

October 4, 1986: The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ: Go Ahead/Robert Hunter

October 5, 1986: West 165th, Hartford, CT: Go Ahead/Robert Hunter/Max Creek
The venue was formerly known as The Agora.

update:  Commenter Tony has some additional information

Max Creek played a four song set before Hunter at the 10/5 West Hartford Show. Creek were regulars at the Agora, and as it happens, had played as the sole act for the three nights prior to this gig. I have a tape of the Max Creek set, and I'm quite sure there exists tape of the full Hunter and Go Ahead sets. I recall Hunter played the UConn fight song. (http://www.maxcreek.com/lists/mc861005.html)

Hunter had lived in Connecticut for a few years in High School.

October 6, 1986: Stone Balloon, Newark, DE: Go Ahead

October 7, 1986: Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA: Go Ahead/Robert Hunter

October 8, 1986: USA Sam's, North Syracuse, NY: Go Ahead

October 10, 1986: Trafalmadore Cafe, Buffalo, NY: Go Ahead

October 11, 1986: The Warehouse, Rochester, NY: Go Ahead
[update] Thanks to correspondent Mike, we know that Max Creek played here regularly during this time. The venue, at 204 N. Water Street, is currently called The Water Street Music Hall.

October 12, 1986: My Father's Place, Roslyn, NY: Go Ahead
The band appears to have taken a two week break after this show, although it's possible I'm just missing some dates.

October 23, 1986: The Cabooze, Minneapolis, MN: Go Ahead
Starting on Oct 23, Go Ahead had a Midwestern swing.
.

Newspaper listing for the Milwaukee Go Ahead show on October 24 '86

October 24, 1986: U. of Wisonsin-Milwuakee Ballroom, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI: Go Ahead
Fellow scholar Grateful Seconds found a listing for this show

October 26, 1986: Cabaret Metro, Chicago, IL: Go Ahead

Thanks to GratefulSeconds, we have found a long-lost Cleveland gig from Oct 28 '86

October 28, 1986: Peabody's Down Under, Cleveland, OH Go Ahead (early and late shows)
Grateful Seconds also found a long-lost Go Ahead date, with an early and late show (all-ages at the early show)

October 29, 1986: Graffiti, Pittsburgh, PA: Go Ahead
There is a nice tape circulating from this show, and the band gets into some good jamming to end the second show.

October 31, 1986; Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ: Hot Tuna/Go Ahead
This show at the Capitol was the only opening performance by Go Ahead that I know of. The band returned home to the West Coast after this show.

November 30, 1986: Concord Palace, Concord, CA: Go Ahead
The fact that Go Ahead played a few California dates after their Eastern tour was a clear sign that the band had enjoyed itself. By this time, Garcia's recovery was assured, so Go Ahead was just playing because they liked it. I don't know anything about the Concord Palace. I believe that Brent Mydland was raised in Concord, but I don't know if there was a personal connection to the show.

December 2, 1986: Wood Lake Hotel, Sacramento, CA: Go Ahead

December 6, 1986: The Country Club, Reseda, CA: Go Ahead
Go Ahead also played two shows in Southern California.

December 8, 1986: Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA: Go Ahead

December 19, 1986: The Omni, Oakland, CA: Go Ahead/Dreamspeak
Go Ahead's final show of the year was at The Omni in Oakland. As a long-time Oakland resident, it was depressing to me that Oakland's newest rock club at the time turned out to be such a dump that I wouldn't go to a show there (and remember, I liked the Keystone Berkeley). The Omni was at 4799 Shattuck (at 48th Street), formerly known as Ligure Hall. It had been built in 1938 as an Italian American Social Club. It was owned by John Nady, who had made a fortune inventing wireless guitar pickups, and spent it on a rock nightclub that mostly presented heavy metal.

Go Ahead's one piece of local press coverage came when it was reported (I think in the Chronicle) that Jerry was in attendance at the show, even though he did not perform. Of course, the Dead had just finished three nights at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (Dec 15-17), so Garcia's recovery wasn't at issue, but this was the start of renewed attention to Jerry's importance and mortality.

Go Ahead 1987 and 1988
Although Go Ahead's touring schedule was considerably reduced in 1987, for the pleasant reason that Jerry Garcia was back in the saddle, Go Ahead continued onwards through 1988. At the end of 1987, the band also became a vehicle for Bob Weir as well as Brent and Bill, but all that will be addressed in the next post in this series.

Bob Weir And Kingfish 1984-1987

The 1999 Kingfish album Sundown On The Forest, recorded over many years

After an extended three year run by Bobby And The Midnites, including many live shows and two studio albums, the band ground to a halt at the end of 1984. By this time, it seems that Bob Weir had crossed over, like his bandmate Jerry Garcia, and become a musician who had to be constantly performing. While there may have been an economic motive, since the Dead had not released an album since 1981, and the band's finances were reputedly quite dire, nonetheless in his thirties Weir may have realized he had a chance to tour and perform as much as he wanted to, and he seems to have enjoyed the opportunity.

This post will document Weir's extracurricular activities as a part-time member of Matthew Kelly's band Kingfish, from 1984 through 1987. This is not an exhaustive look at Weir's live performances during this period, nor is it any more than a series of intermittent snapshots of Kingfish during the same timeframe (the numbering system is arbitrary, and exists only to facilitate Comments). Nonetheless, it is an interesting perspective on Weir's activities during that time, when it seemed like the Grateful Dead had sort of peaked and would never get any bigger than they already were. All of my information comes from carefully writing down whatever was announced on the Grateful Dead hotline, supplemented by information from the San Francisco Chronicle or Relix magazine. Some shows or personnel may have been changed at the last minute. Anyone with additional information, insights, corrections or recovered memories (real or imagined) is encouraged to Comment or email me.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #11a (Kingfish Revue)
First show: October 24, 1984 Keystone Palo Alto
Last show: October 26, 1984 The Stone

Garth Webber-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Rahnie Raines-vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards,vocals
Dave Margen-bass
Dave Perper-drums

Notes: Matt Kelly had reactivated Kingfish, which had only existed intermittently since Weir had departed the band in August of 1976. For the Fall of 1984, the band called themselves 'The Kingfish Revue,' and Weir joined them for two shows in the Bay Area. Kingfish would play a set, and featured some songs by singer Rahnie Raines, Weir would then play a brief solo acoustic set, and then he fronted Kingfish for some classic songs from his previous endeavors with the band. A few other guests showed up, most notably including guitarist George Thorogood one night at the Stone (on October 26).

Garth Webber was an exciting young guitarist, largely unknown during the time that he played with Kingfish. By 1986, however, he had replaced Robben Ford in Miles Davis's group, a clear benediction of his skills. Keyboard player Barry Flast had gone to college at Boston University in the 1960s, and had ended up in the group Tom Swift And The Electric Band. That group (with Billy Squier on guitar) became a sort of 'house band' at Boston's Psychedelic Supermarket, opening for everyone who came through town, including the Grateful Dead. David Margen had been in Santana in the 1970s.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #11b (Kingfish Revue)
First show: December 22, 1984 Keystone Palo Alto
Last show: December 26, 1984 The Stone

Garth Webber-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Rahnie Raines-vocals
unknown-keyboards, vocals
Dave Margen-bass
Bill Kreutzmann-drums

Notes: For some reason, Barry Flast was apparently not available for these shows, but I'm not sure who filled in on the keyboards (I'm not even sure how I came to know that).  Chris Herold was a guest at the Keystone Palo Alto on December 22. Herold had been the original drummer in Kingfish, and before that in the New Delhi River Band, but he was probably largely retired from music by this time. The most interesting detail about these two Kingfish shows was Bill Kreutzmann's presence on the drums.  

Kingfish #12
First show: January 5, 1985
Last show: February 14, 1985

Garth Webber-lead guitar
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards, vocals
Dave Margen-bass
Bill Kreutzmann-drums
plus: Brent Mydland-organ, vocals (Jan 21, 22, 24)

Notes: Kreutzmann's flurry of activity in the mid-80s has always been an indicator to me that members of the Dead were always looking for a little extra cash. I recognize that the occasional gig in Garberville or at a Keystone was often just for a laugh, or to get out of the house. I also understand that musicians often like to play challenging music at times, just because they they need to do it. However, Bill Kreutzmann would not have done a 16-date East Coast tour, playing simple rock and blues with Kingfish in the Winter, unless he needed the cash. I have to assume there was good money in playing the shows, since Brent Mydland must have been flown out for the three dates in late January.

The Winter 1985 Kingfish tour has the unique distinction of being the only Kingfish tour with Grateful Dead members who were not Bob Weir. However, the tour ended with an ugly incident. According to San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, Matt Kelly ended up suing Kreutzmann for damages after a violent altercation near the end of the tour. The case was settled, apparently, and the details remain obscure, and probably better left undiscussed. I would note, however, that although Kelly and Weir remain friends and collaborators to this day, Matt Kelly never again played with the Grateful Dead after this tour.

Kingfish #12 performances

• January 5, 1985 Country Club, Reseda, CA w/Zero
• January 6, 1985 [Southern California?]
• January 21-22, 1985 Lone Star Cafe, New York, NY [Brent Mydland on organ and vocals]
• January 24, 1985 Paradise Club, Boston, MA [Brent Mydland on organ and vocals]
• January 25, 1985 Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ w/Jorma Kaukonen/NRPS/Leon Russell 
• Brent Mydland was advertised for the Capitol show but did not appear. Bill Kreutzmann came out from behind his kit and went to the mic to apologize to the crowd  

• January 26, 1985 Tower Theater, Upper Darby,  PA
• January 28, 1985 Hunt's, Burlington, VT
• Kingfish was late to the show, except for Bill Kreutzmann. Bill came to the front of the stage and gave a 40-minute monologue. Tape exists. The band eventually arrived.
• February 1, 1985 Lupo's, Providence, RI
• February 2, 1985 Key Largo, Islip, NY
• February 3-4, 1985 Lone Star Cafe, New York, NY
• February 7, 1985 Mabel's, Champaign, IL
• February 8-9, 1985 Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL
• February 10, 1985 Headliners, Madison, WI
• February 13, 1985 Rainbow Theater, Denver, CO
• February 14, 1985 Glenn Miller Ballroom, U. of Colorado, Boulder, CO

There were two shows announced on the Hot Line that were canceled: March 8 at The Stone and April 11 at New George's in San Rafael. I assume that this was because of the altercation between Kelly and Kreutzmann. It's not impossible that some of the last shows on the main tour were not played as well.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #13
First show: March 1, 1986 Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ w/Sounds Of San Francisco/Zero
Last show: March 2, 1986 The Palladium, New York, NY w/Sounds Of San Francisco/Zero

Garth Webber-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Anna Rizzo-vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards,vocals
Steve Evans-bass
Dave Perper-drums

Notes: Kingfish toured steadily throughout 1985, and underwent various personnel changes. Bob Weir joined them for two high profile shows in Passaic and Manhattan. At the time, this triple-bill was a sort of homage to psychedelic San Francisco, and it seemed about as relevant as The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Sounds Of San Francisco was a sort of all-star band, put together for East Coast tours. This time out, the Sounds were John Cipollina, Greg Douglass, David Margen, Dave Perper and vocalist Alex Ligterwood (Santana). Zero also featured Cipollina at this time. Weir would not have needed to rehearse much, if at all, in order to sit in with Kingfish. Weir played a solo set as well.

On Sunday, March 2, Bob Weir appeared on an NBC Radio show called 'Sunday Night Live,' recorded at the Hard Rock Cafe in Manhattan. During the show, Bob Weir, Matt Kelly and Albert Collins sat in with Paul Shaffer and the David Letterman Show band for a version of "T-Bone Shuffle." I'm not sure whether Weir's booking on NBC Radio caused him to sit in with Kingfish, or the other way around, but I'm inclined to the latter scenario. Artists are usually only paid union scale to appear on TV or radio, so it would make sense that Weir was already there for a paying concert.

On Monday, March 3, Weir made a solo appearance at a Philadelphia club called Pulsations. According to Relix, John Cipollina apparently sat in.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #14
First show: April 26, 1986 River Theater, Guerneville, CA
Last show: October 31, 1986 Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA

Steve Kimock-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Anna Rizzo-vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards,vocals
Steve Evans-bass
Jimmy Sanchez-drums

Kingfish with Bob Weir #14 performances (Spring)

• April 26, 1986 River Theater, Guerneville, CA
• April 27, 1986 Keystone Palo Alto

Notes: In the Spring of 1986, Steve Kimock replaced Garth Webber as Kingfish's lead guitarist. In fact, it's not totaly impossible that Kimock played the March shows in New York with Weir and Kingifish (if anyone knows, please mention it in the Comments).  Singer Anna Rizzo had also joined. Rizzo was (and no doubt still is) an excellent, bluesy singer, but had never gotten a real opportunity to shine. She had been in various mostly Berkeley-based ensembles, including Sky Blue, Grootna and Country Joe's All-Star Band. She was also a pretty good drummer, although she didn't get any opportunity to prove it in Kingfish. Weir played two gigs with Kingfish in the Spring.

On April 28, Weir headlined a show at Wolfgang's, called "A Benefit For A Sick Friend." As far as I know, Weir played solo, although I wouldn't be surprised if he had played a little with David Nelson and Tom Stern, who were also on the bill (as were Tom Constanten and the Tim Ware Group).

On May 29, 1986, Weir made a solo appearance at an East Village disco called The Saint for an event called 'The Great Sixties Ball.' The other acts on the bill were Country Joe McDonald and Buffy St. Marie. This was significant, since in its prior incarnation The Saint had been The Fillmore East. Weir was joined at various points by Matt Kelly, Barry Flast, Jorma Kaukonen, Anna Rizzo and Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary).

Update: I have discovered that Kingfish played an Anti-Nuke Rally in Corte Madera on June 7, 1986 (at least one song is accessible on YouTube), and also at the Rainbow Music Hall in Denver, CO on August 11, 1986.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #14 performances (Fall)

• September 7, 1986 Ranch Rock, Pyramid Lake, Nixon, NE Mickey And The Daylites/Kingfish with Bob Weir/Robert Hunter and The Mystery Band/Problem Child/Zero
• October 29, 1986 Arlington Theater, Santa Barbara, CA w/Robert Hunter
• October 30, 1986 Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA
• October 31, 1986 Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA w/JGB

Notes: On July 8, 1986, Jerry Garcia went into a diabetic coma, and the entire Grateful Dead universe was thrown into upheaval. Although band members were too proud to make a point of it, there had to be a serious cash flow problem for everybody. Weir was better positioned than others to make a little money touring, but he had broken his arm in a mountain biking accident, and was limited to being just a vocalist until the end of the Summer.

Various bands associated with the Grateful Dead played at an outdoor event at Pyramid Lake in Nevada (hot enough for ya?). Weir appeared with Kingfish, but only as a singer, since he couldn't play guitar. The Mickey And The Daylites and Robert Hunter and The Mystery Band ensembles were unique configurations that never played any other time. Although there were six bands on the bill, many of the musicians played in multiple groups

Fortunately, Garcia was back in action in October. Weir, too, was back in October, his arm fully healed so that he could play guitar. Weir and Kingfish played three shows in California. Weir and Kingfish headlined two of them in small theaters, and one of them was second on the bill to the Jerry Garcia Band at the Kaiser Convention Center. In fact, per their usual practice, Weir and Kingfish closed the Oakland show, rocking the night away, but the newly-recovered Garcia was still the headliner.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #15
First show: May 26, 1987 The Bacchanal, San Diego, CA
Last show: May 30, 1987 Country Club, Reseda, CA

Steve Kimock-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Anna Rizzo-vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards,vocals
Steve Evans-bass
Dave Perper-drums

Kingfish with Bob Weir #15 performances

• May 26, 1987 The Bacchanal, San Diego, CA
• May 27, 1987 The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA
• May 28, 1987 Fender's, Long Beach, CA
• May 29, 1987 De Anza Theater, Riverside, CA
• May 30, 1987 Country Club, Reseda, CA

Notes: Weir had one last brief run with Kingfish in May, 1987. Although I only have setlists for one of these shows, I assume that it was the standard configuration: Kingfish played a set, Weir played solo and then Weir joined Kingfish for some of their regular material, by this time almost 12 years old.

After these shows, Weir started making regular appearances with the band Go Ahead, whose other members were Brent Mydland, Bill Kreutzmann, Dave Margen, Alex Ligterwood and Jerry Cortez. Weir followed the same pattern as he did with Kingfish; Go Ahead would play a set, Weir would play a solo set, and then Weir would join Go Ahead and rock out. The history of Go Ahead is unwritten, and I will write it, but that is a subject of another series of posts.

May 28, 1989 San Gregorio Music Festival, San Gregorio Resource Center, San Gregorio, CA
Bob Weir and Kingfish/Maria Muldaur and Band/Dan Hicks and The Acoustic Warriors/NRPS/Country Joe McDonald/Terry Haggerty 
Weir's final appearance with Kingfish was a one-off show at an outdoor festival in San Gregorio. San Gregorio is an obscure town in San Mateo County, not quite coastside, but just down the hill from La Honda where Kesey had holed up back when the Warlocks were morphing into the Grateful Dead. A large area around the town had been turned into a Nature Preserve, and it appears that this show was a benefit in support of that. Whoever organized it must have been an old hippie, given the bands, but then of course most of the residents in the coastside part of San Mateo County in those days were old hippies anyway, so it was appropriate. I don't know exactly who was in Kingfish at that point, although it probably didn't matter from Weir's point of view. Surviving video shows that Chris Herold sat in on drums for a song. By this time, Weir had first played with Kingfish fifteen years earlier, and in some ways they were like the old blues and R&B acts that had inspired them in the first place, playing their traditional material for people who had been fans for a long time.

Matt Kelly let Kingfish slide away in the 1990s. Weir and Kelly remained friends, and Kelly was a member of Ratdog for a while. However, Kelly left that group, and ultimately moved to Thailand, where he has focused on charity work. Kingfish, after an unheralded start in 1974, lasted over 15 years, remarkable for any band, and Bob Weir was a part of it near the beginning and near the end.

On Tour, 1986: David Nelson and Bob Dylan

An ad for the Grateful Dead/Bob Dylan/Tom Petty show at RFK Stadium on July 6, 1986

David Nelson was one of Jerry Garcia's oldest friends, and an important part of Garcia's personal and musical history, dating back to long before the Grateful Dead. Nelson has been an important part of the Grateful Dead family from way back. Yet after he left the New Riders Of The Purple Sage in 1982, Nelson largely dropped out of musical sight. Every once in a while he would pop up, playing with some band or other, like Bill Kreutzmann's All-Stars, but these all seemed to be part-time ensembles. He did not resurface into most Deadheads' consciousness until he and Sandy Rothman re-activated their musical partnership with Jerry in the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band.

The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band got an informal start at a party on November 23, 1986, and played its first performance at the Fillmore on March 18, 1987, adding John Kahn on bass. The band expanded somewhat, adding a drummer (David Kemper) and then a fiddler (Kenny Kosek), and played a number of excellent shows with the Jerry Garcia Band, most famously at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater on Broadway in New York City. Nelson's timely re-appearance recharged Garcia's interest in old time folk music, and Garcia and his fans were all the better for it. Still, the timeline begs a curious question: what was David Nelson doing between 1982 and 1986? Or, to ask the question another way, was David Nelson doing anything interesting between 1982 and 1986? The answer turns out to be a decided yes.

Steve Silbermann's liner notes for the 2010 release of Ragged But Right, the decades-delayed second album by the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, include a fascinating detail unremarked anywhere else that I know of. Talking about Garcia's health, Silbermann says

[Garcia's] health crisis came to a head in early July after a concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC featuring the Dead, Dylan and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Nelson, who was Dylan's guitar tech on the tour...

Wait, really? David Nelson was Bob Dylan's guitar tech on the 1986 Bob Dylan/Tom Petty tour? The tour began in February in Australia, and ran through around Memorial Day, well after the July bills with the Dead. Was Nelson on the whole tour, or only part of it? Inquiring minds really want to know.

Inquiring minds really want to know, but its extremely unlikely they will ever find out much. Bob Dylan is not just a fine musician and songwriter, but a major, one-name celebrity. People who work for celebrities generally sign ironclad Nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) that present them from discussing their work, or anything that they saw or heard about the celebrity's life or business. This is why it's very rare to hear any statements directly attributable to Jennifer Aniston's chauffeur or George Clooney's housekeeper. Dylan has a particular reputation for being particularly secretive, even by celebrity standards, so he would be considerably less sympathetic to informal leaks that might be tolerated by movie stars whose personal lives help sell movie tickets. No one who works for Dylan says a thing, and if they do Dylan's lawyers apparently make sure that it doesn't occur again.

The inevitable NDA explains why Nelson has never, to my knowledge, uttered a word about working for Bob Dylan on the 1986 tour. I should add that none of Dylan's other guitar techs (I know who at least some of them were) have ever said a word about their work, either. Nelson, of course, while always talking effusively about Garcia's work with the New Riders and other things he had in common with Nelson, has to this very day kept to himself many private things about the Dead that Garcia must have shared with him in passing. Nelson kept Garcia's counsel long before there was any NDA in question, so it must have been appealing to Bob Dylan to know he had a guy working with him who was already a friend and colleague to a legendary rock star.

Guitar Techs
What are Guitar Techs, and what did they do? The Grateful Dead were very different than most major 80s and 90s bands of similar stature, in that they did not employ Guitar Techs in the same fashion as other touring bands. Jerry Garcia was famous for being all but surgically attached to his guitar on the day of a show. There are many stories of people meeting Garcia in the dressing room hours before the show, while Garcia ran through scales and other exercises endlessly, while talking and carrying on. Garcia always used his "A" guitar, too,throughout the whole day. Obviously, Garcia always had spares on the road in case of an emergency, but on a given evening, he only played one guitar all night long. Weir and Lesh followed roughly the same policy. Occasionally I would see Weir or Lesh switch instruments during a show, but they too generally stuck to one axe at a time. The net result of this approach was that each player tuned his own guitar and changed his own strings before and during a show.

Most of the 80s and 90s bands playing basketball arenas and "sheds" (indoor-outdoor Pavilions, like the Shoreline Amphitheater) followed a completely different practice. Most groups who played big places worked off pretty rigid setlists with comparatively fixed arrangements. A band on stage didn't want to leave their audience hanging while they re-tuned their guitars--I'm obviously not talking about the Dead--so the guitarists had someone off stage handing them guitars. Most players used several guitars during a show, each appropriate for the song and tuned accordingly. I use to see a lot of rock concerts back in the day, and I always counted guitars (that's just me). My personal record was seeing Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits use nine different guitars at a concert at the Concord Pavilion (the band was great, by the way). Each guitar was perfectly chosen for each song, and Knopfler's Guitar Tech would discreetly hand Knopfler the next guitar and take the old one from him, while remaining partially blocked by a substantial monitor.

Players who were using multiple guitars needed them all in tune and ready to go throughout the show. Almost all roadies can turn on a guitar, change a string and get it somewhat in tune. But if you are in the spotlight and about to play your biggest hit in front of 20,000 people, when a guy hands you the guitar it needs to be Ready To Go. So for a guy like Mark Knopfler, changing guitars on almost every tune and with all of them different, you need a real guitar player to set them up and check them out, each and every night. Don't forget also that for most major bands, the lead guitarist is one of (if not the) big stars, so prior to the show he's probably meeting radio station guys, shaking the promoter's hand, and so on, all as part of the record company's promotional efforts, another ritual the Grateful Dead largely avoided. Even a serious player like Knopfler who probably enjoyed fiddling with his instruments before a show would not have had time to insure they were all up to speed according to his standards.

A Guitar Tech, however, with no other duty but to make sure all the guitars sounded good, were tuned perfectly and clean as a whistle could make sure that the lead guitarist had what he wanted when he wanted it. Guitar Techs had to be pretty good guitar players, they couldn't be temperamental, and their ego had to be manageable enough so that they weren't jealous of working in the shadows of a more famous player. As a practical matter, the Guitar Tech gig often provided a good job for a guitar playing friend of the lead guitarist, giving him a trustworthy lieutenant on the road as well as someone to hang out with and jam. Sometimes the Guitar Tech became an adjunct member of the band--in 1986, when I saw REM at Oakland Coliseum, the Guitar Tech (Buren Fowler) handed guitarist Pete Buck his instruments all night, but for the last few numbers he joined in with the band onstage, as Buck could not cover the overdubs effectively in such a giant place (many metal bands were reputed to use the Guitar Tech to keep the sound rockin' while the lead guitarist engaged in various onstage performance antics).

A guy like Dylan might just switch back and forth between acoustic and electric, but he still wanted it to happen quickly. But if a string broke, or something got out of tune, he wouldn't have wanted to stop and tune it--there was too much going on, and in any case, Dylan is a man of mystery, and men of mystery cannot be bogged down by technical problems without seeming unmysterious. So Dylan, like almost every other major act besides the Dead, would have used a Guitar Tech. Dylan, however, was notoriously insular, and probably did not hang out and jam with his Guitar Tech. Nonetheless, its still at least possible that once in awhile, Nelson and Dylan sat around picking "Pretty Peggy-O." It's a nice thought, but Nelson, unfortunately, can't tell us about it.

How did David Nelson get the job as Bob Dylan's Guitar Tech, whether he had it for just a few stadium shows or months of touring? It's hard not to suspect Jerry Garcia's hand in this. And, for that matter, who was Dylan's Guitar Tech during the 1987 Bob Dylan/Grateful Dead stadium tour? I've gotta think it was Nelson. Hey--maybe Garcia, Nelson and Dylan sat around playing "Pretty Peggy-O," but I'm sure Jerry and Dave did even if Bob didn't. If Nelson was on the 1987 stadium tour, it certainly would have set the table for the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band shows that would follow later in the Fall.

After
The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band slid away in late 1988. David Nelson found himself playing with Al Rapone And The Zydeco Express, and he toured with Zydeco acts for a few years. In the early 1990s, as the Dead became more and more popular, Nelson's status and talents made him a more appealing entity, and that in turn led to the David Nelson Band and the current New Riders Of The Purple Sage. All to the good.

What about the mid-80s, though? Did Jerry Garcia secure a gig with Bob Dylan for one of his oldest friends? It sure seems like it. Maybe the historical closeness between Garcia and Dylan has a missing link, a missing link named David Nelson. Dylan has written a number of songs with Robert Hunter over the years, in itself a remarkable fact that has been lightly commented on. Everyone always sees the Garcia/Hunter connection with Dylan, and rightly so, but perhaps there is another, unseen connection between Dylan and Hunter through David Nelson. We may never know, but it's still an intriguing line of thought.