I read about this show shortly after it was announced; ski season was still in full swing.  A late June evening on the lawn at Tanglewood with the wife and kids listening to Warren Haynes, the most ubiquitous guitar player in rock and blues play with the Boston Pops behind truly sounded like something right up my alley.

Jerry Garcia, his music and the Grateful Dead have been my favorites since what would today be called your ‘tween years.  I was lucky to have a brother four plus years my senior, which gave me access to 100′s of multiple soundboard tapes that my brother’s friend’s older brother had through some kind of “inside source.”  The days before cd’s, the internet and archive.org.

I’ve also been a fan of classical music since college when I saw the NY Philharmonic in 2 outdoor shows one summer.  Fast forward a quarter century and I am lucky enough to have a subscription to the New York Philharmonic and get to see one of the world’s greatest orchestras in Lincoln Center a few times each season.  But, in my opinion, nothing matches seeing a live orchestra outdoors.

That leads to Tanglewood.  It had been about 12 years or so since I had last been there.  It still looked precisely as I remembered.  Green, beautifully manicured and expansive.   The photo below (which does not do the place justice) shows one of the back lawns that overlook Stockbridge Bowl and the Berkshire Mountains.

I think Tanglewood may be my favorite outdoor venue.  There is something magical about the way the hedges frame the great, grand, green lawns (did I mention the place is very green?), which seem to be everywhere your eye can see….even the parking lots are grass!

I figured the show would get a good turn-out; most of the people at our motel which was in the next town 20 minutes from the venue, were there for the show.  There was a queue of cars to enter that took about 10 minutes to get through.  However, luck had it that we got a spot right near the entrance, which made for a bit of a hike carrying our dinner and all of our picnic accoutrements, but it made for a great, quick exit after the show when the girls were tired.

We found a nice roomy space on the lawn about 20-30 feet behind the band shell. There was also a large PA in front of us slightly hidden hy one of the many old grand, trees that line the property. Our location was quite well chosen once the music started as we were able to hear the orchestra very well through the PA and there was a large video screen with close-ups of the stage that was located just inside the rear of the bandshell that was easily seen from our place on the lawn.

The band was basically a trio, Warren Haynes on guitar, Jeff Sipe on drums and Lincoln Schleifer on bass.  There were also two female backup singers and then, of course, the full Boston Symphony Orchestra behind.  Warren sounded great and since he was playing Wolf, Jerry’s first custom Doug Irwin guitar, that he played from 1973-1974, 1977-1978 and then again for a period in 1989, his playing sounded remarkably like Jerry’s.

Jerry playing Wolf in, I believe 1974, in front of the Wall of Sound.

The crowd was totally psyched and they opened with Darkstar Intro into Birdsong.  (Video was found on Youtube)

Keith Lockhart, the conductor of the Boston Pops, was wearing a loud, bright tie dyed shirt and you could easily tell (as you can on the video) that he was totally into the music and enjoying himself.  People were standing and dancing, which if you’ve ever been to Tanglewood to see the Pops, is highly unusual as normally you’d be accosted and told to sit down and stay quiet.  However, the typical gourmet picnics were definitely still out in full force on the lawn.

The show was truly magical.  Numerous times throughout the show, I found myself dancing and grooving to Warren on guitar playing soulfully, sounding like Jerry and then all of a sudden you could hear the orchestra.  The strings and horns, fully orchestrated in the background, was just a spectacular aural experience for someone like me who loves Jerry Garcia and is also a fan of classical music.

Overall, this was one of the top 10 shows I have ever seen.  Oh, and Saturday, June 22, 2013 was also the night of the years’ SuperMoon.  The full moon when the moon is  closest to the earth which only made the night that much more spectacular.

The Setlist:
Darkstar intro
Birdsong
Crazyfingers
Russian Lullabye
Scarlet Begonia
Shakedown Street
Morning Dew

Second Set:
Mission in the rain
High time
Uncle john’s
Jam
West LA Fadeaway
Standing on the Moon
Terrapin Station
Slipknot
Terrapin Station
E.
Ship of Fools

Here’s another video that I found on youtube.  The person who recorded it, IMHO, did a great job and has a youtube channel with great music, which can be found here:
Sousa’s Youtube Channel