I owe Nels Cline an apology

I owe Nels Cline an apology

Suwannee Amp Jam #2 kept 5,000 faithFUL in states of delirium all weekend February 26–28. You can ready Dalia Jakubaskas’ outstanding recap here. She allowed me to write the review of the sets with Grahame Lesh, Warren Haynes, Rob Barraco, John Molo, and Nels Cline on Saturday.

My review is below, but I was completely remiss in understanding the contributions of Nels Cline, for more than two decades the guitarist in Wilco. I wrote that he made “an interesting addition as rhythm guitarist” in the Bob Weir role. What I obviously missed in concert I clearly heard and saw last night watching the superb video contributed by Jake Funkmayor (FunkCity .net), Railbird, and FunkItBlog .com.

Cline is outstanding here, start to finish, and you can see and hear his contributions properly. My apology, sir, for not recognizing that at the time.

THE REVIEW

On a day full of highlights, everyone was curious to see how Grahame Lesh, son of the late Phil Lesh, and Warren Haynes would approach their two-set feature. They brought along two of the very best at the anticipated material in Rob Barraco on keyboards and John Molo on drums. Wilco’s Nels Cline made an interesting addition as rhythm guitarist.

A nice jam gave way to the Otis Redding classic “Hard to Handle,” interesting in its approach. The set would also included Garcia’s “Liberty” and the Lesh tune “No More Do I,” with a great “Passenger” sandwiched in between. A masterful take on “Cumberland Blues” segued perfectly into “Pride of Cucamonga” (Lesh, From the Mars Hotel) with a massive “New Speedway Boogie” stuffed inside.

Wow! How would set two unfold? Master magicians were at work!

Another fine jam introduced favorite “St. Stephen,” leading to another jam and a different view to “The Eleven.” Haynes was in peak form, and Lesh matched up well with Molo’s great experience. There was another jam, and it seemed certain they were heading into “Bird Song”… before they deftly swerved into… “Dark Star”!

That magic continued until “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” presented itself! Barraco was on fire all evening, his piano work particularly outstanding. “Low Spark” drifted into “Space,” then… is that “Mr. Charlie”? NOPE! “Viola Lee Blues,” and that turned jazzy, then back into “Dark Star” before concluding finally with “Viola Lee Blues.” Jaw-dropping.

Time left? You bet! Jennifer Hartswick joined on vocals on a tight “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad,” which also included her on a fine trumpet solo. And then: pure magic. “And We Bid You Goodnight.” Incredible.

[ONE: Jam > Hard To Handle, Liberty, Passenger, No More Do I > Cumberland Blues, Pride of Cucamonga > New Speedway Boogie > Pride of Cucamonga; TWO: Jam > St. Stephen > The Eleven, Dark Star > The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys > Viola Lee Blues > Dark Star > Viola Lee Blues; E: Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad, And We Bid You Goodnight]