2020/8/9 Deadgrass @ Woodbridge HS
As Mayor John McCormack understands it, Woodbridge, NJ is the best town in America. Right now, I’m inclined to agree. With over fifty (50!) free concerts being held this summer on a socially distant field behind Woodbridge High School, there’s definitely not much competition for that level of cool. Raising his community’s spirits through his love of live music, there’s literally a band five nights a week for ten straight weeks — all free — plus the occasional paid benefit on off nights. Hey John, if ya want to run for president … just sayin’.
So now I’ve been to Woodbridge HS more times in the last month than at any point in my entire life. That’s somewhat misleading as, truth be told, I hadn’t been there ever until the first free concert a month or so back. But I digress.
This past Sunday night was a kickass show with Deadgrass, the bluegrass version of a Grateful Dead cover band. Acoustic guitar, banjo, upright bass, three men with an abundance of talent and an obvious love of bluegrass and the Grateful Dead. {Often a fiddle, too, but not Sunday. I missed it.} That pretty much tells the whole story. A huge field painted with 9 x 9 foot boxes with another nine feet between them on all sides, folks gathered in their pods as the sun began to set and the band took the stage promptly, just after 7:00 pm.
Opening with Keith Richard’s “Wild Horses”, this version more closely resembled the seventh track off of Old & In the Way album, eponymously named for Jerry Garcia’s bluegrass group with David Grisman, John Kahn, Peter Rowan, and Vassar Clements. Jimmy Cliff’s “Harder They Come” and Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” followed, which I found kind of funny since none of the first three tracks were even Garcia tunes. As a point of note, Jerry did play the first two with some regularity but to the best of my knowledge never the third — (I’m waiting to be corrected on this by a discerning reader with better information.)
Finally, a Jerry Garcia tune — written by Robert Hunter, of course — “Mission In the Rain”. Regarding this tune, I somehow manufactured the good fortune to have seen it live twice in the nine day span that encompasses the Days Between — first on 8/1, Garcia’s birthdate, and again on 8/9, the anniversary of his death. One of my favorite all time “Jerry” tunes, I also managed to share it with three of the same people as eight days prior. Good times! “Friend of the Devil”, “The Maker”, and “Alabama Getaway” offered unique bluegrass jams. “Land of the Navajo”, also from Old & In the Way, was a banjo-led jam of the highest order that took us right to a short set break. For me, especially without a fiddle on this gorgeous night, Russell Gottlieb on banjo was the show.
More of the same as the sky darkened in the second set. “Catfish John” preceded “Truckin’” > “Goin Down the Road Feeling Bad” which was not only the jam of the night, but Gottlieb’s musical segue on the banjo was something to behold. “Scarlet Begonias” ripped, the banjo’s impact never lessening one bit. During “Me & My Uncle”, I upgraded my square a few spaces as the guy behind me would simply not STFU. Funny, he was probably thinking, “this guy in front of me will just not sit down.” “Shady Grove” was, unfortunately, the only song of the night with a mandolin, and she was a beauty. “I Know You Rider” and “Ripple” closed the set before an “Iko Iko” encore sealed the deal.
Over two hours of free music in the fresh air, dancing with friends to the beautiful tunes of Deadgrass. Thank you, Mayor John!
9,894 steps … not half bad for a free show on a Sunday night!
Setlist …
One: Wild Horses, Harder They Come, Like a Rolling Stone, Mission In the Rain, Friend of the Devil, The Maker, Alabama Getaway, Land of the Navajo
Two: Catfish John, Truckin’ > GDTRFB, Scarlet Begonias, Me & My Uncle, Shady Grove, I Know You Rider, Ripple.
Encore: Iko Iko