Rothbury 2009 looks like a go thanks to an agreement between AEG Live and A U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee that allows the concert promoter to lease the Double JJ Ranch in Michigan once again this summer.

For the last few years the promoters of Bonnaroo have successfully transformed the event’s image from Hippie Jam Fest to the nation’s best and biggest music festival. If they signed both Phish and The Dead for Bonnaroo 2009 they’d lose all the credibility with the mainstream audience they’ve worked so hard to build since 2002. The folks behind Rothbury don’t have that problem. AEG Live and Madison House embraced the jam fans and have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being the first festival to feature both bands in the same lineup.

Of course, we’ll be headed into the third trimester, but hey…a guy can dream, can’t he?

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=BgHwUccEqxM&feature=related]

• Ben told us that the upcoming Mountain Tracks would include a disc from last summers show at the LC.
• Oh, yeah. Ben. That mother was holdin’ it DOWN last night. The play between Fishman and Kauffman was intense. They both looked like they were having a blast. Geoff mentioned that it seemed like Fish was playing for the boys more than the fans. Makes sense to me!
• R&S in the first set was a glimpse of things to come.
• MONSTER jams in the second set (see setlist below). The Whipping Post and the fury that followed it were face-melting.
• 4 Hartford tunes. Awesome.
• Fishman doing his thing. There were moments reminiscent of Poor Heart, Nellie Kane, etc from the old band.
• Total eclipse of the heart moon. I believe this is the first celestial event that has occured at a show I’ve seen. I seem to recall some comet activity during a Phish show in the 90′s, but I could be am probably making that up.
• Multiple mentions of Columbus. Not in the “We Love You Springfield” Spinal Tap way, but real, heartfelt appreciation for C-bus turnouts through the years. We seem to have replaced Covington/Newport/Cincinnati as the gimme stop for Ohio on the Cabin Fever tours.

That being said, there are some real problems with the venue. The smokers pen is accessible only by walking through a brief hallway that also contains the first floor restrooms. Come setbreak, it’s a total clusterfuck. Add to the already unmanageable rush non-smoking non-peeing eclipse seekers, and it got real hairy for about 20 minutes. There needs to be a way for non-smokers to reach the toilets without being bombarded with tobacco smoke and wookie juice. LC is supposed to be a modern facility, the oversight just boggles my mind.

Without further ado, here’s the setlist from Phil (Peace/Love/ChocolateDonuts).

Note: There may have been a Floyd song in there somewhere (Eclipse?  Something else?  Nothing at all, I’m making it up?), there may or may not have been a Robot Jam out of Ten, and Jeff did “Boogie” after (I think) Cuckoos Nest:

8:22 start

No Expectations

Sideshow Blues

Rain Still Falls

Fastball

Sometimes I’ve Won

Don’t You Lean On Me

Goin’ Across the Sea

Raleigh & Spencer >

Ten (sick jam) >

Raleigh & Spencer

Troubled Mind >

20 Eyes >

Troubled Mind

—-enter Fishman (and for rest of show)—-

Crow Black
Chicken (way sweet)

East Nashville Easter

end 9:42

SET 2

begin 10:17

Steep Grade

Kentucky Mandolin (sick as usual)

Up On the Hill……

Cupid Shot Me Twice

Fine Excuses

I’d Like Off

Whipping Post (the roof inspector will be in tomorrow) >How ‘Bout You> Cuckoo’s Nest> Rambler > Get Me Outta Jail > Fingerprint
> Midwest Gospel Radio >2 Hits >Rambler

E: Girlfriend is Better

 

04/23/77
Springfield Civic Center – Springfield, MASet 1:
Sugaree
Cassidy
Loser
New Minglewood Blues
Row Jimmy
Me And My Uncle
Ramble On Rose
It’s All Over Now
Scarlet Begonias
Fire On The Mountain
Set 2:
Estimated Prophet
Bertha
The Music Never Stopped
Help On The Way
Slipknot!
Franklin’s Tower
Around And Around
Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad
Not Fade Away
Encore:
One More Saturday Night

The original is available at the LMA here.

We had a great time with some friends, and I bumped into an old friend from high school.  Today we’re off to spend a few days in the woods down in Hocking Hills, so don’t expect me to be posting (not like I would be anyway!)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa6fVZP4eEQ]

You can download prior meetings at the Live Music Archive here. Here’s the setlists (via PT) from the previous shows with Jon:

10/06/07 Congress Theater, Chicago, IL
The Wood Brothers opened
Kinfolk Celebration 2007
Set I: Peace Of Mind, River, Rambler’s Anthem, Rain Still Falls, Half Moon Rising, If There’s Still Ramblin’ in the Rambler (let him go)> On the Run> Finally Saw The Light> On the Run> If There’s Still Ramblin’ in the Rambler (let him go), What’s Going On In The Head Of That Woman, No Expectations, Midwest Gospel Radio¹, Death Trip¹
Set II: Steep Grade Sharp Curves¹, Kentucky Mandolin¹, How ‘Bout You?¹, King Ebenezer Rap¹, Fingerprint¹, I’d Like Off¹, Fine Excuses¹, New Deal Train¹, Crow Black Chicken¹, Classic Situation¹, Girlfriend Is Better¹, 2 Hits and The Joint Turned Brown¹
Encore: Hit Parade Of Love¹, Catch A Criminal¹

¹ with Jon Fishman on drums

(Click picture to enlarge)

09/01/07 Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO Set I: Angel, The Bolton Stretch, If There’s Still Ramblin’ in the Rambler (let him go)> Only A Northern Song> If There’s Still Ramblin’ in the Rambler (let him go), Town, Free To Run> Spanish Harlem Incident, Half Moon Rising, Red Bird, Night Out, Looking Back Over My Shoulder> Snow on the Pines> Boatman Set II: On the Run> High Cross Junction> On the Run, Death Trip, New Deal Train1, Southbound1, Just The Same1, Funtime1, I’d Like Off1, Cuckoo’s Nest1, Classic Situation1, Girlfriend Is Better1> Robot Jam1> 2 Hits and The Joint Turned Brown1 Encore: Crow Black Chicken1, Ooh La La11 with Jon Fishman on drums (Dukemesh)

09/02/07 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO Rodrigo Y Gabriela and Todd Snider opened First time headlining Red Rocks, sold out show Set I: No Expectations, Sometimes I’ve Won, Maid of the Canyon, Rain Still Falls, New Horizons> Holding> New Horizons, 40 Miles from Denver, Idaho, Finally Saw The Light, How ‘Bout You?1, Kentucky Mandolin1> Steep Grade Sharp Curves1 Set II: Ten> Follow Me Down To The Riverside> Ten, Damned If The Right One Didn’t Go Wrong1, Fine Excuses1, Catch A Criminal1, Midwest Gospel Radio1, Fingerprint1> King Ebenezer Rap1, Mother’s Only Son1, Keep on Going Encore: Sidewalk Stars1, East Nashville Easter11 with Jon Fishman on drums (Dukemesh)

Paul McGuinness, long-time manager of rock band U2, on Monday launched a verbal attack against illegal music downloaders, as well as internet service providers, device makers, Silicon Valley and even hippies in a speech at a conference in France.

“There are plenty of private equity fund managers who are Deadheads,” he said, a reference to hippy icons The Grateful Dead. “And embedded deep down in the brilliance of those entrepreneurial, hippy values seems to be a disregard for the true value of music.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHSnE8raC0U]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCgrG35-3js]

Via Xeni @ BoingBoing who caught it from Kent @ Ask A Ninja.  Whew.