WERS 88.9 fm performance wrap-up: further @ nateva fest

By Jeffrey Roberts
7.7.10

The act that finalized the four-day Nateva Festival in Oxford, Maine, was the Grateful Dead super-group “Furthur.” The group is made up of remaining Grateful Dead members, bassist Phil Lesh and guitarist Bob Weir, with drummer Joe Russo of the Benevento-Russo duo, lead guitarist John Kadlecik (who the group “borrowed” from Dead cover band Dark Star Orchestra) and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti of Ratdog.

The band took the stage around eight p.m., opening with the energetic “Celebration,” which raised spirits and inspired immediate dancing from the crowd. While the sunset created a beautiful image in the sky—looking like a volcano erupting and a waterfall flowing off of a cliff at the same time—Furthur broke out a longtime staple of the Grateful Dead’s repertoire: “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo.” The group nailed the song with the utmost perfection, and the energy in the crowd was in complete harmony under the deep red sky. This was definitely the high point of the show for many.

Further closed the first set with a rockin’ performance of the popular song “Casey Jones,” and the song’s loud and vibrant ending was enough to keep the fans content throughout set break.

The group’s second set was packed with old fan-favorites. As Kadlecik picked the first notes of the classic Dead song “St. Stephen,” huge grins appeared on the faces of all in attendance. The guys also played “Dear Mr. Fantasy” (written by the band Traffic) which segued into a beautiful, dead-on version of “Eyes of the World.” Further ended the second set with “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad,” into “We Bid You Good Night” singing to the crowd, “I love you, but Jesus loves you the best, and I bid you good night…”

However, no one was ready to go to sleep as the musicians left the stage. Instead, everyone stood around cheering, howling, and clapping in complete bliss over the performance they had just witnessed. After a few minutes, Phil Lesh returned to the stage for his standard “Donor rap,” telling his personal tale of his life-saving organ transplant, and urging the audience to become organ donors. Moments later the rest of the band joined Phil on stage and they appropriately began playing “U.S. Blues.” A few people in the audience had American flags and were waving them as the crowd bellowed in unison with the band, “Wave that flag, wave it wide and high!” When the music finally subsided fireworks filled the night sky in celebration of Independence Day. The moment was pure magic, and the grand finale marked the end of an amazing day in music history.

Images by Lindsay Tucker