Photo by Dino Perrucci

Oteil & Friends performed a two-night stand at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y. on Friday and Saturday night. The event featured Eric Krasno, Jason Crosby, Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, James Casey, Tom Guarna and Pete Lavezzoli. 

While most of the setlist nodded to Burbridge’s current tenure with Dead & Company and the extended Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia song catalog, the bassist did offer some material from his time with the Allman Brothers, including “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Blue Sky” during night one. 

Friday’s show got underway with the original, “Water in the Desert,” followed by four Garcia covers, beginning with everyone’s favorite love song, “They Love Each Other” and ending with a rocking rendition of “Deal.” The first set also included Oteil & the Peacemakers’ “Too Many Roads.”

Set two kicked off with a debut performance of Donny Hathaway’s “Magnificent Sanctuary Band,” followed by the Grateful Dead drummer’s classic “King Solomon’s Marbles.” Things slowed down with a heartfelt performance of Garcia’s “To Lay Me Down” and sped back up with The Allman Brother’s “Blue Sky.” 

Night two began with three Dead favorites, “Touch of Grey,” “Scarlet Begonias” and “Estimated Prophet.” The ensemble then performed a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody” before launching into Little Junior’s Blue Flames’ “Mystery Train.” Set one concluded with the Dead’s explorative, “Weather Report Suite.”

Set two included Oteil’s cover of Neal Casal’s “Superhighway,” which he contributed to the late guitarist’s tribute LP Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal. Eric Krasno also offered up “Unconditional Love” from his 2016 release, Blood from a Stone. The second set came to a monumental close with a pairing of “Terrapin Station” and “Shakedown Street.”

Encores included the Grateful Dead’s “Attics of My Life” and “Turn On Your Love Light.” The two-night performance featured many memorable moments, continuously captured by the musicians’ grins. 

Oteil & Friends

The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, N.Y. 

March 11, 2022 

Set I: Water in the Desert, They Love Each Other, Cats Under the Stars, Gomorrah, Deal, Too Many Times, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

Set II: Magnificent Sanctuary Band, King Solomon’s Marbles, No More Doubt, Can You Get To That, To Lay Me Down, Blue Sky, Eyes of the World, Morning Dew, The Golden Road, Edward The Mad Shirt Grinder 

Oteil & Friends

The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, N.Y. 

March 12, 2022 

Set I: Touch of Grey, Scarlet Begonias, Estimated Prophet, Gotta Serve Somebody, Mystery Train, Chasing, Weather Report Suite

Set II: Hot ‘Lanta, Tough Mama, Believe It or Not, Unconditional Love, Superhighway, New Potato Caboose, Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street 

Enc.: Attics of My Life, Turn On Your Lovelight