This past weekend, Billy & the Kids pulled into Port Chester, N.Y., for a double feature billed as Daze of the Dead and spread over two nights at The Capitol Theatre. The veteran backbeat, Bill Kreutzmann, brought in tow Tom Hamilton, Aron Magner, Reed Mathis, and special guests Brad and Andrew of The Bar Brothers, who collectively ran through a plethora of first-time covers, which pulled from The Who, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and other veteran rock ensembles. 

Friday, Oct. 20, commenced with a fitting first-time song choice, a take on The Who’s 1965 anthem, “The Kids Are Alright,” representing a thoughtful pick with lyrically appropriate lines that seemingly referenced the project’s name. The group followed up with music from Kreutzmann’s Grateful Dead days with “St. Stephen.” The song served as another debut for this particular group of players, who continued with a drum-heavy display of “Eye’s on the World” prior to taking on Dylan’s “She Belongs With Me,” marking another debut. 

The ensemble dipped into the signature twang of Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried,” adding in “Jack Straw” before a first-time take on “Row Jimmy,” a staple from the Dead’s Wake of the Flood record. To cap the first frame, the band landed on a first-time take on The Rolling Stone’s yearning classic, “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” Set two started off with a bang via the drummers and an instrumental wave of rhythmic splendor, which unfolded into “Scarlet Begonias” and a debut of “Friend of the Devil,” sans its typical sister tune, “China Cat Sunflower,” instead they added “Ramble on Rose.”

Continuing with the motif of first-time plays, they added another Dylan tune, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” before closing out the second set with a roaring take on “Fire on the Mountain.” For the encore, the group debuted Eric Clapton’s original, “Lay Down Sally,” before closing the night on “Ripple.” With night one in the books, the group returned to the stage on Saturday, Oct. 21, ready to dip into additional first-time covers. Not unlike night one, the band cut into a cover from The Who, only this time, they went with “Join Together.”

Night two continued with a trio of songs from Blues for Allah, such as “Help on the Way” paired with its sister tune, “Slipknot!,” followed by “Franklin’s Tower.” They pulled out the traditional “Peggy O” and returned to Dead classics with a thumping “Brown-Eyed Women.” Next, the band delivered a first-time cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Baby Don’t You Do It.” After a run-through of Jerry Garcia’s “Sugaree,” they pulled out Tampa Red’s “It Hurts Me Too” and once again ended the set with a debut take on The Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time.” 

The latter set was a mixed bag of Dead classics and associated tunes–breaking theme was the addition of Stephen Stills’ beloved classic, “Love The One You’re With,” played for the first time. They followed with a crowd-rousing “I Know You Rider” and returned for an encore take on “Brokedown Palace” and “Touch of Grey.” Billy & the Kids will continue their Daze of the Dead stand on Oct. 31 at Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Calif., followed by a Nov. 2 gig at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, Calif. Learn more here. 

Following Billy & the Kids’ Port Chester, N.Y. stand, Kreutzmann followed up on Instagram, sharing, “I hope that everyone gets to experience the amount of joy that I did playing last night’s show. I still can’t believe that I get to do this. Thanks for being a part of it.” See below.

 
 
 
 
 
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Billy & the Kids 

The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, N.Y.

Oct. 21, 2023 

Set I: Join Together, Help on the Way > Slipknot!, Franklin’s Tower, Peggy-O, Brown-Eyed Women, Baby Don’t You Do It+, Sugaree, It Hurts Me Too, The Last Time+

Set II: Drums > Space, Morning Dew+, Uncle John’s Band, The Wheel, Crazy Fingers, Cassidy, Love the One You’re With+, I Know You Rider

Enc.: Brokedown Palace, Touch of Grey 

Notes: 

+ First time

Billy & the Kids 

The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, N.Y.

Oct. 20, 2023 

Set I: The Kids Are Alright+, St. Stephen+, Eyes of the World, She Belongs to Me+, Beat It on Down the Line, Mama Tried, Jack Straw, Row Jimmy+, Let’s Spend the Night Together+

Set II: Drums > Space, Scarlet Begonias, Friend of the Devil+, Ramble on Rose, A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall+, Fire on the Mountain 

Enc.: Lay Down Sally+, Ripple 

Notes: 

+ First time