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Jerry Garcia Band
After Midnight: Kean College, 2/28/80
(Rhino)
The Music Box's #5 specialty package for 2004
First Appeared in The Music Box, October 2004, Volume 11, #10
Written by John Metzger
By the time the Jerry Garcia Band descended upon Kean College in Union, New
Jersey on February 28, 1980, it was quite different from the ensemble that last
had played within the borders of the Garden State nearly two years earlier. In
fact, other than the collective’s namesake, only bass player John Kahn remained.
Gone was backing vocalist Maria Muldaur, who left shortly after the concerts in
Passaic. Gone, too, was drummer Buzz Buchanan as well as the husband and wife
team of Keith and Donna Godchaux, all of whom departed when Jerry Garcia and
Merl Saunders reunited in the short-lived group Reconstruction. In their place
stood Ozzie Ahlers — a well-respected keyboard player whose prior experience
included stints with Van Morrison and Jesse Colin Young — and a relatively
unknown but wholly competent drummer named Johnny De Foncesca. Despite the early
stages of its development, however, the quartet had coalesced considerably
between the time of its Bay Area debut in October 1979 and its East Coast tour
in February 1980. This lean, mean variation of the touring troupe is showcased
beautifully on the superb, three-disc collection After Midnight, which
features the entirety of both the early and late shows at Kean College’s Wilkins
Theater.
Like its earlier incarnations, the newly refurbished Jerry Garcia Band milked
every last drop of inspiration from its material, never setting aside a groove
until every perceivable permutation had been explored. What was quite different
from its predecessors, however, was that the initial moments of its songs didn’t
meander anywhere near as frequently. While the relaxed, easy-going ambience of a
friendly jam session remained, there was also a fire that burned of its own
accord within the collective’s belly, one that didn’t require constant fanning
by the group’s sturdy leader to keep it lit. In essence, the ensemble had
matured, and as its audience grew, it began to incorporate a greater air of
professionalism into its inherently ragtag disposition.
Fans undoubtedly will fawn over the brilliantly intertwined medley of J.J.
Cale’s After Midnight and The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby, and with
good reason, because the Jerry Garcia Band’s pristine performance of this pair
of classic rock chestnuts was utterly unassailable. Propelled by a percolating
rhythm and laced with disco-ish keyboard effects, the former tune began as a
lively but casual stroll. Nevertheless, it gradually mutated into a more intense
gait until, ripped from its moorings by the steely slices of Garcia’s glittery
guitar solo, the melody freely drifted into a heady space reminiscent of the
Grateful Dead’s Feel Like a Stranger. The instrumental rendition of
Eleanor Rigby that emerged from these turbulent waters was surreal, and its
strangely harmonious hybridization of the title track’s perky groove with its
own psychedelic edge served as quite the compelling concoction. The shift back
into After Midnight was equally effortless, and the penetrating peals
unleashed by Garcia whipped the final jam into a frothing frenzy.
Good as this segment was, however, there were plenty of other equally
momentous highlights to the evening. Anchored by Kahn’s zealously rumbling bass
and colored by Ahlers’ cosmic bursts of synthesizer, Catfish John and
The Harder They Come adopted a newfound sense of urgency that added copious
amounts of fuel to spark Garcia’s searing lead. Other lofty peaks included the
blistering bite of Tore Up over You, the wickedly soulful funk of
That’s What Love Will Make You Do, and the soaring, sunny spirit of I’ll
Take a Melody. Even though there are better renditions of How Sweet It Is
(to Be Loved by You) and Simple Twist of Fate to be found within
Garcia’s estimable canon, both of the interpretations from Kean College were
remarkably solid.
For certain, the closest thing to a weak moment came at the hands of a pair
of tunes (Tiger Rose and Promontory Rider) sung by longtime
Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, but even on these folk songs, the group
sprinkled a dose of stealthy insurgence. Consequently, from the steady-rolling
saunter of Sugaree to the somewhat off-kilter, but no less potent version
of Midnight Moonlight, these concerts not only crackled with combustible
spontaneity, but they also glowed with an amiable charm that was simply
irresistible. Indeed, After Midnight is a near-perfect glimpse at the
joyous enthusiasm with which Garcia approached his multi-faceted, music-making
life outside the realm of the Grateful Dead.  ½
After Midnight is available from Amazon.com.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004
The Music Box
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