Furthur Gets Underway....

A nice intro shot of the stage, the crowd and the band entering- and a surprisingly steady shot and good sound for the whole opener: Alabama Getaway. Check this user backpackdave for tonnes of other great Bluesfest footage!

If you look closely you can see jay, Ocelot and Northern Wish in the bottom right hand- and for good stretches bouche is shooting photos from the pit in a nice normal Hawaiian shirt. 

Check it out and get Casey'd!                                                                                                                                          

Furthur at Ottawa Bluesfest

Bob Weir during Furthur's set at Ottawa Bluesfest.

by Dave Barrett

Photograph by Mike Bouchard

see the rest of the photos here

The various incarnations of bands incorporating the former members of the Grateful Dead have met with varying degrees of success over the years since 1995, however any doubts as to whether or not this latest assembly would prove to be the real deal were assuaged last night from the get-go. The lineup, featuring Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, John "Fake Jerry" Kadlecik of Dark Star Orchestra, Jeff Chimenti of RatDog on keyboards, and Joe Russo of the Benevento/Russo Duo on drums, is inspired and it was apparent throughout the show that they're very used to playing with one another and listen to one another very well. Kadlecik featured from the start, taking lead vocals for an Alabama Getaway opener which set the tone for the night (I thought Chimenti was a beast throughout this number). The pedigree of each band member was obvious and they made their tight, controlled virtuoso changes and jams seem effortless and natural. Russo in particular was grabbing the attention of many and his driving rhythms proved a refreshing change to the sometimes meandering approaches from some of his predecessors on older versions of the songs.

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