When The Other Ones, the band comprised of most of the remaining members of the Grateful Dead, plus a few well-chosen musicians, finished a 25 show tour Saturday at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Ca., they did not play a very good show. They played a *great* one.

In fact, the name The Other Ones is very misleading. By the time drummer Billy Kreutzman -- who was not part of the touring unit this summer -- hit the stage to join in the festivities, it was clear these are not "other ones" at all. These are the same ones. The same guys that have been at it for thirty years as the Grateful Dead. There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert -- except maybe a concert by The Other Ones.

That much was obvious before one even entered the venue, in fact. DeadHeads claim and reconfigure public space when they gather, turning dusty parking lots into small towns, replete with very busy shopping strips and drum circles in the grass islands, with bus and RV parks and suburban style tailgate picnic areas. While this subculture is far larger and more encompassing than just the Dead crowd or the improvisational music scene, Dead shows -- and now shows by The Other Ones -- provide flash points for manifesting that subculture. The spirit was at Shoreline in full and wonderful force. The Shoreline was DeadHead space this weekend.

In such an electric atmosphere it is no wonder that The Other Ones were able to work their magic so completely. The Other Ones declared this show a party with the opener, "U.S. Blues." Summer tour done come and gone, my oh my. From there they were off and running into those very spaces the Grateful Dead loved to frolic in and DeadHeads love to go. "Playin' > Other One" for example.

To borrow a phrase, the boys pulled out the Vista Cruiser, not once, not twice, but for three rock solid hours.

The Other Ones had more musical fire in their bellies Saturday night than the Dead generally did in their final years. Songs like "St. Stephen > The Eleven," from early in the Dead's career -- which were more or less abandoned by the Dead, largely due to their complexity -- returned to the stage with a vengeance. "St. Stephen" in particular harkened directly back to the 1960s spirit that gave birth to the song. This was not some meandering noodle soup from the later 1970s; this was loud, edgy 1990s, in your face music. It was glorious.

There was not a single missed step all evening, in fact. The Other Ones, at eight people, are a large ensemble. This presents certain challenges, but also opportunities for the musicians. While there isn't a lot of room for any one player to dominate the spotlight, there is ample space for subtle interplay between players. The Other Ones were extremely responsive to each other, and many of the evening's highlights were be found more in the way notes weaved in and out of each other than in the way any one instrument stood apart from the mix solo. It's been said before, but the whole is *way* greater than the sum of the parts.

There was obviously a lot of mutual respect and admiration between the members of this group of artists, just as there is between the musicians and the crowd. That much was clear by the way it seemed that the audience played the music and the music played the band.

Melodies and one beats became more obvious by the notes omitted than the notes played. That's when it is really good. It was really good a lot. That music, and that scene, had soul.

Guitarists Bob Weir, Mark Karan and Steve Kimock, Dave Ellis on saxophones from alto to baritone, Bruce Hornsby on piano and organ, and Phil Lesh on bass, danced notes all over the poly-rhythmic palette of sound rhymatists Mickey Hart, John Molo, and for a time, guest Billy Kreutzman, laid down. And the vocals tended towards excellence too.

The first drums segment of Billy Kreutzman and Mickey Hart in over three years was a highlight, as was the way Steve Kimock *shredded* on "Lovelight," leaving even guest Jorma Kaukonen laughing in awe. Kimock was particularly strong all night in fact, on everything from blistering electric guitar leads to sweet and mournful lap steel passages. But all the musicians were on, whether Karan's tasty guitar licks, Hornsby's unique blend of jazz, classical and pop techniques and sweet vocals, Lesh's style, which puts the guitar back into the idea of bass guitar, or Ellis' superb combination of jazz improvisation skills and rock thrills. "China > Rider" and "Corrina" killed, "Aiko" put the party into New Orleans for a time, "Down The Road" delivered the elegy, while "Banyan Tree," "Ramble On Rose," and "Wharf Rat" provided the parables. "Preacher In The Ring" featured a little angel with wings dancing and flying around the stage. Play another one? Ok. "Playin' > Other One" reprise. And all that other stuff. It was all good.

It was all great. We will not only get by, we will not only survive, we will thrive.

The Other Ones will surely find enough excellent material for the live CD they hoped to record in this tape alone. Since the other nights of this tour were reported to be consistently just as good, deciding what to leave off the release should be the only potential hard part about the process of that project. That, and resisting the temptation to do much to the tapes in post-production. This stuff worked just as it was. Don't mess with it too much, gentleman. Just put it out there. The music speaks for itself.

Rusted Root opened the show. If one has only heard Rusted Root's second album, the one produced by Jerry Harrison, one has never heard Rusted Root. (All CDs produced by Jerry Harrison sound like Jerry Harrison CDs, not CDs by the group he's producing. Ask Poi Dog Pondering.) But Rusted Root played a good one hour set to an almost empty house. Fine world beat inspired rock from the Pittsburgh based jam unit, though the sound mix was poor in the house during it. Still they were great fun to dance to. I will go see them again.

Hot Tuna was next up, and when they are on they are impossible to ignore. Hot Tuna was on. Excellent blues based rock from Jorma Kaukonen (g, v), Jack Cassady (b), Michael Falzarano (g) and Pete Sears (k). Sears' keyboard work adds a dimension to Hot Tuna that has me liking the group's music now more than ever. Sears knows no limit between playing inside or outside. And when he goes outside he stays there, creating hurricane force gales of sound before dropping back into the groove, and other times tickling just a few keys at time to create a New Orleans meets San Francisco vibe that is delicious. Dave Ellis joined Tuna for a brief stint as well, which also made for some fine sounds.

All in all this Shoreline performance of The Other Ones was a grand time filled with fantastic music, a great scene, and many an old friend happy see each other. The music is fresh and meaningful. This is one of the few big concerts -- and when the Shoreline is filled to capacity with over 20,000 happy fans, it is a big concert -- that still makes sense to me.

Others can pick the nits about which solo could have been more pronounced, what the look on so-and-so's face meant, and all that other stuff. For me, the bottom line is this: Let's hope that's not it for The Other Ones. Let's do it again real soon. With the same ones. The Other Dead, The Grateful Ones, or whatever they want to call it, is alright with me.

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Copyright © 1998 Timothy Lynch