by Sean Reiter
This weekend saw Bay Area fans and Deadheads from around the globe flock turn out en masse in San Francisco for a downtown Saturday celebration of Bobby Weir’s life that started with a Civic Center Plaza public memorial and continued well into the next morning with a tribute concert at The Warfield. Weir – who prolifically led (or co-led) bands including Grateful Dead, Dead & Company, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, RatDog and Further – passed on January 20th, succumbing to lung issues after surviving a recent battle with cancer.
For the man who made “One More Saturday Night” an anthem to live by, Saturday was a beautiful, poignant and heartwarming celebration. A crowd began gathering in Civic Center Plaza well before the planned starting time of 12:45 – planting roses, notes and photos at the alter set up at the edge of the Plaza near Fulton & Larkin and then grabbing their spots in front of the large stage that had been set up in front the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. The memorial began around 1 pm with a ceremonial chanting of monks as the procession arrived. Unbeknownst to many of the early arrivers, Weir’s body was in attendance for the ceremony in a hearse labeled with his nickname “Ace” on its side. While the funeral procession publicly made its way up Market Street from 7th Street, the procession additionally took Bobby on a final tour through special spots in San Francisco (Haight-Ashbury, The Warfield) before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge to his beloved Marin County.
Some highlights from the ceremony:
The day’s most memorable moment for many came form the sky near its end. As Bobby’s widow Natascha and two daughters Monet and Chloe took to the stage to deliver remarks a very unexpected red-tailed hawk suddenly took to the skies above Civic Center Plaza and soared above the crowd for the rest of the ceremony. As Chloe began her speech, Natascha caught site of the hawk, jaw dropping as she watched it circle and pointed it to Monet (you can see the exact moment in this linked video from Nugs.Net at 1:17:05).
The hawk’s significance was multi-leveled as hawks symbolize spiritual messengers and protectors in death and the red-tailed hawk is also the mascot of Tamalpais High School in Weir’s longtime hometown of Mill Valley (and no one loved Mount Tamalpais more than Bobby Weir). As the crowd honored a 108 second moment of silence (Natascha said that Bobby loved the number 108), the only sound that was heard in the plaza was the shriek of the hawk. “That’s Bobby!” many of us couldn’t help but say out loud and even Natascha told the crowd of the hawk and greeted it as Bobby. “Hello darlin’!” she exclaimed as she looked up.
John Mayer, Bobby’s bandmate in Dead & Company, made a tearful speech pointing out that the two men were born on the same date 30 years apart and talked about standing side-by-side in the music, unlikely partners in the “adventure of a lifetime for me.” “He taught me to trust in the moment and I’d like to think I taught him a little bit to rely on a plan,” Mayer joked. As Mayer choked up, he shared “Bob took a chance on me. He staked his entire reputation on my joining a band with him. He gave me musical community. He gave me this community,” Mayer said as he looked out at the estimated crowd of 25,000 and was forced to pause as he was overcome with tears.
Former Speaker of the House and longtime San Francisco Representative Nancy Pelosi gave a fun and engaging speech spotlighting her long relationshiop with Bobby and The Dead with decades of concerts. “People always ask me my favorite Grateful Dead song….I could listen to him singing “Standing on the Moon” forever. Bobby was like San Francisco “inventive, rebellious…hopeful and free.” “The world is a better place because of Bobby Weir,” she said before holding up a VOTE sign with a large “Stealie” that Bobby had given her.
Joan Baez not only gave a speech that reflected her personal connection to Bobby, but sang “Oh Freedom” after quipping “I’ve heard that once they get up there, they really don’t give a shit what goes on down here.”
“Bob would have loved this,” Mickey Hart told the crowd as he took to the podium. Hart shared the story of how Bobby had convinced him to make an ill-conceived midnight break-in to the Zoo so they could record animal sounds under the full moon. “That’s when the animals are at their loudest” Bobby told him. Trying to climb over the gate led to Bobby and Hart becoming entangled in their wires until they were rescued and released by guards – only to realize that the zoo was totally silent. “He was a true original,” Hart remarked.
After the remarks from the Weir family (and before the closing chant by the Monks), John Mayer was given an acoustic guitar and led the crowd and all of those gathered on stage in a version of “Ripple” that had many of us balancing tears and cheers. “One More Saturday Night” a Weir led-howling song that often served as either a Saturday encore or first-set closer was played over the loud speaker. The stage was filled with hugs and pats on the back while Joan Baez and Chloe Weir danced joyously stage left.
The organizers of the daytime public memorial had been very clear that it was not going to be a concert, which initially seemed strange when honoring a man who made playing music his life. But, Grahame Lesh (son of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh) and the Terrapin Crossroads alumni came to the rescue – making an announcement at 6 pm on Friday of a tribute concert at The Warfield Saturday at 9 pm called “Howling Wolves: A Tribute to Bobby Weir” with tickets going on sale one hour after the announcement. Within minutes of the 7 pm onsale, the tickets had been sold out and for many, the hunt was on.
Saturday thus became a very long, but welcome day for celebrating Bobby for those of us who attended both events. Rumors were rampant of who would or might be at the concert with the only sure thing being “Grahame Lesh & Friends”. As the night revealed itself within the songs and lineup shifts, it became clear that the theme for the night was not a “celebrities” saying goodbye, but rather the evolution of the torch as Lesh was joined by a blend of artists from Weir’s past and his more recent partners.
The initial lineup saw Lesh (Midnight North) joined by keyboardist/violinist Jason Crosby (Crosby Collective, Terrapin Family Band), bassist Oteil Burbridge , guitarist Barry Sless (Bobby Weir & The Wolf Bros, Moonalice), slide guitarist Greg Liesz (Bobby Weir & The Wolf Bros), saxophonist Dave Ellis (RatDog) and The Wolf Pack horn section (Bobby Weir & The Wolf Bros). Lesh set the tone of the night by welcoming everyone and announcing that the first song would be sung by the audience and a lusty singalong of Weir’s stated favorite song “Cassidy” began the evening.
Longtime Bay Area jam scene superstar singers Elliott Peck (Midnight North) and Sunshine Becker (Further) soon joined the ensemble. The band was joined at various times in the first set by drummers John Molo (Phil & Friends), Alex Koford (Terrapin Family Band), John Kimock (Crosby Collective, Mike Gordon), keyboardist Holly Bowling, guitarist Stu Allen (Stu Allen & Mars Hotel) and bassists Pete Sears (Jefferson Airplane, Moonalice) and Brian Rashap (The Mother Hips). Additional special guests included guitarist-singers Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz (ALO), Mark Karan (RatDog, Mark Karan’s Buds), and Reed Mathis (Billy & The Kids, Golden Gate Wingmen) and jam scene superstar Jackie Greene.
After the initial “Cassidy’ singalong, set one highlights included “Playin’ in the Band”, “Uncle John’s Band” and a Crosby-led “Estimated Prophet” that blended into Pink Floyd’s “Money” before coming back. Midway through the first set – after an extended, jammy and psychedelic “The Other One – 94-year old Ramblin’ Jack Elliott took center stage and perfomed a cover of Jimmie Rodgers’ “Waiting for A Train.” Ramblin’ Jack served as a longtime inspiration and friend of Bobby’s – joining Bobby as a special guest at many shows I attended over the years in the Bay Area.
The nearly two-hour first set was completed with Mathis taking lead vocals on “Black-Throated Wind”, Karan delivering a grinding, wailing “Minglewood Blues” and a Lesh-led “The Music Never Stopped”.
Second set saw Jackie Greene and Stu Allen sharing vocal leads on the opening “Jack Straw” that continually built momentum and provided the crowd with energy as the night passed midnight. Other second set highlights included “Dark Star”, “Terrapin Station” (along with a return to “Playin in the Band” and a traditional set-closer of “Truckin'” that briefly returned to “Cassidy.”
“Hey everyone thank you for coming and being here while we celebrate Bob…we’re going to keep this music going forever – all of us,” Lesh told the crowd when he took to the stage again for the encore. Jackie Greene led a spirited “Sugar Magnolias” that saw almost the entire group taking to the stage before “Not Fade Away” provided a fitting end to a day that nicely blended memories of the past and insight into the future.
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