On Furthur

On Facebook, a friend asked what her Deadhead friends thought about John Kadlecik from the Dark Star Orchestra playing lead guitar with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir in their new band Furthur. Here's what I wrote in response to her question:

I've listened to all the Furthur shows on the archive, and at times Kadlecik does an excellent Jerry (one particular example is "Sugaree," where he's got the phrasing and fluidity of Jerry's signature runs for that song down). But he's at his best when he does something completely different than what Jerry usually did (there are several brilliant ... See Moreversions of "Candyman") or when he plays something Jerry rarely or never played ("Unbroken Chain" or Ratdog tunes or the Ryan Adams tunes).

But for me, the highlights of Furthur shows are, over and over again, Jeff Chimenti's piano solos (especially on "Unbroken" and "Eyes of the World").