I don't think Ryan's voice fits well with the band, vocal flubs are understandable, there's a lot of material to learn and each song is unique, but it sounds more like he is unfamiliar with the territory...it's one thing to forget some lyrics but he is clearly unfamiliar with the actual vocal melodies. You can tell he is reading off of a teleprompter. For a good example of this listen to Stelle Blue. Oh well.

There are great moments scattered throughout this show but if you really listen the band as a whole sounds sloppy, making sketchy and unconfident changes throuhgout. Whatever, every band has off nights and there's a lot of pressure on the musicians to NAIL each and every part to every song, especially when the majority of the audience knows the songs so well.

Good vibes and good musicianship bump this up to a three star performance. I like the recording a lot too but I am reviewing the music, not the recording.

the only problem i have with the show is I wish it was a SDB show. I cant believe people are upset that Ryan Adams didnt sing the exact same words the same way they wre originally done. Just stay home and listen to your records, captain. Its the spirit, not the song. Im a fan of Ryan Adams so I admit Im biased. Lighten up, its just people gettin together to have a good time. No one was trying to insult you. Ryan shows with the Cardinals are some of the best rock n roll shows Ive heard. I know its all subjective, so maybe Im the one who needs to lighten up. Who knows

ryan sounds good with these guys. he brings a refreshing air to the sound. funny thing, at times, when listening to live cardinals (available elsewhere on the archives), i'd heard hints of a 71 dead sound (particularly, live versions of 'what sin replaces love?').

well, after playing a spine-tingling 'easy plateau' (a fantastic piece of song craft), phil, ryan and crew launch into a space reminiscent of the grateful dead, yet a new animal of it's own. i especially appreciate phil launching into the raunch with this one. what a great line-up! i'd drive from MAINE to the rocks to catch this; if only they'd do it again.

this line-up had very few shows together in which to gell or even get wheels under 'em. impressive.

i've listened to this show a couple fo times ,overall not a bad recording i've read the comments left by folks. i liked the one from the soon to be a dad , i dont like so much the ones that argue of little tick tack differances in the show. i understand how some fans might be irritated with ryan adams constantly changing the lyrics to soot himself, but i also understand that the dead never intended for everything to be black and white. I think all those who left negative comments about the band and weren't even at the show have no room to talk, i mean we all know it's always differen't when you are really there ,energy is created tht can't be captured on a recorder, but anywho i love the show and dig jimmy herring on the guitar...i hope all the good tunes keep on comin' for us all!

man its like love or leave it. music is music you feel like your getting ripped off stay home .i flew with my pregnant wife to these shows and had great time .it seemed phil was havin s good time and everyone around us. i heard everything i wanted to hear . preety good sound on this as well . all in all love is real not fade away

I've listened to this and I think Ryan sounds pretty darn good. If you appreciate Ryan Adams and you aren't a stubborn close minded hippy, download this and/or the Fillmore show.

There are a lot of people who think highly of him, he was nominated for song of the year and album of the year for the 2006 Jammy awards. So what if he misses a few verses during this show.

I'd love to see him play with Phil more and sing more.

Quite frankly, I can't understand why you would drive extremely far distances to hear Phil SING. I wouldn't consider that one of his strong traits.

Get over it you stubborn ass hippys. Jerry is no longer with us. Oooh he missed a note! Oooh did you hear that? He said "Riding that train" instead of "Driving that train"!!!! I want Jerry wah wah wah.

Well, Captain Trip was uninspired by Ryan's attempt to ingratiate himself into the community. To be fair, though, one can hardly call Ryan Adams booze-drenched, downtrodden 'August West' music, 'pop.'

1st Set: "tune-Up" constitutes the tail end of a hypothetical 'space.' Ahhh...this is a "Spacey Jam." Immediate elevation, me likey. They stumble into a "Cold Rain." It's nicely brought to the surface if it lacks muscular girth. I'm not a fan of Ryan's vocal inflection choices. However, Phil's thumping and the intensity of the performance makes it likable. "FOTD" glides along nicely...but Ryan's weak whine is not ideal. I haven't listened to Chris Robinson with the boys yet...but why are they always unable to find a decent lead vocalist? Phil's version is certainly Not as slow as the Loggins/Messina versions post-hiatus, but it isn't the velocity of the bluegrass inflected original. The pedal steel is used to evocative effect during "Easy Plateau." It does fit into the GD type of mellow country-rock ouerve. Feedback twists out of the song...decent levels of droning insanity. finally ends into a perky, pick-me-up "Bertha." Why can't Ryan effectively spout out the words? He fares better with bright-eyed delight in the second verse. He minor-league goofs by thrusting us into the third verse without the final, 'I had to move' off the bridge...but whatever. Did I miss some stage banter? Anyways, the "Candyman's" in town. It's nothing better than standard. Phil says something...? Apparently, Ryan's guitar broke..claims to have never done anything wrong before...Phil, 'Oh, you and your cousin.' Ryan replies, "What did he say?...oh, he did? what a tool." "And oif you think about it, this is the same way the GD used to do it..screwing around after tunes." Ryan - "I think the right term is exploring...and everytime you were exploring I was thinking of naughty stuff..." and so on. "Scarlet is capably performed..wish Phil's singing voice could be as friendly as hs speaking tone. "Fire" is (Borat) 'nice' due to Jimmy's playing and a lighter rhythm section.

2nd Set: The opening "Jam" is akin to a replication of a sputtering nutcracker suite. The first verse of "Dark Star" arrives before its opening riff. Things get reasonably hairy before heading into "Sugar Mag" land. Why can't they drum it easy and breezy, it's harder to dance this way. This is where the post GD bands get their revisionist history all wrong...complicating songs with too many notes and signature changes when simplicity is all that's needed. Thankfully, "SD" fares a little better. No idea about this "Magnolia Mountain." It's passionately rendered, but as a melody, will you be humming the riff when walking home? Eventually notes form cohension and a "UJB" is born. It flows smoothly from the cup. Afterwards, they enter a sinister 'Spanish' "jam" flavorings. Then it begins to rollick, release the build-up of notes, and a sigh of relief ending with silence. Another unfamiliar tune, "Life is Beautiful." Sure, it's sympathetically offered in Ryan's compassionate minor voice. However, it hits the same chord as the other tunes, and is therefore a bathroom break. How about an old-fashioned next, Ryan? "Terrapin" is the next destination. Capably handled, the outro jam heads back into slight ethereal territory as the border is crossed back into a down-home countrified "Dark star." It reaches its rightful end, and then the awe-inspiring riff and potential beheamoth, "TOO." Rock on, hope you enjoy thunder. After eight minutes of indebted insanity, they clunk their way into the solemnity of "Stella." Ryan's heart is in the right place though some of the pedal removes the subtler aspects of isolated misery. Anyways, it's well-played and compact. Goofball time with our "China." Ryan's odd recitations continue but keen pacings maintain my glee. High speed chase during "Rider." Ryan and Phil do the 'headlight' but the crowd has to push them over the top. A short "UJB" vocal reprise, an implorment of devotion and comraderie, ends the set.

Phil does his organ donor rap and introduces the band...full rock star. Ryan starts blabbing about 'still making the apple pies up there.'
Oh...a repeat of last night, "Wharf." lame-o. better than last night...but what vanity.

3 1/3 stars

I was shocked to have driven from Oklahoma to see this show. It was pathetic...Come ON PEOPLE..if you were there you would not give this show 2 stars. The hopes were high, only to be let down by this guy Ryan who couldnt nail a SINGLE song, but his own, which were not anything to yell about. Phil didn't sing one damn song, what a let down...Ryan fucked up Bertha even, how can you do that..He forgot the "Test Me, Test Me" part, which WAS the build up to the song..JEEZ...Phil do us a favor and not bring that Ryan guy back, he didnt nail a song, guitar/vocal wise.....

Phil, You should have picked any person in the audience to come up and play ryan's part. It would have been much better and much more interesting, then to hear ryan flub EVERY SONG and to fuck up on the guitar work..Anyone in the audience could have nailed all the lyrics and so forth, get someone who LISTENS and PLAYS dead tunes, Not some guy who sings in a pop band......

MAN!! This show was excellent. After a so-so show the night before, the band really gelled at the Rocks. I took my kids to the show. My 15y/o loved it, my 13y/o was not impressed :)-.
It's funny, 25 years ago I would have never thought of this as a family outing.

One of the things I like about Phil is that he is not afraid to change the sound of his band, it's not the same sounding covers of the songs we love, but a reworking of them. This is why I believe that, in the words of my friend Scott, Phil & Friends is the best Dead cover band around....LOL. Seriously though, it's one of the reasons I would much rather see Phil then the new Dead.

I really liked the energy of the new kid, Ryan Adams and the pedal steel, gave the show a nice New Riders meets GratefulDead feel. Those of us who got in when the doors opened were treated to about 1/2 hour of soundcheck. It was real cool, very relaxed, at the end of it Ryan says, "thanks for coming and drive home safely"...LOL. Does anyone have that on tape?

The first set was solid with some great tunes and a very nice Scarlet Fire to end it. I had to laugh when a guy behind me yelled "School the new kid, Jimmy." The second set was epic with great jams and an awesome song choice. I liked the new songs too.
And to those who complain that Ryan had problems with lyrics....Helllooo!!! did you attend any GD shows after 1983?? If remembering lyrics were important to the quality of a show, there would have been very few 5 star shows from that period. It's about the music....we all know the lyrics.
As always the sound was exquisite at Red Rocks. . All in All an excellent Phil experience.

2005 has been good to Phil, and this show as well as the previous night sound like great summer nights in Colorado. The band sounds positively inspired, and the vocals are really sparked by the presence of Ryan Adams. Nice audience recording-I'm old enough to remember that I'd been happy to have such a recording of any show before board tapes were so widely available.

man it cracks me up to read people busting on Ryan Adams for flubbing the lyrics. Kinda like...hmmm...someone named...GARCIA? ;-)

In all seriousness, I think RA adds a ton of positives to the PAF flava. He can play, he can sing, he has personality (even if it's a li'l grating at times). I hear hints of 70's GD and a good bit of Neil Young when I listen to his recent live stuff, and I like it. Sure, these shows are kinda like an onstage rehearsal...but hell, that's how the Dead would've done it, probably. Lighten up, I say.

As for the flubs -- hell, everyone knows Phil sports the kind. Could you imagine being up there at the Rocks with Phil, baked out of your mind and trying to remember the words?

This pull is good, but I enjoyed the Oktava cards/DIN pull with the Waves processing the best. Thanks much to the taping army...it's a good show.

WOW, the magic of Red Rocks realy came out this summer. The day was hot but the evening air had cooled to a comfortable temperature. The environmental conditions were just about perfect. Phil & Friends were quite hot. I admit I was not that familiar with Ryan Adams prior to the Filmore show the night before, having heard only part of the 2005-06-16 show billed with the Cardinals. The new young energy that Ryan Adams brought to the Friends was refreshing. I would have liked a little more presence of Barry Sless since I have been enjoying his presence on the shows earlier this year. It was great that Rob and Jimmy were able to join Phil. The night before was uncomfortable due to the heat and smoke in the Filmore, besides being crowded on the floor. The reserve seats at Red Rocks made for a late arriving crowd and the show did start a bit late, but it was well worth the wait. Just a fine show. Pray for soundboards of this one.
The sound quality of this recording is good. Not a soundboard or matrix, but good quality for an audience recording in such a large venue as Red Rocks. This show will not disapoint those that did not get to go to Colorado this summer.
Thanks for the effort to record and upload for us to share.

Damn Ryan, hope you can remember more lyrics or learn to read better by fall tour. Musically it was pretty eye opening, but to be let down song after song kind of gets anoying. I guess this was more of an experimental situation for Phil. I love Phil and was intent on seeing a well rehearsed band, but was a little caught off guard by the amateur Ryan Adams and Friends like band that seemed to be on stage. Hope things shape up by Fall. Let's go boys!

After 200+ shows since 1973, my first outing at Red Rocks. Great show, set list, energy. I especially loved it when they lit the rocks behind the stage in red during Fire on Mtn. Phil keeps on amazing me. And Ryan is great on guitar and patter. The only difficulty, however, was Ryan's consistent messing up the lyrics. Once or twice would be tolerable -- nearly every song was painful. Let Barraco and Phil -- hell, any deadhead in the crowd -- sing until he's ready. Blessedly, he hit it right on Stella Blue. A magic night all in all. Thanks!

I wouldn't call this an excellent show, but I would hardly call it bad. As far as the most recent PLAF stuff (12-17-04 until now)it's one of the better shows. Ryan Adams adds a certain je ne se pais that makes it seem a lot more mellow than the shows with Chris Robinson. The jams have a more meandering quality that the dead have yet to recreate since the 70's in my opinion. Sound quality isnt great, maybe my opinion will be different once the soundboard is released. All in all though, good show and easy to like.

Would have been an excellent show if Ryan had bothered to learn the lyrics. People seem to overlook this, but it hurts my ears to hear him fumble the words. I know its a huge repertoire, but there are very few songs that he doesn't fumble the words. If I was young Ryan and was given the honor of playing w/ Phil and Friends I would have taken the time to figure things out. Ryan has a killer voice and he could have done a way better job. Especially so on Stella Blue. There is a Ryan Adams show in Austin (June 16th, 2005)where Phil joins him for Bird Song and Wharf Rat that sounds much better.

I love this stuff!!

incredible exploratorium of pundulent sweetness.
Phil lays it down some, jim herring kills it, ryan adams is cool with me now, passionate, meaningful stuff here, and the drums are definitely slightly better than slick. Jeff Sipe and J Herring hail from the Aquarium Rescue Unit and most certainly still have some of that Bruce unity.
This show is stellar phenomenal.
Sless on the steel makes you feel
like the real deal holyfield
from an audience participators perspective,
5 stars , could be better recordings out there, who knows, get it anyway and listen to the reworkings on some of these songs. Phil keepin da shit fresh fo yo ears! phil may be better than ever too. nahh, 69 phil, no wait, 72 europe Phil, bullshit man: everybody knows 77 winterland phil is the best, fuck that! 82 phil wreaked havoc with mega-bass bombs, what? you obviously weren't there for Dead tour summer 93!, Phil killed members of the crowd with his reverberations.
whatever, i was conceieved and birthed, in the Phil Zone.
get this anyway
its fresh, and ripe,

This was a fuckin sick show and the sets were so long! But I also deeply suggest trying to find the show on the 15th too. It was just as awesome if not more than Red Rocks- they played "He's Gone" and encored with "Ripple". Anyways though definately take a minute to listen to this Red Rocks show because Ryan Adams is fucking crazy and Phil was just as great as ALWAYS. He looks great too!

This show unfolded like single orchestral piece, bringing us through various moods, textures, peaks and valleys- all orchestrated by the Maestro, Phil Lesh. The pacing, song selection and band members were wonderfully brought together, creating a coherent musical experience. Yes, Ryan blew some vocals, but for me the overall feeling of this show was grand and satisfying, warts and all! Plus the venue was not sold out, which makes Red Rocks all the more comfy. The vibe was mellow and organic.

This recording suffers from wind issues, as the wind was swirling around the Rocks that night- hence the phase shifting. And as noted below there is a sense of distortion in the recording itself. I hope Phil offers us the board, I'd like to hear it all more clearly.

Show: 5+ (based on my personal experience)
Sound: 3 (wind can't be overcome at Red Rocks)

Sounds very good....recording levels sound good to me....The only negative about this show....Ryan Adams should learn some of the words before singing some of the songs!
Besides that this show is WORTH the DL

I always thought that i didnt like phil& friends.....but it turns out i just cant stand warren......this stuff is really good.....every show i hear of phil without warren i like.....strange....really good jams in this.....and i feel like phil doesnt just cover dead songs.....he re works them and keeps it fresh.....i take back any negitive thing i ever siad about phil and friends

Good sounding show and nice setlist. The sound quality leaves much to be desired though. Sounds distorted like you have the stereo up to loud at any sound level. Maybe try turning down the input volume when you record. Thanks for the show though :)

This recent configuration of P&F sounds great together. What I have liked about Phil over the years is to find musicians who "fit" the style and jell quickly. This pairing sounds unique, just as Trey, Kimock, Haynes and Herring et al. The recording sounds good although somewhat drum and bass heavy. What a setlist! Thanks for the upload, great job of recording!!