I think Trey is a great choice. Scofield would have been *amazing* but sad to say, he isn't famous enough. Kimock is too derivative and maybe too tentative. I saw Further with John K and he was good, but couldn't/wouldn't stand up to Phil or Bobby musically, so whenever he played something hot and was going to take the jam somewhere, either Bobby or Phil would "yank the chain" and he would capitulate. Trey won't. He has the stature and self-confidence to persist in his challenges. I think his stature alone will keep Bobby and Phil from trying to reign him in / second guess his choices as much as they did with John K.
One thing I was impressed with was Phil's singing, which was pretty good. Considering what he used to do while singing, it was freakin' amazing! But if he has to sacrifice his adventurous jam sensibility to sing well I will take bad singing/fun jams. He really rained on John K's parade a lot when I saw them. But they nailed all of the tricky, and very cool, musical transitions and segues. I was almost like, "Who is this band?" I really missed the wandering spaces where different members would play references to different songs and the band would spin trying to find the next tune. How adventurous was that? Just a small part of what I loved.
Warren Haynes - I don't get it at all. He's not to my taste, I don't like Govt Mule, but in the Dead he is so amazingly out of place it's cringe-worthy. Ouch.
Anyway, to anyone who's going, have a great set of shows! In a way you're standing in for millions who can't make it. They are the millions who made up, at one time or another, one of the most important audiences in the history of rock 'n roll, if not the most important. An audience that had a deep, intimate two-way love affair with the band, and that the band really appreciated, loved, and played for.
