Midland Theatre Hosted Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. Live on Tour
Fans packed out Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland to catch Bob Weir—legendary singer-songwriter, guitarist and founding member of the Grateful Dead—perform live in concert on March 5, 2023. The line stretched clear around the building on Main, past the local street vendors with their tie-dye shirts and up 13th Street to where last-minute buyers were trying to snag the final remaining tickets. Dubbed Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros., the band consists of Don Was (double bass), Jay Lane (drums), Jeff Chimenti (keyboards) and Barry Sless (pedal steel). It also features The Wolfpack, a string and brass quintet, for an added orchestral touch.
The night boasted two separate and fairly distinct sets approximately 70 minutes each with the first seeming a bit more psychedelic and the second a bit more on the funky side. They of course included a load of Grateful Dead songs, but also Bob Weir solo tunes and some from his former band RatDog plus a couple of covers too. It was a seated show, but you would never know it as the crowd stood throughout its entirety. The revered mood music had fans swaying side to side, a pretty sweet sight as the strobe lights bounced off all the heads. One can only imagine a completely different experience of throwing our heads back in our seats, closing our eyes and just letting the music take us away.
With such an expansive discography from which to pull, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. features a completely exclusive setlist each and every night on tour. The Deadheads of Kansas City—and all those who traveled in droves—were blessed to witness the band perform Grateful Dead favorites such as “Lost Sailor,” “Saint of Circumstance” and “Shakedown Street.” The jamming was most definitely out of this world. With such incredible musicianship and an average Grateful Dead song length of nine minutes, the instrumentals of each tune were forged into our souls. We could have left on an absolute high after that cover of Chuck Berry’s “Around and Around,” but Bobby Weir & Wolf. Bros made sure to send us floating out the doors after closing with “U.S. Blues.”
Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. Setlist at The Midland on March 5, 2023:
Set 1
“Samson and Delilah” (Grateful Dead), “My Brother Esau” (Grateful Dead), “Friend of the Devil” (Grateful Dead), “Even So” (RatDog), “October Queen” (RatDog), “Greatest Story Ever Told” (Bob Weir), “Lost Sailor” (Grateful Dead) and “Saint of Circumstance” (Grateful Dead)
Set 2
“Jack Straw” (Grateful Dead), “Shakedown Street” (Grateful Dead), “Looks Like Rain” (Bob Weir), “Eyes of the World” (Grateful Dead), “What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye), Wharf Rat” (Grateful Dead) and “Around and Around” (Chuck Berry)
Encore – “U.S. Blues” (Grateful Dead)
