Bob Weir shines in his stripped-down trio the Wolf Broson February 28, 2020 at 9:52 pm

Every member of the Grateful Dead played a vital role in the band: Jerry Garcia was the spaced-out leader, Mickey Hart was the shamanic spiritual guide, and Phil Lesh was the giant brain. Rhythm guitarist and vocalist Bob Weir–the spry youngest member–was the group’s heart and soul. His obtuse, jazzy chord structures drove the Dead’s most mind-expanding jams, and his infectious enthusiasm and joyful playing brought out the freewheeling spirit of their best material. The 2015 reunion of the Grateful Dead revitalized interest in the band, and no member has capitalized on it more than Weir. That year he joined Hart and the group’s other longtime drummer, Bill Kreutzmann, to found the unstoppable Dead & Company (fronted by Weir and John Mayer), and in 2016 he released his first solo studio album since 1978, Blue Mountain. Over the past couple of years he’s assembled a new trio, the Wolf Bros, with Les Claypool cohort Jay Lane on drums and rock producer Don Was on bass. They’re a stripped-down group, especially compared to early-70s iterations of the Dead–which at times had up to eight members onstage–but they can tear through rock standards and Dead classics. As he settles into his 70s, Weir is shining in his late-career renaissance. v

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