wickedflea | fuck it, I still don't get it

All right, I went to another Phil Lesh & Friends show tonight in Wallingford. I saw them back in April and was a bit perplexed. The intervening few months haven't helped. I've gone to see this band twice because Warren Haynes is playing with them, and of course Warren is a total badass. But after going to two concerts and listening to several live shows I've accumulated on CDR, I've accepted the fact that this band basically bores the shit out of me. I gave the Dead thing a fighting chance, and I'm still not going to dismiss it as total shit because I hate when people do that to music I like, but I'm afraid I'm done with it. I guess I prefer music that hits you like an icepick in the forehead, or really grabs you emotionally somehow. This does nothing for me.

Another thing that's frustrating about Phil & Friends is that the musicians are all monsters. OK, except maybe for Phil. (He plays his ass off, but I'm not at all convinced that he knows what he's doing.) The guitarists are amazing, the keyboard player is quite impressive, and drummer John Molo is a fucking beast. I swear, that dude could play for Slayer -- double bass and everything. (The Slayer thing is high praise coming from me.)

So why, oh why, can't these talented musicians use their skills for EVIL, for crying out loud? I just don't get it.