PHIL AND FRIENDS ARE DOING DEAD RIGHT CHICAGO TRIBUNE By Michael Parrish Special to the Tribune October 20, 2000 If Jerry Garcia was arguably the heart of the Grateful Dead, bookish bassist Phil Lesh was clearly its mind. Lesh, with his training in classical music and jazz, was the major impetus behind the Dead's shift from a relatively conventional folk-blues ensemble into what became the prototype for today's jam bands. After having a liver transplant nearly two years ago, and parting ways with the Other Ones (the band made up of most of the other surviving members of the Dead), Lesh has maintained a busy touring schedule with his own band, Phil and Friends. After playing the Chicago area twice recently in package tours with Bob Dylan, Lesh has returned to a familiar pattern by taking up a four night residency at the Riviera that began Wednesday night. Although Lesh's band has had a revolving cast, it has stabilized, at least for this tour, into a tight quintet. The two guitarists, Warren Haynes and Jimmy Herring, have both logged time in the Allman Brothers, although never at the same time. Keyboardist Rob Barraco was, until recently, a member of the Zen Tricksters, the New York jam band that began life as the Cadillac of the Dead cover bands. Drummer John Molo, the single constant in Lesh's bands, is a stoic, versatile percussionist who worked for years with Bruce Hornsby and has also logged time with the Other Ones and Planet Drum. For the first of two lengthy sets Wednesday, the musicians played like they had something to prove. Whereas previous incarnations of Phil and Friends jammed continuously, and sometimes aimlessly, this group spent more time playing songs than simply improvising. The two guitarists played off each other spectacularly, whether Haynes' beefy slide tone was playing in counterpoint to Herring's equally aggressive lead picking or the two were playing intricate harmonies. Lesh was equally energized by the guitarists' interplay, leading the ensemble with booming, yet tasteful bass lines. The group was also miles ahead of previous Phil and Friends incarnations vocally. Although Lesh is an expressive vocalist, his range is limited, so the presence of Haynes' throaty growl and Baracco's smooth, choirboy tenor provided welcome variety among the lead vocals. As might be expected, the group's principal focus was the Dead's repertoire, although the tunes were given new life by tasteful touches like Baracco's barrelhouse piano on "Tennessee Jed" and the guitarists' soaring instrumental harmonies introducing the coda of "Half Step Mississippi Uptown Toodeloo." The first set ended with a dynamic medley beginning with Lesh singing "Cold Rain and Snow." Generally one of the Dead's more docile tunes, this version was rendered at a ferocious tempo driven by Haynes' snarling slide. Next, Haynes delivered an equally stinging vocal on "Smokestack Lightning" that led into Baracco's passionate rendition of "Bertha" that left the often taciturn band members with big smiles on their faces. By creating a distinctive group chemistry of their own based on strong individual musical personalities, Phil and Friends are successfully bringing new life to the Dead's voluminous canon.