Phil Lesh & Friends Slip "Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah" into Dead Classic
A Hanukkah show needs a Hanukkah song.
So thought acoustic guitarist Dan Lebowitz as he led Phil Lesh & Friends into an instrumental rendition of "Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah" as the band performed the Grateful Dead's "New Speedway Boogie" during its Dec. 4 Hanukkah concert inside a tent at Terrapin Crossroads.
It was an appropriate space for the number, coming as it did inside the Dead's brooding song about Altamont and its aftermath.
One way or another, this darkness got to give, Lebowitz, Lesh and Ross James sang before the former nudged the jam toward the paean to the Festival of Lights with licks that slowly built out of "Boogie."
It lasts for about three minutes before Lebowitz just as quickly transitions the band back into the “Speedway” for the final verse and chorus.
Captured on fan-shot video, the quality leaves much to be desired, but the spirit comes through.
12/7/18
