Our Road to Furthur at Bethel Woods, NY

   I've always liked the music of the Grateful Dead and wanted to take my daughter to see the latest incarnation of the band while they're still around. We got tickets to see Furthur, a band that includes Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead,  at the Mann Center in Philly. Philadelphia is only about an hour away, so it was supposed to be a quick easy show to attend.

Photo courtesy of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

"Bethel Woods is a new facility with great sound quality. It's

 located in a nice rural setting of rolling hills, woods, and lakes

 between the Pocono Mountains of PA and the Catskills of NY."

   The night before we were supposed to go to the show, my car broke down. It had to be towed and took nearly a week to fix. I was disappointed, but a little part of me was happy to stay in the AC. The news was forecasting temperatures with heat indices of 115 F. It was still supposed to feel like 100 F by showtime.

   With my mind set on going to a show, I bought tickets for the next closest venue, Bethel Woods, New York. I'm glad I did. Bethel Woods is a new facility with great sound quality. It's located in a nice rural setting of rolling hills, woods, and lakes between the Pocono Mountains of PA and the Catskills of NY. One of the best things about ending up seeing Futhur in Bethel rather than in Philly; the temperature difference. The high for the day was about eighty degrees and temps at show time were in the mid seventies (24 C). There were some passing showers, but I'll take that over boiling my body fluids in Philly. The downside of not going to Philly; they played some great stuff.

Philadelphia Setlist 7/7/2012

Set I. Truckin' > Nobody's Fault But Mine>

Fire on the Mountain, Cassidy, Peggy-O

Tennessee Jed, My Brother Esau, Deal

Set II. China Cat > Rider, Dark Star >

Caution > St. Stephen, Unbroken Chain,

Dear Prudence, The Wheel, Goin' Down the Road >

We Bid You Goodnight E: One More Sat. Night

   Our seats for the Bethel show were right up front. I'm usually in the back and I was pretty excited to be able to actually see the artists. I think my daughter, who's sixteen, was a little overwhelmed at first by the volume and the people dancing crazily around us. After the break, she relaxed a little and began to enjoy the music and the atmosphere. It probably helped that she recognized her first song of the show, Terrapin Station, at the start of the second set.

   The band played with a lot of energy and only took one pause from playing, the entire second set.

Bethel Woods Setlist 7/15/2012

Set I. Cold Rain and Snow, Two Djinn,

They Love Each Other, Black Throated Wind,

Ramble on Rose, Help on the Way > Slipknot >

Franklin's Tower

Set II. Lady with a Fan > Terrapin Station >

Estimated Prophet > Supplication >

Eyes of the World > The Eleven >

Standing on the Moon, At a Siding,

Terrapin Flyer E: Samson and Delilah

   A few photos from the Bethel Woods show. The venue does allow cameras, but doesn't allow photos to be taken during the show. I did snap a few, but they didn't turn out well anyway. These are a few from before and after the concert. Click on any picture to enlarge it.

My vegetarian daughter was excited to see this and snapped a pic

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts July 15, 2012

Finding our seats before the Furthur show

Guitars on stage before Furthur concert 7/15/2012

Phil Lesh, Furthur's Bassist, tuning up before the show

Leaving the amphitheater after the Furthur concert

   Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is located on the grounds of the original Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. There's a monument to mark the spot of the 1969 stage and a Woodstock Museum on the grounds. I didn't check out the museum because I didn't want to pay the $30 ticket fee. In hindsight, I guess it would have been cool to check it out, since I was there.

Woodstock Monument. Photo courtesy of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

- Related Post: Mountain Jam, Hunter Mountain, NY

- More about Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, including museum and concert info