It was drama in the Caribbean as Dave and Friends went on to play an enormous setlist strung over nine hours in three locations. Reports are still coming in, but here are the highlights:
Dave and Tim opened around 7PM EST with a strong set, followed immediately by Dave and Friends who opened with Dodo around 7:30pm EST. A storm was brewing and began to take its toll on the concert. There was no cover over the stage, so all of the instruments and equipment were completely exposed to the wind and rain. One by one the instruments began to fail, starting with organist Ray Paczkowski, eventually the sound from percussionist Brady Blade's cymbals became distorted and more equipment began to short out.
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 Dave had a shot at a solo performance of Some Devil only to have his guitar short out, it was aborted and does not appear on the official setlist. Facing terrible weather the musicians were forced to take a break in hopes that the weather would improve. Meanwhile the audience was pounded by wind and rain causing many to quit the show and seek shelter on the cruise ships.
At approximately 10:05PM EST Dave and Tim returned to the stage to perform acoustic versions of Two Step, Old Dirt Hill and #41. One person has estimated that less than a thousand remained on the island at this point. Brady returned to help out with Warehouse, then Trey returned to close out the show with Bathtub Gin, a jam, and Waste.
Reports at this point in the evening stressed that the stage setup was totally inadequate. Over the course of the evening, message boards were fed bits of information that indicated a disaster in the works, and it did appear that the problems on the island were big enough to qualify it as a failed concert. Many directed sharp criticism at RLM (Dave's management), Clear Channel Entertainment (now Live Nation), and even Dave himself for getting involved in an event that has been dogged for many reasons since it's initial announcement.
But as fans returned to the ships they were handed a beer and a towell to dry off, cruise ship staffers quietly suggested that people stay up for a "surprise."
Around 12:45 AM EST on 6/5, Dave was sighted on the Sovereign of the Seas. And soon after, the complete D+F lineup appeared performed a 45 minute setlist that included a new song. It's worth noting that Dave smoked a cigarette onstage--a rare occasion. Immediately following this set, D+F traveled to the Majesty and performed another setlist, this time reportedly including Good Good Time, a "lost song"
that hasn't been played since 10/2/04. Update: The road crew has reported that the same set was played on both ships, but this is disputed.
The performance on the Sovereign of the Sea's was held in "Follies Theater," which spans three decks and has a capacity of 1,050. It has "deep red walls with Toulouse Lautrec-style prints," and box seats on the upper levels. Both the Sovereign and the Majesty are from the same family of ships, so it is safe to assume that the venue was roughly the same. View a 360 Virtual Tour of the venue.
 Stand Up clearly rattled the core fanbase as a lyrical letdown considered by some to lack an "honest effort" from the band as a whole. But given the events of this evening there is no question that Dave will go to great lengths to prove he is worthy of the continued attention of his core fans. Dave recognized how bad of a situation the cruise's central event had turned into and took extraordinary measures to ensure that fans would not be let down.
It may turn out that this series of events is just what both Dave and fans critical of his efforts on Stand Up needed. A crisis forcing him to play the only creative output in the past five years that has met wide acclaim by the core DMB fanbase. Thirty-seven songs in three locations over a nine hour stretch. It was heroic.
A lot of questions are left unanswered when was the decision to play sets on each ship made? Was it a contingency plan, or an on the spot decision? What if the ship performances hadn't have happened and Dave had just called it a night?
As more details of the evening unfold we may get a better idea of exactly how bad things went on the island and whether the new song featuring the lyric, "I' m-a bring the devil down to his knees." performed on the first ship could show up on the new DMB album. Hopefully a tape was made of one or both of the ship performances and will be released. Because the evening will undoubtedly go down in history as an unexpected yet epic ending to the most controversial event Dave has ever been involved in.
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Bartender *
Smooth Rider *
Dancing Nancies *
Jimi Thing *
Too Much *
_________
Dodo +
Save Me +
Stay Or Leave +
So Damn Lucky +
Gravedigger +
Up And Away +
Off The Boat +
Trouble +
Oh +
__________________
Two Step *
Old Dirt Hill *
#41 *
Warehouse ~
Everyday Ä 
Bathtub Gin Ä
Get On The Boat Ä
Waste Ä
__________________
Sovereign of the Seas Setlist
2/5/06 ~45 Min, 1AM EST
Gotta Get On The Boat
Good Good Time
Up On Cripple Creek
Grey Blue Eyes
Ayhee (New Song)
Will It Go Round in CirclesCircles
Iko Iko
Too High
So Damn Lucky
Hey Bulldog
___________________
Majesty Setlist
2/5/06 ~45 Min, 3AM EST
Gotta Get On The Boat
Good Good Time
Up On Cripple Creek
Grey Blue Eyes
Ayhee (New Song)
Circles
Iko Iko %
Too High
So Damn Lucky
Hey Bulldog
-------------
Rocky Mountain Way
Show Notes:
%Bob Weir
* Dave And Tim
+ Dave And Friends
~ Dave, tim and Brady
Ä Dave And Trey
indicates a segue into next song |
