I wouldn’t describe myself as a Dead-Head, but I always loved the Grateful Dead.  This show at the Wilbur Theatre was a rare opportunity to see one of the main lyricists for the Dead.

Robert Hunter wrote many of the Dead’s best known songs – Truckin’, Friend of the Devil, Dark Star, Scarlet Begonias, and Casey Jones, to name a few.

Hunter’s strength – and it’s truly a great strength – is his songwriting. Many of the songs he penned became anthems of my generation.

Bed of Roses at his feet

His voice may not be great, but I don’t believe it ever was. His guitar playing may not be rich and nuanced. They didn’t need to be last night – his songs spoke volumes for themselves and the crowd loved him.

Hunter rarely tours. For the first set, which only lasted a half hour, he seemed almost reluctant to be on stage. He came back after the set break and played for a little more than an hour with great enthusiasm and joy.

When he introduced ‘Brokedown Palace’ he said that he can’t play the song without hearing Jerry Garcia and shedding a tear or two. I ‘heard’ the Dead performing some of the songs and that brought back great memories. It was different – in my opinion – than seeing Further perform the same songs.

This was a man, his guitar and the songs. And oh, what songs they are!  No frills. No light show. Just great music.