Tea Leaf Green (setlist at end of review) w/ Elmwood Band

Neighborhood Theatre

Jan. 17, 2009

The Deal: San Francisco quartet rocks the night away.

The Good: The set opened with Elmwood Band — who appear to be from all over the Southeast — and sound a hell of a lot like Dave Matthews. They site them as a major influence, and it's no surprise as singer/guitarist Rusty Kelly has adopted many of his dancing moves and mannerisms. Not to say the band didn't get the crowd up and moving. The band's instrumentation was impressive to say the least — from the sax to drums to bass, they all had a moment to solo and shine.

Now to Tea Leaf Green. The band has picked up some of the remnants of the former Phish jamming scene as the band relies heavily on guitar and piano to dive into jams and songs that don't follow a traditional format. A la The Grateful Dead, the band played two sets and a two-song encore. They bring in more of a straight rock sound rather than the typical nooding. The band also brings in an appealing light show that adds to the ambiance. They definitely take some hints from the jam bands as well as some '70s rock and jazz influences.

I was impressed that the venue had a decent crowd in attendance — more than half-full, I'd estimate — and a good number from out of town. I heard people mentioning they were from Boone, Asheville and Wilmington — only coming in to see the show.

The Bad: No real complaints.

The Verdict: A great night of good music. It's definitely more difficult to follow along to music you aren't familiar with, but Tea Leaf Green draws you in the best they can.

The Garden (Part III)

Rapture

5000 Acres

Cops Took My Weed

I'm Not Fit

Baseball

Arise

7th Story

Hanging from a Tree

Precious Stone

Innocence

II

Lil Hood

Borrowed Time

Drink of Streams

Monsters at the Gate

Ocean View

Georgie P

Moonshine

Jezebel

Unforgiven

These Two Chairs

Encore

Me and My Monkey

Morning Sun