March 10, 1983 Perkins Palace, Pasadena, CA Bob Weir and Friends with Nicky Hopkins

Continuing my theme of "lost" Grateful Dead spin-off shows, here is one that I wrote down off the Hot Line at the time and yet know nothing about.  The Hot Line advertised

Benefit for Medical Aid To El Salvador
Bob Weir and Friends with Nicky Hopkins
Perkins Palace, Los Angeles
March 10, 1983

Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Bobby Cochran-lead guitar
Nicky Hopkins-piano
Tim Bogert-bass
Gregg Errico-drums

I was very interested in this show at the time, but living in Northern California, I had to hope I would get to read about it later. No such luck. I spent years wondering about it. I think sometime in the last several years I saw a set list or something, but I still know very little about it. At the time, Weir and Cochran had been playing with Bobby And The Midnites for a while, but despite the enormous musical talents of the band, I found them more ultra-competent than impressive. I had loved Hopkins with the Jerry Garcia Band, and I thought this might shake up Weir's approach and provide something different. Whatever happened at the show, it seems never to have been repeated.

Update: Thanks to a kindly Commenter, I now know that part of this was broadcast on David Gans 2006 KPFA Marathon. I originally posted this under the date of March 18, 1983, but it seems my 25 year old notes were incorrect, and I am much more confident of David Gans's date. The circulating tape has

d1t01 Minglewood
d1t02 Big Iron
dit03 Feel So Bad
d1t04 CC Rider
d1t05 Dance On Baby
d1t06 Youngblood
d1t07 Brother Bill
d1t08 Easy To Slip
d1t09 Book Of Rules
d1t10 I Found Love
d1t11 Women Are Smarter -> Drums//
d1t12 Josephine

The lineup apparently was
Bob Weir - Guitar, Vocals
Bobby Cochran - Guitar, Vocals
Nicky Hopkins - Piano
Dave Garland - Keys, Sax
Tim Bogert - Bass
Gregg Errico - Drums
Graham Smith - Harp
Freebo - Tuba
Mike Rogers - Steel Drums

Perkins Palace, 129 N. Raymond Ave, Pasadena
The Perkins Palace, formerly The Raymond Theater, was opened in 1921 and had been one of the last remaining Vaudeville houses in the United States. It was known as The Crown Theater from 1948 to 1976. At some point (probably between 1976 and 78), the Beaux Arts building was Van Halen's rehearsal hall, before they became famous. In the late 1970s, partners Marc and Jim Perkins and Marc Geragos bought the theater and promoted shows there (Geragos, then a Loyola law student, has since become a high-profile defense lawyer). Because the theater was just 15 minutes from Hollywood, Perkins Palace was regularly used for TV broadcasts and industry events. Although many acts played there, after 1985 the theater was sold to developers, and after a 20-year battle it appears to have been torn down.

Bob Weir And Friends
In 1983, besides The Grateful Dead, Bob Weir had a working band called Bobby And The Midnites. They had released a 1981 album on Arista, and they would release another in 1984 (Where The Beat Meets The Street, on Columbia). They performed regularly when the Dead were not touring.

Midnites lead guitarist Bobby Cochran had been working with Weir since 1978, and to some extent was Weir's partner in non-Dead activities, playing a similar role to the one John Kahn played for Jerry Garcia. Cochran, the nephew of rock legend Eddie Cochran, had been in a variety of rock groups including Steppenwolf and The Flying Burrito Brothers (who were called Sierra at the time he recorded with them).

Bassist Tim Bogert had been in Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogert and Appice and worked with many high profile artist. His professional connection with Bob Weir had come through Ibanez instruments. Both Weir and Bogert used Ibanez guitars. Bogert had been in the initial version of Bobby And The Midnites in Fall 1980, ultimately replaced by Alphonso Johnson (who in turn was replaced by Little Feat's Ken Gradney).

Drummer Gregg Errico had been in Sly And The Family Stone and Weather Report, among other high profile gigs. A friend of Mickey Hart's from before Hart was in the Dead, Errico had participated in all sorts of casual performances with various members of the Dead, including at least one stint as drummer of The Jerry Garcia Band.

Pianist Nicky Hopkins was a true rock legend, whose ill health in the 1960s "forced" him to stay in London, where he recorded with The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who and every other important London band. He turned down opportunities to join the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin--think about that for a minute--and came to California with the Jeff Beck Group. He joined Quicksilver Messenger Service for a while. After further adventures he ended up in the first Jerry Garcia Band in 1975. Despite some fantastic music, Hopkins's personal instability made him untenable for the band. He had jammed with Weir (via Jerry) on various occasions, but this seems to have been the only occasion of the pair playing together on a formal basis.

Although this was probably just an under-rehearsed benefit, its still a star-studded lineup. Does anyone have a link to a setlist or a stream?