Friday night, nationally touring musician Marcus Rezak brought his special talents and several key players together at Nectars in Burlington, Vermont, for a couple of sets of Grateful Dead music that people are going to be talking about for months to come. Called The Shred is Dead, the four musicians on stage made the most complicated Dead tracks seem so simple that it was almost impossible to believe they had never played together before — but it’s true.

Drummer Russ Lawton, from The Trey Anastasio Band and Soul Monde, joined Zdenek Gubb from Twiddle, Scott Hannay from Mr. F, and Marcus Rezak on stage for Friday night’s show. Hannay ok keyboards really made for a great addition to these powerful sets of music. By the middle of the set, it was apparent this was going to be one incredible set of music. Opening with Cold Snow with a segue into Bertha, and slipping into type two jams like they had been together for a decade, the entire two sets were pure magic. Rezak and crew brought Vermont’s own Hayley Jane up to the stage for some soulful sit-ins during Sugaree, Midnight Moonlight, and Dear Prudence. While you don’t always hear an amazing voice when you see a jam band live, with Jane and Rezak, we got to see two of them.

At first glance, Rezak looks like a guy who can kick your butt at a video game but within two licks, you realize he’s also a guy who can play the hell out of guitar — not to mention his ability to put together a super-group of musicians. They played some Grateful Dead cuts that were so deep, people in the audience looked around confused.

And with Russ Lawton and Zdenek Gubb holding up the rhythm section, well, let’s just say no one wanted the evening to end. Frankly, neither did the band as they didn’t stop until well past two in the morning.

If you get the chance to see Rezak perform one of these Shred is Dead sets, you’re crazy to miss it. For more information or to check out more work from this incredibly multi-faceted performer, check out his Facebook page for more information.

Setlist:

Set 1:
Cold Rain and Snow > Bertha, Scarlet Begonias> Dark Star> Midnight Moonlight (with Hayley Jane), Sugaree (Hayley Jane), Estimated Prophet > Crazy Fingers, Dear Prudence (Hayley Jane), Shakedown Street

Set 2:
Cassidy, Liberty, Deal, Broken Arrow, Tangled up in Blue, Eyes of the World, Unbroken Chain, Hey Pocky Way, Black Muddy River, Bird Song