[caption id="attachment_556" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Bob Weir and Jay Lane at HeadCount benefit"]
[/caption] HeadCount board member Bob Weir has been known to take a break from RatDog and his occasional reunion tours with his former Grateful Dead bandmates to play the occasional house concert. Most recently these have consisted of fund-raising events for his favorite politicians. On June 20, for example, you can enjoy a "summertime BBQ and performance" featuring Mickey Hart and Weir for as little as a $250 contribution to California Senator Barbara Boxer. The event takes place at the Ross, California, home of Carnel and Eric Greenberg.
Back in March 2008, Weir stepped up for noted Deadhead Al Franken's senatorial campaign wth a short set at the Minneapolis home of Archie and Tina Smith. The setlist? "K.C. Moan," "When I Paint My Masterpiece," "Friend of the Devil," and "Brokedown Palace."
Weir returned to Minneapolis in January 2009, this time with Hart, to help Franken in his legal struggle to have his disputed victory over Norm Coleman upheld. Tickets to the Willard Hotel fund raiser cost $1,000 each (including dinner), and the duo played a short acoustic set consisting of "Friend of the Devil," "Stealin'," "Not Fade Away" and "Ripple." (The Republican Party is committed to keeping Franken out of the Senate as long as possible because his seating would give Democrats a filibuster-proof sixty votes.)
And HeadCount's still tingly about our friend's appearance for our benefit at a stately Washington D.C. home in April 2008, when Bobby and Jay Lane (on congas) performed "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (which Weir was forced to cut short, saying, ''I'm sorry but I really can't sing.... I tell ya what – I'll compromise. You sing and I'll play"), "Ripple," and "Not Fade Away."