While gearing up for a festival-heavy summer tour, Phil Lesh made a few appearances near his California home late last week. On Saturday the bassist performed a set of spacey, improvisational music with John Molo, Steve Molitz and Willie Waldman as Telstar. The special show took place at a NASA hanger in Mountain View, CA as part of the Yuri’s Nite Worldwide event, which commemorates Yuri Gagarin’s first flight into space. The quartet offered an experimental mixture of jazz and electronica, as well as reworked versions of Bob Dylans All Along the Watchtower and Steve Miller Bands Fly Like an Eagle. A few clips of the new group, which Lesh previewed during his recent Langerado performance, have already surfaced= on YouTube.

Lesh and Molitz both also sat in with Jackie Greene during his encore at San Franciscos The Fillmore last Thursday on Sugaree and Mexican Girl. In addition, the night featured surprise appearances by Nicki Bluhm (wife of the Mother Hips Tim Bluhm and a solo artist in her own right) and occasional Lesh collaborator Barry Sless, who played pedal steel for a hefty portion of Greenes show, including a tasty version of New Speedway Boogie.
Jackie Greene will appear at Santa Fe, NMs Santa Fe Brewing Co. on April 16, while Lesh will open his next tour at Columbus, OHs LC Pavilion on June 12.