Bob Weir treated his hometown fans to a taste of things to come Tuesday night at a screening of the movie The Cove. The film is director Louie Psihoyo’s chronicle of the plight of the dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Every year thousands of dolphins are brutally “harvested” by the local fishermen by heading them into a hidden cove where they slaughter them hidden from the eye of the public. That is, until Ric O’Barry came along. It’s a horrific sight, the entire cove literally fills with the blood of the dolphins.

You might remember Ric from the TV series “Flipper” when he was the worlds most famous dolphin trainer. Ric spent several years as a captive dolphin trainer and has spent the 40 years since as a dolphin advocate.

Bobby went to Hawaii with his family about 10 years ago and stayed at one of the hotels that employ dolphin trainers and use captive dolphins to enhance their bottom line. Even then, Bob realized that it (the captive dolphin program) was a little off, and when his sister in law, NASCAR driver Leilani Munter, called and asked him to perform in support of The Cove he didn’t hesitate. Never underestimate a vegetarian hippie chick with a race car!

Bob Weir Acoustic
Rafel Film Center
San Rafael Ca.
6-21-2011

The Music Never Stopped
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Lost Sailor >
St. of Circumstance
Loose Lucy
Corrina
Ripple

“The Music Never Stopped”

“Masterpiece”

“Ripple”

Bobby said he would not “reach for the low hanging fruit” but rather pull out some tunes he had not played acoustic often. It was an intimate, memorable evening, raw in places, but that made it even more special for the 150 or so in the audience, many of course who just had to dance.

Bob Weir heads east for several solo acoustic dates in August.