Later Performances
Viney notes that, despite the death of Richard Manuel later line ups of The Band continued to perform "Chest Fever" with Helm singing lead vocals. It "rapidly became an on-stage showpiece for Garth's organ", and as such it was an essential song. The intro was a improvisation piece called "The Genetic Method".
He says the definitive recordings of the song can be found on "Live in Washington," (sic) an Italian bootleg of the group’s 1976 King Biscuit Flower Hour performance, or the version on The Complete Last Waltz.
The song has been covered numerous times by bands including Three Dog Night and, most recently, the rootsy jam bands Widespread Panic and Tishamingo. It has also been covered by John Mayer during his Battle Studies tour.
In a review of Endless Highway: The Music of the Band, David Hyland noted that "noodlers Widespread Panic transform 'Chest Fever' into how it should have sounded at 'The Last Waltz' with full horn section accompaniment if the Band hadn't played their farewell gig like they were coked out of their minds."
Read more about this topic: Chest Fever
Famous quotes containing the word performances:
“This play holds the season’s record [for early closing], thus far, with a run of four evening performances and one matinee. By an odd coincidence it ran just five performances too many.”
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967)
“At one of the later performances you asked why they called it a “miracle,”
Since nothing ever happened. That, of course, was the miracle
But you wanted to know why so much action took on so much life
And still managed to remain itself, aloof, smiling and courteous.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)