Pete Sawyer & The Left Hand Monkey Wrench Gang offer a high energy “all Killer, no filler” Grateful Dead experience every time they take the stage. Featuring unique combinations of many of the foremost interpreters of Grateful Dead music, Pete and The Gang always deliver a well-curated exploration of the beloved Grateful Dead songbook!

Press:

“My first visit to the Tabard Theatre was this past weekend to see Pete Sawyer & the Left-Hand Monkey Wrench Gang. The band's promise of "all killer, no filler" Grateful Dead music was an understatement. They are as good as any band of that genre that I have ever seen (DSO, Shred, JRAD, etc.).” Michael P. Yelp Review

“At its best, live conjuring of Grateful Dead Music is a joyful, cathartic, limb-enlivening experience.  A synergy between musicians, audience, and the inherent memories/associations each participant bring to the dance occurs, shaping each session uniquely. It takes the conscious energy of all involved to fully inhabit this music and its real time execution for such best-nights to happen.  While the Kuumbwa Jazz Center is usually a fully seated, focused listening space, It didn’t take half of opener “Feel Like A Stranger” for Peter Sawyer & The Left Hand Monkey Wrench Gang to lift the majority of older hippies, budding young Heads, and curious Kuumbwa regulars to their feet, folks swiftly ready to move like nobody’s watching. To this middle aged GD veteran, it felt like when the boys would open a weekend concert with “Shakedown Street” and one knew everything that followed was gonna be groovy in ways workaday life ain’t. 

Led by guitarist-singer Pete Sawyer, this edition of the rotating Left Hand Monkey Wrench Gang (a nod to “Greatest Story Ever Told” and Edward Abbey) included Sunshine Becker (vocals, flute, percussion), Scott Guberman (keys, vocals), Matt Lazarus (guitar, vocals), Murph Murphy (bass) and Michael Owens (drums). With little to no rehearsal time, such shifting lineups are a roll of the dice, and quickly all involved realized Sawyer had thrown us a Lucky 7 - smiling exchanges between the players testifying to their rising connection, the crowd’s enthusiasm more vocal and visceral by the song. The blend, quality, and variety of vocals set this group apart from many practitioners of GD Music, where the singing takes a backseat to spark throwin’ instrumental prowess.

At times, the set evoked a really hot 80s Dead show but the vibe and sequencing was unique to this group, this performance. One of the treats for open-minded, longtime Deadheads is hearing songs juxtaposed or shifted in ways Jerry and his gang wouldn’t like the uncoupling of “Franklin’s Tower” from its standard antecedents. The Gang’s driving, gorgeously drawn take on “Foolish Heart” beat any version by the Grateful Dead I’ve heard, which is another treat for longtime fans where a seemingly known tune blooms into a beautiful, moving new thing. The love all onstage felt for this music and its originators was clear, hearts beating loud and between song comments evidence of how deep their connections go. But, they respect the music and methodology enough to make these songs their own, to make them relevant here & now. 

— Dennis Cook, Editor Emeritas, Jambase.com