I woke up this morning wondering if what I'd experienced over the last two weeks was real or just a dream like the eighth season of Dallas. Just as quickly as the God Street Wine reunion came, it's over - for now - as the NYC-based quintet finished the four show run with a scorcher at Irving Plaza this past Saturday evening. These four shows were the rare case of reality living up to the lofty expectations thrust upon this reunion after nine long years of silence from the GSW camp.

[All pictures by Mike Wren]

Friday's lack of jams was remedied by an improv-filled first set featuring lengthy versions of Driving West, Hellfire and Imogene which showed off the band's impressive non-verbal communication that comes from playing hundreds of shows together during the '90s. While last weekend's minor-key Hellfire jam was on the dark and dirty side, the Irving version went the other direction: a major-key round of improv filled with light and beautiful melodies - a butter jam if you will. Both guitarists got equal time to shine during this most memorable jam of the run. The tight rhythm section of Dan Pifer (bass) and Tom "Tomo" Osander (drums) propelled their band mates to glory in the Hellfire jam like offensive linemen clearing the way for the star running backs.

Irving Plaza, NYC

Set One: Nightingale, Driving West, Better than You, Hellfire, The Ballroom -> 6:15, Feather, Straight Line, Imogene

Set Two: Good Dream, Snake Eyes, Princess Henrietta, Strange as it Seems, Tina's Town -> Cheap Utah Blues -> Deep Drag, Diana, Borderline

Encore1: Ticket to Ride, Sweet Little Angel

Encore2: Other Shore -> Into The Sea

Seven sets into the action God Street Wine were still dusting off old songs they hadn't played yet. Lots of lines hit home in the reggae-tinged Ballroom including "the dancing on the floor has begun," "so many years have gone by since I looked into your eyes" and "I feel so old" - all of which received huge applause from the attentive crowd. Two of the first-time in '10 tunes on this night were Feather and Diana off the quintet's self-titled 1997 release. Feather, an anthemic rocker, was equal parts Tom Petty and Black Crowes and stood out on a night filled with stand outs. Diana also had that rootsy sound typical of songs on the self-titled LP and shined thanks to gorgeous harmonies, Jon Bevo's electric piano work and Maxwell's slide work.

• GSW Reunion: #1, #2, #3
• Audio: Scott Brown's Recording
• Video: Borderline

When listening to some of GSW's later material like Diana and Feather and comparing it to the early material such as the prog workout Deep Drag, it was crazy to hear how much the group's sound had changed in just about seven years. You can only imagine how many different phases of evolution the band's music would've gone through had the original lineup been able to stick together through the '00s. Yet, this weekend wasn't about focusing on what might've been and was more about enjoying what was.

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Once again the repeats were appreciated and the band chose their best material for double duty. Princess Henrietta smoked, Cheap Utah Blues was fun and Imogene featured a nasty jam. Nearly all of the repeats sounded better the second time around and LD Jeff Volkhausen - one of the weekend's MVPs - made them all look better too. Volkhausen, a longtime GSW fan, got to live the dream this weekend and made the most of his opportunity, especially at the Irving Plaza shows. The sound was also spectacular at all four shows thanks to the handiwork of a sound engineer who worked with the band during the mid '90s, Brian Duffy.

God Street Wine blew past the soft 12:30AM encore and who could blame them? On this night they were owning the near sold-out room, but next Saturday night will probably involve more bedtime stories than rousing ovations. The encore started with the third Beatles cover of the run, Ticket To Ride, which was one of the first covers in GSW's repertoire. God Street's version of the tune is way more laidback than the original and Maxwell adds some syncopation to his delivery of the lyrics making things interesting for those singing along. Maxwell's distinctive voice got another workout during the second song of the encore slot - the Lo Faber-requested Sweet Little Angel. Aaron's heartfelt vocals and raw, bluesy solos made the B.B. King song a winner.

For the second encore, and the closing moments of an unforgettable two weekends, GSW turned to the Steely Dan-esque original Other Shore and one of the group's true epics - Into The Sea. At one point Lo told the crowd to spread the recordings of these shows if we wanted more shows in the future, but Faber could hardly get through the "if you want more shows" before the crowd went berserk. The only person who got a bigger round of applause than the prospect of more shows was the man who was most responsible for making these shows happen, Michael Weiss.

The crowd's reaction to every musical highlight and nearly every word Lo said was a beautiful thing. It felt like everyone in attendance was there for the music and had a fucking blast. Choosing New York as the city to host these shows was a wise one. From Marlboro to Mamaroneck to Manhasset to Manhattan, the New York City area has always been ground zero for the fanbase and these shows proved that even if you move to Ireland or New Orleans, sometimes you can go home again.

There are three big questions to be answered for the Winos. First off, when can we do this again? Second, what the hell are we supposed to do next weekend? And third, how do the members of the band go back to the real world after experiencing the musical magic and adulation from a thousand loyal fans over the past two weekends? We sure hope the next run of shows takes place sooner rather than later. For now, there's still one more God Street Wine gig on the docket - Jam Cruise 9.