Bassist Oteil Burbridge welcomed jam fans to The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on Thursday for the first of five shows under the billing Oteil & Friends leading up to New Year’s Eve. That roster of “Friends” was comprised of an impressive group of heavy-hitters from the jam realm including former Jerry Garcia Band keyboardist Melvin Seals, guitarists Eric Krasno and John Kadlecik, singer/trumpet player Jennifer Hartswick, drummer Jay Lane, and percussionist Weedie Briamah.
The band’s performance on Thursday filled the historic venue with a mix of classic rock (mostly Grateful Dead) covers and smooth jams to help fans in the New York Metro Area prepare for the upcoming run of New Year’s Eve shows scheduled to take place in the Northeast all weekend.
Oteil & Friends took the stage right around 8:30 p.m., with fans from around the country also tuning in via the show’s free webcast courtesy of Relix. The band started set one by diving right into the Garcia solo catalogue with a groovy rendition of “Cats Under The Stars” featuring some smooth guitar soloing from both Krasno and Kadlecik. A lively cover of “Bertha” with Kadlecik on lead vocals came next, with the guitarist having plenty of experience in singing the Grateful Dead tune from his days in Dark Star Orchestra. The tempo took a slower turn for Jennifer Hartswick to step to the mic to tackle a moving rendition of “Water in the Desert”, the title track from Oteil’s 2017 solo LP. A pair of Dead covers followed from there, as Oteil took lead vocals on “Althea” before leading the band into “Fire On The Mountain”. The set came to a close with Hartswick taking center stage again to deliver an energizing rendition of soul classic “Piece of My Heart”, popularized by Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company.
Set two saw the band dive right into a trio of covers including The Band‘s “The Weight”, Garcia’s “Run for the Roses”, and the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street”, with the latter featuring an impressive trumpet solo courtesy of Hartswick. The band kept the dance-friendly rhythms going with Kadlecik returning to the mic to lead the group into a cover of his own “What’s Become of Mary”.
Burbridge then took the opportunity to slow things down for a unique and slow rendition of “High Time”, only to pick the energy right back up with the familiar opening trio of chords to “Franklin’s Tower”. They continued with “Tangled Up In Blue”, the Bob Dylan tune often performed by the Jerry Garcia Band back in the day. The show came to a satisfying conclusion with Hartswick once again returning to the stage to lead the band into a climactic rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Proud Mary”.
You can watch a full pro-shot video of the show below:
Oteil & Friends – The Capitol Theatre – 12/27/2018
[Video: Relix]
Oteil Burbridge and his talented Friends will continue their run leading up to New Year’s Eve on Monday with shows at Philadelphia’s Tower Theatre on Friday (in support of Gov’t Mule), a return to The Cap on Saturday, and two year-ending gigs at New York City’s Brooklyn Bowl on Sunday (12/30) and Monday (12/31). Tickets for the shows can be purchased here.
Setlist: Oteil & Friends | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 12/27/2018
Set One: Cats Under The Stars (Jerry Garcia cover), Bertha (Grateful Dead cover), Water in the Desert, Althea (Grateful Dead cover), Fire on the Mountain (Grateful Dead cover), Piece of My Heart (Erma Franklin cover)
Set Two: The Weight (The Band cover), Run for the Roses (Jerry Garcia cover), Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead cover), What’s Become of Mary (Golden Gate Wingmen cover), High Time (Grateful Dead cover), Franklin’s Tower (Grateful Dead cover), Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan cover), Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
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