Unlimited Devotion: A Celebration of the Grateful Dead filled the Ardmore Music Hall with eight sets of sweet songs made by stellar one-off groups of modern all-stars last weekend. The seventh-annual benefit for the Rex Foundation featured Aron Magner and Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits), legendary producer and bassist Don Was, and jam scene stalwarts Robert Randolph, Anders Osborne, Matt Butler (Everyone Orchestra), Holly Bowling, Cris Jacobs, and more. Even with a couple of the bigger names on the lineup forced to miss the curtain call for various personal reasons, Unlimited Devotion mustered a roster that made for some truly monumental music made from the ashes and echoes of one of history’s greatest live bands.
Since its establishment in 1983, the Rex Foundation has served as a clearing house that vets, prioritizes, and distributes donations and funds to worthy recipients. Named for Rex Jackson, the Grateful Dead’s road-turned-tour manager who sadly passed away in 1978, the foundation helps sort and direct the charities and individuals who benefit from the sizable amount of energy and goodwill the Dead generated on their long, strange trip. In this capacity it freed the members of the band to keep their minds on making music, comforted by knowing their good name isn’t just protected, it’s being put to the maximum positive purpose.
Unlimited Devotion also benefitted Camp Winnarainbow, founded by cosmic clown Wavy Gravy. The man born Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. had embraced the late ’60s counterculture as a performer and a clown, holding a curved mirror up to American society in an effort to evoke self-examination in the eyes of a changing world. Gravy was catapulted into the history books thanks to his comical, charismatic stage announcements at Woodstock in 1969. From there, the heady harlequin walked many roads though he always kept an eye on the underlying message of kindness and human decency. Gravy’s Camp Winnarainbow, nestled in the beautiful northern California woodland, evolved from simple day camp to fully accredited music camp, with a history of scholarship and chances for the less fortunate youths to experience the magic of summer camping in the wilderness.
When avid Deadhead and poster collector Scott Shapiro was looking for charitable ways to use his vast collection of Grateful Dead showbills, posters, and images he’d collected throughout his decades of fandom he considered a variety of gallery-styled show case options. Pairing a showing of his collection with a live music gathering was an obvious choice and the final piece of the puzzle, the owners and talent bookers of the Ardmore, PA venue, made his initial vision a reality. Each subsequent year the event, and the level of sheer talent and goodwill it’s attracted, has nurtured it into the three-day circle of love that is collectively and correctly known as Unlimited Devotion. Together, all of the event producers have tipped their hats year after year to every aspect of the legacy of the Grateful Dead beyond simply the songs. Case in point, the first of eight sets:
Dylan’s Dead
Bob Dylan is one of the most singularly iconic singer-songwriters in modern history. His voice, while idiosyncratic, is instantly recognizable to anyone with the most basic music experience and has been for almost 75 years. Poet, musician, and free thinker, this Minnesotan’s creations transcended divisions like borders and became more of an ambassador of human thought than of any state or nation. Dylan’s work with the Dead over the years included multiple tours and onstage collaborations and the weekend’s first set was devoted to those crossovers.
Reed Mathis was the MVP of the weekend, seeming to have been tasked with overseeing and acting as the onstage quarterback for every aspect of the three-evening event. Aside from his regular bass-playing duties in these sorts of gatherings alongside his vocal work, he got a chance to show off his six-stringed prowess during the Dylan’s Dead set. The twisting, turning lyrics that Dylan crafted were surely a bit of a strain on the mind so it’s especially impressive that he did double duty. Luckily he had his fellow “All Weekend” partner-in-crime on keys, The Disco Biscuits’ Aron Magner. Magner’s bandmate Marc Brownstein held down the bass while Johnny Kimock shined bright with his pocket work and more than occasional fills and off-tempo work.
Setlist: Queen Jane Approximately, Isis, A Simple Twist Of Fate, It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding), Visions of Johanna
Campfire Classics Set
If you spent any time out on the road following the Dead on their legendary seasonal touring escapades you more than likely spent a few nights camping under the stars along the way. As one might guess, such gathering inevitably ended up in that sacred fire gathering tradition, singing songs with those you love around a campfire. Guitarist and founding member of Furthur and Dark Star Orchestra, John Kadlecik had the surely enviable duty of leading a more electric, indoor tribute to those wooded evenights singing to the moon.
That said, you’d certainly be singing a happy tune if your night by the fire included such talents as Kadlecik and his spot-on Jerry Garcia energy being joined by “Sacred Steel” guitarist Robert Randolph, the heavenly piano work by Holly Bowling, Johnny Kimock back on the drum stool with a partner-in percussion, Everyone Orchestra conductor Matt Butler, joining in the beat keeping with Reed Mathis, switched now to his more regular spot on bass. Add in the soulful Kanika Moore’s heartfelt vocals to the mix and there was all that anyone by a roaring outdoor blaze could need, minus the making of s’more of course.
Setlist: Get Together (The Youngbloods), Friend Of The Devil (Grateful Dead), Hey Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan), Love Is A Rose (Linda Ronstadt), For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield), I’ve Just Seen A Face (Linda Ronstadt), Imagine (John Lennn), Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), One Tin Soldier (The Original Castle), Willin’ (Little Feat), The Preamble (School House Rock), Teach Your Children (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), Ripple (Grateful Dead), After Midnight(J.J. Cale)
West Philly Fadeaway
Finally Kadlecik, Johnny Kimock, Marc Brownstein, Aron Magner, and Kanika Moore took a slick and loving look at some of the more romantic works of the Dead with newcoming drummer Mike Greenfield (Lotus) joining in to keep the beat. Closing out with crowd pleaser “I Know You Rider”, this tour de force raced across the finish line before fans headed out into the night to digest what they had heard, and hopefully get some much needed rest for round two coming the following day.
Setlist: Bertha > Althea, Sugaree > Brown Eyed Women, They Love Each Other, Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain > I Know You Rider (Traditional)
Wavy Gravy All-Stars
Saturday the tone and focus got a bit more pointed. New arrivals Anders Osborne and Cris Jacobs joined in on vocals and guitars, providing fresh legs and musical energy to the already warmed up chops of Magner and Kanika, while sax man Kenny Brooks (RatDog) and local upright bass player extraordinaire Jason Fraticelli (SPAGA) added some welcome depth to the already sweet sounds being made.
Though there was a minimal amount of overlap from the previous night’s setlists, the different lineups more than delivered diverse enough renditions to make even the most ardent of fans happy to hear them on back-to-back evenings. The heart of the set, a riveting take on the first two sections of the beloved “Terrapin Station” suite and the cooldown reggae of Jimmy Cliff’s “Sitting Here In Limbo”, was a face stealing exercise in fun and focus from the disparate gathering of one off bandmates.
Setlist: They Love Each Other, Dancing’ In The Streets (Martha & The Vandellas), Lay Down Sally (Eric Clapton), Peggy-O, Ship Of Fools, Cocaine Blues (Traditional), Terrapin Station: Part 1: Lady With A Fan > Part II: Terrapin Station, Sitting Here In Limbo (Jimmy Cliff)
Down By The Bay
Next up, Reed Mathis and Holly Bowling returned, joining Matt Butler, Kanika Moore, Kenny Brooks, and Cris Jacobs for a bit more relaxed and free flowing nod to some of the more easy going, good time Dead performances, with an emphasis on covers and solo works that took on prominent roles in setlists through the years. Between Moore, Jacobs and Mathis the vocal mix was nuanced, the instrumental side of the set was, as in every musical stanza of the weekend, impressive, and the reaction to the proceedings was as boisterous as any throughout the evening.
Setlist: Tore Up Over You (Hank Ballard), They Call Me The Breeze (J.J. Cale), Dear Prudence (The Beatles), Midnight Rider (Allman Brothers Band), Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Hard To Handle (Otis Redding) > Ophelia (The Band), Estimated Prophet, Tangled Up In Blue (Bob Dylan), Ain’t No Bread In The Bread Box (Norton Buffalo)
Splintered Sunlight & Friends
Twenty-five years together is a remarkable achievement for any regularly gigging band and it’s an achievement Splintered Sunlight, as one of the area’s Grateful Dead tribute acts, wears with a bit of well founded pride. Though more than capable of bringing in plenty of love on its own, Sunlight was more than happy to squeeze in Kenny Brooks’ sax, some of Kanika Moore’s signature sultriness, and Cris Jacobs doing his usual double duty to Splintered’s already potent mix.
No stranger to the crowd or the Ardmore stage, Splintered Sunlight took the evening home as it has countless times over the band’s 25 years together, sending everyone in attendance on their way with nothing but smiles on their faces and a smidge of exhaustion in their dancing shoes.
Setlist: The Music Never Stopped*, He’s Gone*, New Minglewood Blues*, Piece Of My Heart (Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns)**, Brown Eyed Women, Blow Away, Me And My Uncle (Marty Robbins) > Big River, Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain
Encore: Shakedown Street
*Kenny Brooks
**Kanika Moore
***Cris Jacobs
Stella Blue Note
Sunday’s installment in the Unlimited Devotion concert series was by far the most jazzy and exploratory of the bunch. Mathis, Magner, and Anders Osborne were joined by the legendary Detroit bassist and producer Don Was and a few from his band, the night’s closing act The Pan-Detroit Ensemble: drummer Jeff Canady, percussionist Mahindi Masai, and saxophonist Dave McMurray who all gave the more adventurous listeners in the crowd their biggest thrills.
After the set and eye-opening “Bird Song” got fresh life and vitality through McMurray’s sax-for-vocals replacement, and the subsequent use of that configuration for the following “Eyes Of The World” and “Fire On The Mountain”, an awestruck Orborne asked, almost rhetorically, if he should even attempt to follow up the display he and the bewildered audience had just heard. Still, game for the challenge, Anders did himself proud with a stellar, space-y “When I Paint My Masterpiece”. The Louisiana local brought some welcome down-home authenticity to an always enjoyable “Iko Iko” and by the end of the set closing “I Shall Be Released” the crowd let out a collective exhale as the pressure finally dropped from the high-intensity performance.
Setlist: Bird Song, Eyes Of The World, Fire On The Mountain, When I Paint My Masterpiece (Bob Dylan), Going Down The Road Feeling Bad (Traditional), Iko Iko(Sugar Boy And Hos Cane Cutters), Casey Jones, I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan)
Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble
When it came time for Was to bring out his home grown funk-jazz collective The Pan-Detroit Ensemble the stage and crowd were primed to hear what fun the keyboardist Luis Resto, trombonist Vincent Chandler, trumpeter John Douglas, guitarist Wayne Gerard, and vocalist Steffanie Christi’an had up their sleeves. Though some of their originals were, admittedly, unfamiliar to the audience they more than won them over through sheer funk and soul prowess. To end the night on point, Reed Mathis popped back out and helped lead the Ensemble through peppy visits to “Shakedown Street” and “Franklin’s Tower” to seal the deal.
Another circle around the sun and yet another stunning tribute under their belt, Scott Shapiro and the Ardmore Music Hall staff thanked the crowd profusely and adjourned Unlimited Devotion for the year to massive cheers from the slightly drained but delighted audience. It’s a sure thing that next year’s installment will try as hard as possible to reach the ever-raising bar pushed even higher all weekend long by the virtual parade of talent that graced the stage. Whether they manage that tall order or not, this seventh-anniversary showcase was a truly remarkable offering of…well…to invoke the name itself…unlimited devotion to the music that is now written in our universal soul by the Grateful Dead.
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