rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (02/17/85)
Kingfish played in Boulder, CO on 14 Feb, 1985. This was my first chance
to see this group, which has seen a lot of changes over the years.
Matthew Kelley was and is the leader of the group. He's a decent guitarist
when he plays (perhaps 40% of the songs) and hot on the harmonica. His
vocals were sadly weak at this show, and I can't tell whether the problem
lies with him or his equipment (about which, more in a moment).
Billy Kreutzman is doing drums. He's the only crossover member from the
Dead (although both Weir and Mydland have been involved in the past). He's
a strong point in the band, picking up solo bits as much as anyone and
carrying an awful lot of the music for a percussionist.
Dave Margen (formerly of Santana) is a VERY strong bass guitarist. He gave
a couple of decent solo pieces (one entirely his own; the other with
Kreutzman joining in midway), and the influence of Santana through the bass
lines was obvious.
I found myself wishing I knew more about the other members of the band
(lead guitarist and keyboards). Sorry. Comments welcome.
Overall, the show was just downright good rock'n'roll. There was a healthy
dose of rockish blues, such as a really hot "Statesboro Blues" to open the
second set. The bluesy stuff was among the favorites of the crowd. My
only criticism of any of it was that "Little Red Rooster" (the Willie Dixon
tune) came out more rock than blues--I'd much prefer the Dead's styling of
that number.
There were enough tunes that the Dead have done to keep the DeadHead-loaded
audience (30-40%?) happy: Little Red Rooster, Man Smart/Woman Smarter, Big
Boss Man, to name a few.
Equipment troubles delayed the start of the show and caused some minor
problems throughout. These problems were helped along by a few stagehands
who seemed to have trouble paying attention--among them someone who
couldn't kill mikes (or adjust monitors; couldn't tell exactly) when
needed--even after repeated requests from the band members. You know it's
bad when they stop playing and one of the band walks offstage to tell them
what to do. There was also someone on the spots who couldn't seem to
figure out who was taking the lead and give them some light. [Maybe they
should have been straight and I should have been doing some drugs, instead
of the reverse:-] Also, there seemed to be problems with getting the sound
levels right; vocals were weak off and on thru the show. The band deserves
better technical help than they got this night.
There was enough old Kingfish material, such as Jump for Joy - with some
adaptation to the newer makeup of the band. After the crowd asking for it
all night, they finally did "Hypnotize" as the last number of the second
set. It hasn't changed that much over all these years. There was a lot
of extemporizing through the nominal guitar break, which became a
guitar/drum/keyboard/bass/guitar break. Working back from the break, the
song sounded an awful lot more like Santana (Jingo, as I remember) than
Kingfish, until they finally got back to the vocals.
Overall, highly recommended--catch them when they come thru your area.
--
Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086
...Relax...don't worry...have a homebrew.