dsl@lzwi.UUCP (D.S.LERNER) (08/12/85)
I saw KOKOMO two nights ago at the Metro in North Brunswick, N.J. They were very tight. Brent and Billy were great. Some of the highlights included: Dear Mr. Fantasy --> Keep on Growing Dark Star (Brent sung the first verse) Good Times Blues, Tons of Steel encores: Casey Jones ---> Let it Rain All I can say about them was they were very good for a band that haven't been together a long time. Dave Margen is a great bassist. He jammed on Dark Star so heavily that I almost didn't recognize it was Dark Star. Kevin Russell was great too on lead guitar. During Dark Star he tried to play a few Garcia licks during the spacey part. He kept throwing and spitting his guitar picks into the audience though, which is a little show business ploy. But, still he rocked real well with the band. The funniest thing was that Billy Kreutzmann dyed his hair "JET BLACK". All of his gray hair is gone. Except for his receding hairline and circles around the eyes, he looks like he's 25 again. Amazing what Grecian Formula can do for people. The Dead songs they played were mostly Brent tunes except for Casey Jones. Only, they didn't play them like the Dead plays them. Each song was played faster and more like the way Brent likes to play them. Dear Mr. Fantasy and Keep on Growing was a lot like the Traffic versions. In my opinion, they sounded better than the way the Dead play them, except for Casey Jones. All in all, I'd recommend this group to anyone who likes good ol' Dead music as well as just rock and roll. The Dark Star was a fine treat for us New Jersey Deadheads. Dave
roy@WAIKATO.SCRC.Symbolics.COM (08/13/85)
From: Roy Harkow <roy@WAIKATO.SCRC.Symbolics.COM>
Date: Mon, 12-Aug-85 13:25:52 PDT
From: ihnp4!lzwi!dsl@UCB-Vax.ARPA (D.S.LERNER)
I saw KOKOMO two nights ago at the Metro in North Brunswick,
N.J. They were very tight. Brent and Billy were great.
Some of the highlights included:
Dear Mr. Fantasy --> Keep on Growing
Dark Star (Brent sung the first verse)
Good Times Blues, Tons of Steel
encores: Casey Jones ---> Let it Rain
For those in the Boston area, they're playing tonight (Tues) at the
Paradise on Commonwealth Ave. ejd@petrus.UUCP (Ed J. Donofrio) (08/13/85)
> > I saw KOKOMO two nights ago at the Metro in North Brunswick, > N.J. They were very tight. Brent and Billy were great. > Some of the highlights included: > Dear Mr. Fantasy --> Keep on Growing > Dark Star (Brent sung the first verse) > Good Times Blues, Tons of Steel > encores: Casey Jones ---> Let it Rain > Wow, I'm really bummed that I didn't know about them playing there. I wish someone would've let us know on the net. In the future this net could be a great medium for alot of us who don't frequent some of these places (I thought the METRO was closed down) to find out not only about this sort of event but some of the local good dead bands. Has anyone seen some of the GD type bands that know where they're playing and may have been impressed? --Ed
dasaro@tilt.FUN (Dan Dasaro) (08/14/85)
> > Wow, I'm really bummed that I didn't know about them playing there. > I wish someone would've let us know on the net. In the future this > net could be a great medium for alot of us who don't frequent some of > these places (I thought the METRO was closed down) to find out not only > about this sort of event but some of the local good dead bands. > Has anyone seen some of the GD type bands that know where they're playing > and may have been impressed? > --Ed In response to the question on GD type bands, I know of 2 in the NY-Philly area that are very good. One is called Living Earth and has been around in its present form for about 1 year. They have some fine musicians, including a Pigpen-like keyboard player (according to a friend of mine after his 1st time seeing them). They play many old Dead songs and some new ones, too. A highlight for me was their Box of Rain. (They have a female vocalist on some of their songs who is extremely good and she adds a lot to the music when she is singing.) They play in and around Philly and will be there this Saturday (17th). I don't know the location but I'll try to post it tomorrow. They have a mailing list which keeps fans up to date on their performances. The other is called Max Creek and has been together for about 14 years. They play a mixture of Dead, original, and 60's covers (like Magic Carpet Ride). All of their music is very good, they have fine original pieces in addition to the covers they do. They are based in Ct. and play around Hartford and NYC, often at the Lone Star Cafe. I'll post their hotline number tomorrow also. Seeing these bands in-between Dead tours is a great way to keep going, especially since they play at small venues, it seems very personal. The members of these bands are all very friendly and will usually take time to talk to people in between sets. See them if you can. -DanD.
roy@WAIKATO.SCRC.Symbolics.COM (08/14/85)
From: Roy Harkow <roy@WAIKATO.SCRC.Symbolics.COM> Well, a bunch of us saw Kokomo last night at the Paradise in Boston. We were rather surprised. The musicians are obviously talented, but their playing was incredibly heavy (albeit fast). Russell's lead guitar and personality seemed very Aerosmith-ish. They played for almost 2 hours (after a 45 minute warm-up by Max Creek). The 1st half was really slow. I enjoyed Tons of Steel but Not Fade Away was a waste. Halfway through they got into Dark Star after a really nice bass solo, and then it picked up. Mr. Fantasy and Let it Rain were outstanding, and the Casey Jones encore certainly had lots more life than most of the Dead encores. They had a lot of stage presence, it was wonderful to hear what Brent can do (re: earlier Brent discussions!), but if you go don't be surprised by the "Wall of sound" approach by the band.
lsmith@h-sc1.UUCP (Liz Smith) (08/15/85)
In article <242@lzwi.UUCP> dsl@lzwi.UUCP (D.S.LERNER) writes: > > I saw KOKOMO two nights ago at the Metro in North Brunswick, > N.J. They were very tight. Brent and Billy were great. > . . etc. I saw Kokomo two nights ago at The Paradise in Boston, and left quite early - I thought they were lousy! Max Creek (they play "in the style of the Grateful Dead") opened for them, and although they played only a short set, they were excellent as usual. Their last song 'Situation' was great ! (I've seen them countless times and recommend them highly) Everyone was dancing and having a good time. Then Kokomo came on, and the dance floor thinned out . . . I suppose they're competent enough musicians, but their songs were just standard hard rock fare - with little to no originality and alot of LOUD guitar. The only selection I heard that did not make me hold my ears was a standard bluesy number (a la 'Little Red Rooster' but not as interesting) that failed to hold my attention due to its standard-ness, and certainly didn't make up for all the other noise we were subjected to. My friends and I thought that most of the deadhead crowd they had attracted with Max Creek and Mydland/Kreutzman would be disappointed with the type of music - have any of the rest of you seen them? What did you think? I thought they lacked all the blues/soul/country/spacey/etc. influences that make the Dead what they are, and lacked much else that makes a band worth listening to. > Dave Margen is a great bassist. He jammed on Dark Star so heavily that I > almost didn't recognize it was Dark Star. Hardly a recommendation . . . > The Dead songs they played were mostly Brent tunes except > for Casey Jones. Only, they didn't play them like the Dead > plays them. Each song was played faster and more like the > way Brent likes to play them. Maybe that was the problem ! Liz Smith 'Nothing left to do but SMILE SMILE SMILE'
lkk@teddy.UUCP (08/16/85)
I have to agree with Liz about Kokomo. I was very dissapointed. I might have walked out earlier too, but I didn't get there until Max Creek had finished, so I kept hoping something would happen to make my $8.50 investment worthwhile. As soon as they started playing, I started having my doubts. The guitarist and bassist, whose names I've forgotten, were jumping around the stage in a manner much more akin to AC/DC antics than Bob Weir at his most rambunctious. I was saying to my self, "I can't take them serioiusly". And the music confirmed my doubts. AAAH, AAAH, AAAH, went the guitar, in classic '70's hard rock fashion. Overly loud, overly distorted, and lacking in the creative improvisation that makes every Dead show as fresh as the last. My friend and I spent most of the show in the lobby. There, the volume was tolerable, and we could sit and watch the constant outflux of dissapointed heads. We were joined by a number of people with similar feelings. As we were sitting there, a man walked out and said, "THey're playing Dark Star". "Good luck", said my friend, not convinced. And then we heard the words "Daaaaaaark Star crashing." After doing a short double take, we rushed in only to find them playing a song that had in common with the deads Dark Star only the lyrics. It was, as stated before, barely recognizable. Disapointed, we retreated again to the lobby. The saving grace of the evening was the audience. Dead Heads are still dead heads, regardless of who's playing, and this was no exception. I really got off on the Dead show like atomosphere. While in the lobby, we were entertained by two young kids, apparently tripping on something, playing a little game by making strange gestures at each other using one arm crossed over the other, with a hand pressed against their forehead and the other outstreached. They looked like strange elephants of sorts. But I digress. All in all, I'm still convinced, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A (GENUINE) GRATEFUL DEAD CONCERT. -- Sport Death, Larry Kolodney (USENET) ...decvax!genrad!teddy!lkk (INTERNET) lkk@mit-mc.arpa