 Mike Gordon |
 Mickey Hart |
 Jen Durkin |
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Story and photos Matt Schwenke Perhaps due to the late billing, only the first floor of the Riverside was open for the latest super jam band amalgamation called the Rhythm Devils-- which consists of former Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, former Phish bassist Mike Gordon, and the relatively unknown, outside the jam scene, guitarist Steve Kimock, singer Jen Durkin, and percussionist Sikiru Adepoju-- and while the low attendance may have been disappointing for the business side of things, the openness of the theatre and its acoustics provided for an intimate performance from very accomplished musicians.Officially forming only months ago, The Rhythm Devils brought a host of Dead and Phish material to the table as well as new songs-- some of which former Dead lyricist Robert Hunter penned the lyrics for. An early standout featuring Hunter's lyrics was "Fountains of Wood," which featured a surprisingly buttery harmony between Durkin and Gordon singing 'Love is the ocean and time the tide' over a host of island or tribal sounds. Cohesive throughout, solo sections drifted seamlessly between guitar, bass and drums without noodling as evidenced in another of the group's new tunes "The Center"-- lyrics also by Hunter. Providing the credentials for their namesake, Kreutzmann and Hart created complex drumscapes with Adepoju adding talking drum to a jam that led into one of the group's most mysterious wanderings through "Arabian Wind" and "The Other One." Another spectacular rhythmic display came when a programmed loop of vibraphone and other sounds freed Hart to walk around stage urging the band on while playing a thumb piano. Paying homage to their roots, the setlist included the unmistakable low end of Gordon on Phish's "The Wedge," where Kimock sounded more like Jerry Garcia than Trey Anastasio, and the Dead classics "Sugaree," with Durkin jazzing up the vocals and Kimock laying down trippy guitar licks, "Lovelight," with Durkin singing with the power of Janis Joplin to end the set, and an encore performance of "Ripple," which was played so soft and sweetly it whisked away the crowd and filled the cold night air well beyond the venue. |
 Steve Kimock |
 The Rhythm Devils |
 Mike Gordon |
 Jen Durkin |
