Hoist Those Litersteins! It’s Time for Dunedin Brewery Oktobeerfest!
In just four days it will be Oktober, and you know what that means — the Dunedin Brewery Oktobeerfest is right around the bend. Oktobeerfest is always a joyous four-day celebration including Literstein Heritage (and those babies are in limited supply, folks).
Once again, Michael Lyn Bryant has a great lineup planned for you. This year’s is slightly smaller than previous years; you might possibly have noticed the wee construction project across the street that was once our beloved parking lot. By next year, DunBrew will move to its new and improved location, but nothing will keep us from raging this year.
Thursday, October 5th, is Literstein Heritage night, and Atlanta funksters Voodoo Visionary will be on hand to get the party started. This outstanding quintet has been touring and playing regularly; they packed DunBrew in August for a dynamite show. Intelligent lyrics, great vocals, and rocking jams are the band’s strengths.
Friday starts early, as it does every Friday at DunBrew, with DJ 45Revolver, who does exactly what his name says. Armed with a tearful of fabulous funk, rock and R’n’B 45s from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, he will keep you on your feet. (If you’re not sure what a “45” is, you could ask an old dude or dudette.)
NoNeed plays “alternative reggae.” They are: Sebastian Tenorio – Vocals/Guitar; James Harnage – Vocals/Guitar; Kevin Blume – Drums/Vocals; Cody Moore – Sax/Keys/Vocals; and Ryan Weiss – Bass. They explain that their lively mix is rooted in a rock-alternative foundation with reggae and fusion undertones.” Their energetic shows keep you on your feet.
And that goes for Rise of Saturn as well, who produce this equation: nerdcore hip hop funky fusion rock = prog hop. They are: Brad – Vocals, Trumpet; Disqo – Percussion, Sax, Vocals; Eric – Guitar; Evil Ivan – Bass, Vocals; Pablo Honeycut– Drums; and Reider – Keys. That makes for a dynamic Friday evening with your brand new litersteins.
Saturday packs a double wallop from two superb bands. Here is what we wrote about Antelope at Orange Blossom Jamboree:
It was time to run like an Antelope, out of control. This Phish tribute band has truly flourished since they emerged some six months ago. Juanjamon (keyboards) and Matt Weis (guitar) front this band, and they delivered big-time. Opening with “46 Days,” they showed from the outset that this would be special. They hit full stride by “Birds of a Feather” and never let up, with a great setlist including “Wolfman’s Brother,” “Tweezer” and “Down with Disease.” Mike ‘Thunderfoot’ Garrie and Sean Hartley make a powerful rhythm section. Russ Bowers jumped in on the encore.
I have always appreciated the talents of Matt Weis, especially in his band Boxcar Hollow, and I enjoy his work on all these projects. This particular night, his guitar skills were truly peaking. He absolutely crushed the Phish songs a la Trey Anastasio and the Dead songs a la Jerry. Bravo!
And Grass is Dead was also very impressive at OBJ:
Grass is Dead is so much more than the band name implies. Certainly, they approach the music of The Dead from a bluegrass perspective, but it goes far beyond that. They opened with a long intro that took its time developing into “Shakedown Street.” Amazingly, Billy Gilmore was getting those great Jerry Garcia horn effects out of his banjo! The tune was powered by Jon Murphy’s bass, and Steve Pruett rocked the electric mandolin. In the midst of Dead songs, out spilled a bouncy “The Harder They Come.” They simply slayed a huge “Samson and Delilah,” Murphy all over it, with Pruett’s mandolin and Gilmore’s banjo soaring. And “Dark Star” turned out to be a lovely vehicle for Jared Womack’s dobro.
Displace has Sunday night honors. This band can funk with the best of them, and they can stretch out the jams to delirious lengths. Bass player Vinny Svoboda has been a Wednesday Night DunBrew jam mainstay. The band has toured extensively across the country. Chris Sgammato is a quadruple threat on vocals, alto sax, guitar and keyboards, and Tucker Sody keeps superb time on kit.
And the band has just found a missing piece. Over the past several years, Displace has featured three excellent guitarists — Sam Dobkin, Josh Formanek, and Jordan Garno. The band has recruit another outstanding young guitar slinger in George Pennington III. Pennington fronts his own band and was lead guitarist with Troy Youngblood and the Soulfish, now just a distant memory.
So there you have it: litersteins, four great nights of music, wonderful people, and the Dunedin Brewery.