First Music Showcase at Tabellas Was a Blast!
The inaugural music event at Tabellas at Delaney Creek was really beautiful (Saturday, May 25). The gorgeous permanent pavilion — with ceiling fans — kept things cool even though the temperature hovered in the mid-90s. Where it was hottest was on stage, as Uncle John’s Band, Damon Fowler, Primitive Campers, and Kozmic Pearl kept the grooves smokin’ and rockin’ steady all afternoon.
Tabellas has been in operation for some time, but this was the first music event utilizing the brand new stage. The property in Palm River, between Tampa and Brandon, is really beautiful. There were plenty of beverage stations and lots of shade. There was only one food truck for this event — Pipo’s — with limited selections for the vegetarian crowd, but there is promise of more in the future. There were raffles and smiles and lawn games and much more.
KOZMIC PEARL
Kozmic Pearl is a band that covers late ’60s and early ’70s rock, and the name ties together the names of Janis Joplin’s last two albums. Doti Devane is the front woman, a true blues belter. We arrived mid-set while they were in the middle of a much newer tune, The Zutons’ “Valerie.” From there, they worked lovingly through “To Love Somebody” and a fine take on “Ain’t No Sunshine.” At the end of the set, DeVane got a chance to shine, singing “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Mercedes Benz,” which she turned into a sing-along.
PRIMITIVE CAMPERS
Primitive Campers offered a variety of well-known tunes and some great originals. The band featured Rich Whiteley, also a member of Uncle John’s Band, on vocals and guitar, and Fil Pate, the mandolin virtuoso. T.J. Glowacki played bass, and Mike Bortz (also UJB) was on percussion and the occasional vocal.
Whiteley began with a great take on “The Thrill is Gone,” and Pate absolutely lit up Stephen Stills’ “Treetop Flyer.” Original “Hour of Darkness” was a great tune, and “Deep Elem Blues” was a very popular choice, judging from the crowd’s approval.
One focus of the band was to try to recreate that glorious union of David Grisman and Jerry Garcia, and it worked to perfection on “Shady Grove,” Bortz adding harmony vocals. Pate again stood out on “Planets.” He and Whiteley are completely intertwined on stage. They offered a fine Dan deGregory song titled “Charlotte.” At that point, *somebody* from the crowd hollered, “Play some jazz.” Out spilled that delicious dawg-grass jazz, and it took a while to realize that the song was actually the classic “Stagger Lee”! They finished with a superb Whiteley original: “Raise the Roof.”
DAMON FOWLER
Next up was the local boy made good. Damon Fowler mentioned several times that he grew up less than four minutes from Tabellas. The graduate of Brandon High School has seven albums to his credit in addition to his fine work with Southern Hospitality. He was joined on stage by Chuck Riley, bass, and Justin Headley, drums.
Fowler is a bona fide guitar slinger, and he launched out with a track from last year’s The Whiskey Bayou Session, “It Came Out of Nowhere,” prompting a discussion about the video of the song. For “I’m Cuttin’ Out,” he played both guitar and his lap steel guitar. Fowler’s guitar prowess truly emerged on a surprising cover of “Chain of Fools” with a blistering solo.
Fowler offered up a tender John Fogarty song, then blew out some fine slide guitar. I was surprised when he played the introduction to “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”; it was hard to imagine a trio playing this Allman Brothers staple. I could not have been more wrong! Fowler and the boys blew this one sky-high. It was magnificent, and Fowler displayed all of his chops. When Riley soloed, he tucked several great quotes inside; the only one I remember was “In the Hall of the Mountain King” (Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt).
Pleased with the response, they offered “Jessica” next, less spectacular than “Liz” but more popular. The trio took it through several changes, including “Mountain Jam,” before returning home to “Jessica.” Next they debuted a new slow ballad: “Seven Angels,” and they closed up shop with a rocker like “You Never Can Tell.”
UNCLE JOHN’S BAND
That left it to Uncle John’s Band to top off our party, beginning with “Tangled Up in Blue,” Whiteley on vocals. Guitarist Alan Gilman sang “Brown-Eyed Women.” They had invited Fil Pate to join them, and he had a fine solo. This was the only time when the sound mix wasn’t pristine, as Mike Edwards’ bass began to overpower the vocals and other solos. It didn’t take to long for Roger Syx and PR Audio (Venice) to get that straightened out.
Edwards sang “Friend of the Devil” and “Jack-a-Roe.” UJB returned to birthday boy Bob Dylan (78 on May 24) for “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.” Then Edwards asked, “Hey, T.J., wanna play one?” Glowacki, a former member of Unlimited Devotion, joined in on “Cream Puff War,” with Pate searing a solo before the song segued into “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad,” which included a “We Bid You Goodnight” tease.
Edwards returned, and pate sat out for a fine jam with “Truckin’ > That’s It for the Other One (abbreviated).” Keyboard player Casey Otto really stood out here. Pate returned for even more Dylan with “Simple Twist of Fate,” then that bouncing Old and In the Way tune “Midnight Moonlight.” Heading toward the finale, we got “Playing in the Band > The Wheel > Playing in the Band” and, appropriately, “One More Saturday Night.”
And a great Saturday night it was. Stayed tuned to the next edition of Tabellas’ musical adventure!
