Watkins Glen Summer Jam Tribute 2024
[Many thanks to Jeffrey Moellering / snapzalot.com of Tampa Bay Music News for his superb photographs!]
Last summer was the 50th anniversary of the legendary Watkins Glen Summer Jam with The Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, and The Band. In honor of that momentous gathering of 600,000 music fans, Steeln’ Peaches, Florida’s premier Allman Brothers tribute band, had a run of eight shows highlighting ABB’s set. Two of those shows also featured bands performing the music of The Dead and of The Band.
So it seemed appropriate to reprise Watkins Glen Summer Jam Anniversary Celebration 51 with a pair of shows August 23 in Ocala and August 24 at Tampa Theater, with Unlimited Devotion doing The Dead for both dates. Harber Wynn performed the music of The Band in Ocala; in Tampa Have Gun, Will Travel filled that role. We were fortunate to attend the Tampa show.
Before we get to the music, two important issues. This was an “early” show, meaning it began at 7:00. What we did not realize was that it would end at 10, apparently owing to the daily rental cost of Tampa Theater. That meant that sets would be short, even given the superb job done by all to cut set-change times.
Also, as we will address in a separate article, this was absolutely a dance show in a seated venue. Many danced off to the side and in several other areas, but there was conflict with patrons who wanted to sit and see. Anyone who knows me knows I dance IN my chair, but this whole issue needs to be explored further, whether it is dancing side versus non-dancing side or some other solution.
Time for music.
Have Gun, Will Travel started at 6:59, and their all-too-short set finished at 7:27, before many patrons had even arrived (that’s on YOU, patrons). Their set was enhanced with a trumpet player and one on trombone. They opened with “Don’t Do It” and kept right on rolling through a fine tour of The Band’s most memorable tunes, nailing the essence of each one. “Stage Fright” certainly stood out (OK, they ALL did), but after favorite “Cripple Creek” they finished with a flourish: “Ophelia” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” What a perfect way to start the evening!
[HGWT: Don’t Do It, The Shape I’m In, Stage Fright, The Weight, Up On Cripple Creek, Ophelia, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down]
Unlimited Devotion are: Dan DeGregory, drums, lead vocals; Joe Falconeri, bass guitar; John Zias, lead guitar, vocals; and Al Zilinsky, rhythm guitar, vocals. They also brought along a ringer in the form of Jim Wuest, keyboard wizard for The Heavy Pets and Orbit Divider.
Brief set break? How about NINE minutes? WOW. UD lit up the room instantly with “Sitting On Top of the World,” singing and dancing and smiling all around the room (balcony, too). Zias handled vocals on this one before yielding much of the set to DeGregory, who is a fine singer. “Mississippi Half-step Uptown Toodleloo” and “Brown Eyed Women” were joy-filled tunes, and that ringer Wuest truly tore it up on Hammond B3 and piano throughout the set.
They took their collective foot off the gas for a leisurely “Sugaree” before blowing out the magical pairing “China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider.” DeGregory and Falconeri kept that train on the track all set long, while Zias and Zilinsky (The Zs) traded back and forth. Wuest put his mark on the set one more time. 48 minutes? WOW, that was short, too.
[UD: Sitting On Top of the World, Mississippi Half-step Uptown Toodleloo, Brown Eyed Women, Sugaree, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider]
During the next short set break, Thor Bendicksen wondered if there would be a three-band jam at the end like the one in 1973, which would have worked but for that 10 p.m. cutoff.
Steeln’ Peaches are: Chuck Magid, guitar, vocals; Daniel Heitz, guitar, vocals; Aaron “Bucky” Buckingham, drums, vocals; Glenn Kastrinos, bass, vocals; Colin Fei, keyboards, vocals; David Vanegas, percussion, vocals; and Adam Volpe, drums, vocals.
It felt like a youth movement as the septet walked on stage, and the energy level skyrocketed; it WAS, of course, their work that put these shows together. After opener “Trouble No More,” the dance party kicked in for real as the Peaches crushed a “Jessica” sandwich slathered thick with “Mountain Jam”! They followed that up with a joyous “Ramblin’ Man” sing-along and a deep “Midnight Rider.” Magid and Heitz front this band so well, and both absolutely ripped those strings song after song.
Fei’s keyboards, especially piano, demonstrated his prowess with this canon of work. Wild slide guitar rang out as the band launched into favorite “One Way Out,” which gloriously segued into “Blue Skies.” Anyone who saw ABB (at any point in their career) knows that relentless percussion is at the heart of the band, and Steeln’ Peaches excels here, with drummers Buckingham and Volpe and percussion wizard Venegas. They really stood out on a terse version of “Liz” (“In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”).
“Come and Go Blues” was a fine, bluesy respite before Kastrinos played those unmistakable bass notes introducing “Whipping’ Post,” the evening’s finale.
[SP: Trouble No More, Jessica > Mountain Jam > Jessica, Ramblin’ Man, Midnight Rider, One Way Out > Blue Skies, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, Come and Go Blues, Whipping’ Post]
What a fabulous night!
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