Roosevelt Collier with Unlimited Devotion – Never Miss a Sunday Show!
Sunday night March 5th Tampa was host to an extremely special show. Roosevelt Collier joined forces with Unlimited Devotion – South Florida’s premier Grateful Dead tribute band – as well as Jim Wuest of The Heavy Pets. The Crowbar in Ybor City was the setting for a night that included extended jams, birthday songs, smiles, hugs and most of all people connecting through the power of music.
Unlimited Devotion is based out of Delray Beach and is comprised of Al Zilinsky on guitar, John Zias on lead guitar, Joe Falconeri on bass and Dan DeGregory on Drums. Joining them on this night were Roosevelt Collier on lap steel guitar and Jim Wuest on keyboards.
Ybor City is a vibrant hotspot just outside downtown Tampa that hosts several music venues including Crowbar, a standing-room-only venue that holds about 300 people.
Sunday night shows are often tough to pack out a venue. With this lineup though, Crowbar was filled with eager fans even before the show started. The band took the stage and immediately let everyone know they were in a for a treat with an opening of “The Music Never Stopped.” This was an incredibly rousing, high-energy rendition of a classic song that was the perfect avenue for Roosevelt to imbue his sacred steel guitar jams. To give an idea of just how much jamming they got into for this opening set, consider that the setlist has a total of six songs and ran just under 75 minutes.
The first set was full of those magical moments where band members are really getting into the music and exchange those looks with each other that let you know the energy is dialed up to the max. Roosevelt was truly in his element, working as much as a ringmaster as anything. One of the great things about Roosevelt is how much he loves letting others have the spotlight. He frequently laid back to let John take the lead on guitar solos or to let Jim have solo time on the keys.
Dead fans around Tampa know Dan DeGregory as the one of the drummers for Uncle John’s Band, our own local Grateful Dead tribute band. While he was still in his usual spot behind the kit, it was refreshing to see him get more time on vocals on this particular night. Dan has a great voice for these songs, and it really got a workout all through the night. Jim Wuest is already one of the funkiest people around on the keys, and his ability to lock in a groove with Dan and Joe kept things chugging all night.
The first set continued on through “Cassidy > That’s It for the Other One > Cassidy,” “Next Time You See Me” and finally ended on crowd favorite “Shakedown Street.” The band took a short break, and the venue was filled with a lot of ‘Oh my god that was fantastic!’ types of comments. I saw Roosevelt out in the crowd exchanging hugs and getting pictures with lots of smiling fans.
The second set kicked off in true Grateful Dead style with “Help is On the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower”– but with a twist. For this rendition, the band also slipped “Sunshine Of Your Love” between “Slipknot!” and “Franklin’s Tower.” It was a great chance for Dan to show off his vocals and for Joe to really show off his low-end thumping.
Then I was lucky enough to get invited to join in playing harmonica on “Mr. Charlie.” The band was extremely accommodating, and the musicians were very easy to get into a groove with, alternating between some energetic, fast jams as well as some dirtier bluesy riffs traded among John, Roosevelt and myself.
The set was rounded out with a passionate “Terrapin Station,” a rousing “Big River” and finished up with “Lovelight.” Again, the set was eight songs and still ran nearly 90 minutes. These are guys who love to find the music and just run with it while bringing the crowd right along with them.
I can’t count the number of times I saw guitarist Al making eye contact with someone in the crowd, both just smiling and realizing that moments like these are what music lovers – those on the stage and in the audience – live for.
Unlimited Devotion will be back in the area for Orange Blossom Jamboree happening May 18th through the 21st at Sertoma Youth Ranch in Brooksville, Florida. OBJ is already one of Florida’s most popular festivals, and the addition of this band will be icing on the cake.
Find out more at:
https://www.facebook.com/UDMusic/
http://www.orangeblossomjamboree.com/
