JamBands.Com - November '98 - Southeast Regional Report

Southeast Regional Report
Edited by Gil McLemore - gmclemore@mindspring.com
The reds and golds of the season are finding their way to the ground and the nights have grown just as crisp as those falling leaves... the autumn months are upon us once again. Some lament the departure of warm days and long evenings, but here in the south the show(s) must go on! Halloween roared past in a fiendish blur, treating lucky concert-goers to special performances from their favorite bands, most notably the notorious String Cheese Incident and indie golden-child Day by the River (featured in this month's band profile), so we snagged a few of those lucky ghouls and got the full All-Hallow's report, sans hangover.
Look for next month's feature to include a special duo of reviews from the southern leg of Widespread Panic's fall tour... we caught up with our old friends from Panic for part of a phenomenal weekend romp through the carolina's, so be sure to check it out next month. Read on, and Enjoy!
- Band Profile: Day by the River
- Review: 10/31/98 - Day by the River
- Review: 10/31/98 - String Cheese Incident

Band Profile:
Day by the River
Touted as the latest, greatest of the unsigned to emerge from the south, Athens-based Day by the River is stickin' to a good recipe: play your music, play it well, and play it often. Following the footsteps of successful touring acts before them, the approach has done the band well. A unique situation, having emerged as one of the south's best jambands might, interestingly, be largely due to the band's indie status rather than being in spite of it. The band's heavy touring schedule and sporadic studio work have paid off, extending it's reach gradually and providing the unit with the kind of chemistry only the road can provide. Despite lack of acknowledgement by the industry and no big bucks, don't kid yourself... these guys are doing what that want to do, the way they want to do it, and they're good.
Their evolution began in the roots of casual play by vocalist-guitarist Ted Lahey and bassist Pat McDonnell. The two graduated from an Athens high school in the late 80's with fellow band members Walt Austin (keyboardist) and Dave Brockway (drummer), eventually all attending the University of Miami, where they studied music and began to concentrate on their new band. Local performances gave way to light touring, touring necesitated the need for a central 'home base', and a few years later the band found it's way back home to Athens and into the thick of things. With a line-up change here and an adjustment there, a more accomplished DBR settled into its creative mold, producing a solid sophomore release, 1996's FLY. Since, the band has continued its grass-roots approach, successfully garnering a dedicated fan base through its constant touring.
An eclectic blend of different styles, Day by the River delivers an entertaining and well-rounded musical performance - trite as it may sound, this still proves a group's ultimate goal. With a presence that immediately feels familiar, DBR utilizes its variety of influences, most directly jazz and rock, to engineer their music through intensely live musical performances. An interesting aspect of the bands style is their fearless tendency to use pop-like song structure on occasion, skillfully no less, engaging the listener in a simple, easy melody before returning to a more complete jam. Analogous to today's jam band counterparts John Bell (Widespread Panic) and Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule), crooner Ted Lahey provides a strong vocal presence, again familiar, yet distinct. Heavy in strong keyboard and guitar, the band's jams are driving first, perhaps ethereal later, providing effective segues or transitions when needed.
An accomplished group of musicians in their own right, and playing by their own rules, meet Day by the River... if you don't now, you will soon.
- Gil McLemore, Ed.
Day by the River is:
Ted Lahey - lead vocals/guitar
Pat McDonnell - bass/vocals
Walt Austin - keyboards/vocals
Dave Brockway - drums
Jason Rabineau - lead guitar/vocals
Day By The River
10/31/98 The Covered Dish, Gainesville, FL
I: Intro> Imperial March> Jam> Drive Thru, See You, TV, My Song, Moanin' Lisa, Japanese Motel> Spacey Jam> 411
II: Time, Fly, Naked> Mos Eisley Cantina Jam> Naked, Taking Over, Doctor, Bee Jam, Bus> Brain Damage> Eclipse
Encore: Dark Star
E2: Puddin' Tease (shut down by Dish)
While Phish fans two times zones to the west were getting ready for their Halloween party, far, far away in another galaxy, Day By The River was getting some serious funkified jams out. The covered Dish in downtown Gainesville, FL hosted DBRUs spacey Halloween party. A very spacey party in fact. From the Star Wars pez dispensers given out at the door, to the cardboard X Wing Fighters and Star Wars characters, along with the glow in the dark stars, moons, and meteors, the mood was definitely set and it was starting to smell pretty jammy.
Day By The River, a five piece band from Athens, GA consisting of Ted Lahey on guitar and lead vocals, Jason Rabineau on lead guitar and vocals, Pat McDonnell on Bass and vocals, Walter B. Austin on keys and vocals, and Dave Brockway on drums, tours the southeast pretty much non-stop and The Covered Dish is a favorite of theirs.
The "Star Wars Theme Song" started off the first set. The band, dressed as characters coming out near the movie's end, started the jamming right away, jamming the dark side of the forces "Imperial March". This gave way to a full-out jam, pieces of R2D2 sound effects shooting from Walt AustinUs keys. The boys were really on fire as this jam bled easily into RDrive ThroughS with it's swirling leads and rhythm, the TDish was a shakin'! Later came "TV", a song they do not play enough of anymore. This was met with great approval. A great sing-along with RMy SongS, then the funky new Walt tune "Moanin LisaS followed, a Funky Meters like tune that always has everyone dancinU. The "Japanese Motel" gave way to a Dave Brockway drum solo, and not your cheesy everyday drum solo either... Ted, Jason, and Pat stood aside and let Dave work his magic. Walt was soon noodling on his keys, more Star Wars effects spring from the PA. Ted, Pat, and Jason stepped back up and picked on the jam - now we've got a good 3 minutes of laser beeps, droid noises, DaveUs hypnotic drum beat, and Pats rhythmic bass lines, all augmented by Jason and TedUs guitar workings erupting into "411"! (A very, very energetic "411" at that) These guys were on fire and this was the perfect end to a killer 1st set.
After a very short break and hugs all around, it was time for set 2. The opening notes of Pink FloydUs 'Time' spilled from the PA and we knew we were in for a real good time. I had heard this covered a zillion times, but never have I heard it done so well. With both Ted Lahey and Pat McDonnell singing the lead, it sounded like the original thing but only DBR style. Next up we had 'Fly', the anthem like song from their second CD of the same name. The ever popular 'Naked' came next, leaving out the usual 'lets get naked rap.' Ted introduces and MCUs the costume contest, the whole thing being backed by the 'Cantina Song' from StarWars, this segued back into Naked, which eventually led into 'Nova,' and what a supernova it was. The boys seemed to tease and tease the intro, building it up and up, refusing to dive all the way into the song. Pat McDonnellUs bass lines rolled all through the Covered Dish until 'Nova' erupted super style! The ever fun 'Doctor' was followed by crowd fave, RB Jam", and now we were in 5th gear! The shortened 'Bus' that came next led into "Brain Damage > Eclipse" thus making a DBR sandwich on Pink Floyd bread and ending the set.
A few minutes of chanting and the guys were back on stage.. with opening notes of 'Dark Star' many minds were blown. Yet another song that is hard to cover and cover good, the boys forget that and are full speed ahead to outer space. Jason Rabineau was getting a nod from Ole' Jerry for sure. As the second verse and the following jam wound down, 'Keep on Rollin' took over and kept on rollin' - the energy there, right then, could've powered a battleship... No lie! Hopes of a second encore were dimmed when all but the monitors were cut off, ending what would have become 'Puddin'. We then said our goodbyes and that sent us all out into the freakish Gainesville Halloween night!
- Troy Cryder
The String Cheese Incident
10/31/98 The Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
I: Spooky Jam> Black Clouds, Missing Me> Smile, Mtn Girls, Sand Dollar, Born On The Wrong Planet, Climb> Jam> Whiskey before Breakfast
II: Texas> Mouna Bowa, Happy Birthday JonO, Another Night, Galactic, Rhythm of The Road, Round The Wheel> *I Know You Rider
Encore: **Elvis' Wild Ride, ***Jellyfish, *On The Road, Remington Ride
(* with Bill McKay of The Derrick Trucks Band on keyboard)
(** Travis and Nershi solo)
(*** with Bill McKay, and Jamie Mansfield of The Jazz Mandolin Project)
It all started at 4:20 in Auburn when my friends and I started to prep for Halloween night. After meeting up with everyone, we finally got on the road to Atlanta. Once we're on our way, we see two cop cars on either side of the road facing us with their headlights - searchlights on. Of course with two car loads filled with bearded ladies, ninjas, whores and pimps, and a masked avenger, you get worried that they might be out to get you. said One of my friends: "Does this mean we're really screwed?" Well, we found out that a motorhome flipped over driving back from the Auburn football game, so no problems, but traffic was backed up for over an hour. When we got there we ran in only to find out that we missed Jazz Mandolin, but something would make it all better. As we walked into the Variety, the air was so thick with smoke and fog that if possible the humidity felt over 100%, and since it was sold-out and packed full, all the bodies really made it hot in there. There were trees with spanish moss hanging from the limbs and the rafters, orange lights coming from the stage, and as we got closer I saw that all the members were wearing alligator costumes... the whole swamp type feel. Out came SCI around 10:45 and the whole first set was smoking. This set had a lot of funk, more than I normally hear from SCI. Mix the funk with some smoking bluegrass, and the whole place couldn't stop dancing - the whole first set never seemed to slow down, which seemed alright with everybody else. Finally at set break, the music played softly and they left some phatty lights on, looking like a rotating screen saver on the walls. It only seemed like 40-50 minutes until they came back on for the second set, a little more laid back, with songs that seemed to flow fluidly into each other with themes that started out slow then added speed, gaining momentum until you were about to explode, only to change to something else. At the end of the set, guests from Jazz Mandolin came out to jam... Jamie Mansfield was jamming so hard he broke 2 strings and kept on playing.
When they left the stage there was a tremendous roar from the crowd. The crowd began to bang on anything they could find. After figuring out what they were going to play, or "shooting up," as they told us, they walked back out with a look on their faces that seemed as if they were even impressed with us for loving the night so much. After a memorable four song encore, including a Bill & Travis 'Elvis', the night had finally ended at about 3:30am. As everyone left, the smiles on their faces were proof to a great night of music.
- Christopher Black