Photo by Chris Neverman

Davey Knowles is a monster. From the opening riffs of “Alligator,” Knowles owned what was otherwise not an altogether memorable night of music. That is not to say that his performance was anything but spectacular. In fact, his style brought a new energy to some old Dead tunes. He was able to accomplish this in a very respectful manner. He neither tried to replicate nor overshadow the lazy lightning of the man who first laid down all those mind-bending solos.

As Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, the Rhythm Devils, pounded the opening “Alligator” into Bo Diddley’s “Hey Bo Diddley!” Knowles again dominated with his guitar work and also handled the vocals. The two songs were blazing.
Unfortunately, a near set-killing version of “Brown-Eyed Women” followed. Tim Bluhm took lead vocals and mumbled his way through with a pained looked on his face. It made me realize what a perfect fit Jerry’s s elfish voice is for this song. The one redeeming moment was a brief, solid guitar solo by Knowles.

“Comes the Dawn” came next and offered one of the few opportunities for Sikiru Adepoju to shine. His talking drum solo was a highlight and made me wonder why he wasn’t better utilized during the rest of the show. “Comes the Dawn” ended with a computer-aided segue into “Fountains of Wood”, with its mid-90s-Pink-Floydish feel. A very soft segue into “So Many Roads” came next before the band was finally able to pump energy back into the crowd at the end of the set with a rousing “Samson & Delilah” as Knowles once again tore through a wicked solo.

The second set picked up where the first left off with a strong take on “Good Lovin’.” The crowd was bouncing and dancing and, at the end of it, howling its appreciation. “Voodoo Zombie” followed and, halfway through, the guy in front of me turned and informed me that it was the best song of the evening. At this point, I was hopeful that the second set would remain high-energy and that the drums, including Adepoju’s talking drum, would play a bigger role. Unfortunately, the energy was immediately zapped by “Mountains of the Moon.” I think my biggest problem with this band’s take on slower songs is the lack of an ideal vocalist. Davy Knowles does an admirable job on the blues numbers, but Bluhm’s voice just doesn’t serve the material well.

Next, the band ripped through the Stone’s “Satisfaction”, which drew smiles from the crowd and had everyone shouting that most-famous-of refrains. Knowles again offered a short and respectful solo, staying close to the song’s original form. As they brought the song to an end, my buddy turned to me and said, “you’re going to be paying $120 to see [Knowles] in a stadium some day.” Maybe so. “Wrecking Crew” brought a short and awkwardly paced second set to an end. I’m unsure if there were time constraints but the crowd seemed genuinely disappointed with length of the second set. I hoped this meant they’d come out with a raging encore.

Nope. “Brokedown Palace.” I don’t hate the song. But, as with all the other slower songs, the vocals left a lot to be desired. The crowd swayed along, some singing the lyrics. And that was it. They left the stage, the house lights came on, and the crowd quietly filed out of the Pabst.