Golden Gate Wingmen Keep the Dead Alive. 5.24.15

With Furthur no longer touring and RatDog apparently a thing of the past, a group of the talented musicians who assisted those post-Grateful Dead projects have assembled an impressive musical vehicle of their own.

Meet the Golden Gate Wingmen.

John Kadlecik, who rose to prominence as the lead guitarist with Dark Star Orchestra and later went on to fill the “Jerry” slot in Furthur, fronts the group.  Keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, who will perform this summer with the four remaining members of the Grateful Dead as part of the Fare Thee Well concerts, and who has played with numerous GD-related bands including Ratdog, The Dead, Furthur and Phil and Friends, occupies the keyboard seat. Jay Lane, who notably drummed for Les Claypool’s Primus and then joined Bob Weir’s Ratdog, plies the skins for the GGW. Reed Mathis, known for his bass work with jammers Tea Leaf Green and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, covers the low-end.

The energetic quartet, which played its first show in November last year,  buzzed into The Mile High City for the Memorial Day weekend on a four-show run that included  three performances at Quixote’s True Blue (Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings) followed by a Memorial Day show at Owsley’s Golden Road in Boulder. Never having seen the band before, this reviewer caught the Sunday night outing in Denver, where things achieved musical lift-off on more than a few occasions.

The Wingmen drew a full crowd at Quixote’s, with many fans lining up early to file into the venue’s large side room (aka  the “True Blue” stage).  Suffice it to say, the audience was raring and ready to go. Things kicked off with an upbeat Van Morrison cover, Cleaning Windows, that saw Kadlecik, who physically resembles a young Garcia,  laying down some Jerry-inspired lead-work and vocals while Chimenti handled the keys dexterously and the rhythm section propelled the groove steadily and inventively.

The opening set included a rousing  cover of Bob Dylan’s When I Paint My Masterpiece, which was followed by a pleasing version of the Grateful Dead’s Row Jimmy, sung by Reed Mathis,  and one of Kadlecik’s own folky compositions, It’s Alright, which set the stage for a spirited Aiko Aiko and a well-received Cassidy to close the set. While making use of just one six-string guitarist, the band, with the aid of Chimenti’s key work and the rhythm section’s clever approach, presents a satisfyingly full sound.

Set two opened with a spritely version of the Jerry Garcia country-rock classic, Deal, that ascended pleasingly higher and higher during its solo breaks.

Deal gave way to an original, Liquid Silver (co-written by lyricist Indi Riverflow), which sounded a bit like a slowed-down take on Scarlet Begonias. The set also incorporated an unexpected cover of Bob Dylan’s Standing in the Doorway (from Dylan’s 1997 Time out of Mind release) that marked the second song sung by Mathis that evening. Perhaps the the highlight of the night, quite fittingly as it was Robert Zimmerman’s 74th birthday,  was Visions of Johanna. GGW’s rendition of the Dylan classic was vocally and instrumentally strong and pleasingly reminiscent of Garcia’s triumphant interpretations of the song in the ’80s and ’90s.

A brief pause in the action gave way to an exploratory Help on The Way>Slipknot>Franklin’s Tower that featured Jeff Chimenti’s fiery improvisation on the keys entwining with Kadlecik’s fevered guitar lines to end the set with a hurrah.

The group then returned for its encore, the soulful Dan Penn/Don Nix ballad, Like a Road Leading Home, which Garcia often covered with the Jerry Garcia Band. Overall, the evening was a nice nod to Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and the wingmen who still carry the fire. For fans of jam music it can sometimes be challenging to cut through the fog of proficient Dead-related acts, but this skilled group is very capable of providing Deadheads with a bit of the old magic.

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Golden Gate Wingmen in Denver/Boulder set lists:

Friday, May 22, 2015, Quixote’s, Denver

Set 1: Feel Like Dynamite Lazy River Road The Ladder (Reed Mathis original, first performance) Givin’ Me The Business Bird Song Sister Smiles Touch of Grey

Set 2: Bertha What’s Become Of Mary Ramble on Rose (R. Mathis vocal) The Maker She Belongs To Me Not Fade Away

Saturday, May 23, 2015, Quixote’s Denver

Set 1: Might As Well Tin Roof Shack Hard Highway Loser Seen Love Reuben and Cerise Ripple

Set 2: Nobody Told Me Golden Wings (JK song premiere) Crazy Fingers Love Sick Dark Star Page 43 GDTRFB

Sunday, May 24, 2015, Quixote’s Denver

Set 1: Cleaning Windows Masterpiece Row Jimmy (RM) It’s Alright Iko Iko Cassidy

Set 2: Deal Liquid Silver Standing in the Doorway (RM) Visions of Johanna Help on the Way> Slipknot> Franklin’s Tower

E: Like a Road Leading Home

Monday, May 25, 2015, Owsley’s Golden Road, Boulder

Set 1: They Love Each Other 4th Time Around (RM) Givin’ Me The Business The Ladder (RM) Friend of the Devil What’s Become of Mary Liberty

Set 2: Shakedown Street Feel Like Dynamite Golden Wings Dignity (RM) Looks Like Rain Good Guys and Bad Guys Walking in Your Footsteps He’s Gone (RM) Bertha

E: Not Fade Away Brokedown Palace