Terrapin Flyer Swoops through Quixote’s on 1.16.16 (with John Kadlecik Solo)

Terrapin Flyer first got its wings in 1999 at a weekly Grateful Dead jam in Chicago.  Since then the band has taken off and become a solid touring act that performs an engaging blend of Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band material. Guitarist Doug Hagman, a founder and original member of the group, leads the ensemble, and is frequently joined by special guests JGB keyboardist Melvin Seals and former Other Ones and Ratdog guitarist Mark Karan.

(Terrapin Flyer at Quixote’s True Blue in Denver. 1.16.16. Photos by David Tracer)

At Quixote’s, Terrapin Flyer featured Bradley Rhea on bass, Colorado’s own Jake Wolfe on drums and Kara Cavanaugh on backing vocals.  Doug Hagman commanded the musical flight deck from the middle, while Cavanaugh provided soulful vocal accompaniment and Wolfe and Rhea held the pocket on a variety of classics that were warmly received by the Denver audience.  The group played to a full house, delivering a two hour set that kicked off with a bouncy “China Cat Sunflower” into “I Know You Rider,” and explored a multitude of musical sidings over the course of the evening. It was a treat to see Mark Karan in action as well as Melvin Seals, who positively tore up a few keyboard solos much to the crowd’s delight.

(Melvin Seals and Terrapin Flyer at Quixote’s True Blue in Denver. 1.16.16)

T-Flyer’s set also included festive versions of “Friend of the Devil,” “The Harder They Come,”  “Stir it Up,”  “Walkin’ the Dog,” “The Way You do the things You Do,”  “Lay Down Sally,”  “Get Out My Life Woman,”  “Don’t Let Go,”  “Second That Emotion” and an extended trip down Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61.”

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John Kadlecik Solo Acousti’Lectric 1/16/16 Quixote’s Denver, CO

Also on hand for the evening’s festivities was former Dark Star Orchestra and Furthur lead guitarsit John Kadlecik, who followed Terrapin Flyer with an inspiring solo performance on his “acousti’lectric” guitar.

Best known as the lead guitarist for bands including Dark Star Orchestra, The Mix, Furthur, and, most recently, the Golden Gate Wingmen and the John Kadlecik Band, John K’s Acousti’Lectric Tour has him venturing into the newer role of solo musician. As evidenced by his performance at Quixote’s True Blue, the solo gig has him both developing his own voice and freeing himself from the cold iron shackles of a Grateful Dead-dominated setlist; or as he’d soon inform us, “any setlist at all.”

(The crowd for John Kadlecik solo at Quixote’s on 1.16.16. Photo by Nick Hutchinson)

Upon entering the room, we found John on stage soundchecking the acoustic prelude of “Weather Report Suite” and his own composition “It’s Alright” (neither of which he played during the show). After the soundcheck and prior to the show, John spent quite a bit of time milling around the room, greeting the crowd and taking photos with fans. It was pretty obvious that he’s quite comfortable being a freak among freaks. Perhaps influenced by one of them wearing a “Bob Dylan: Together Through Life” shirt, he opened his set with the rollicking version of Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue.” The set would then take numerous twists and turns through songs representing originals and both likely and unlikely covers by artists including Peter Rowan, John Prine, Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, Bruce Cockburn, Rush, Phish, John Lennon and of course, the Grateful Dead. And while Dead covers might seem likely fare for John, some of his choices in that realm too would be out of the ordinary; like Phil’s “Unbroken Chain” (see here):

or Vince Welnick’s “Way to Go Home.” In the words of Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi, a poet from the 13th century (whose lyricism inspired the JK song “Golden Wings”) the Acousti’Lectric Tour let us see “the strength, the beauty and the golden wings” of John Kadlecik.

— David Tracer, Denver, CO

Setlist:

Tangled Up in Blue

Golden Wings

Dire Wolf

Unbroken Chain>

Land of the Navajo

So Many Roads

Illegal Smile

Way to Go Home

Bron-Yr-Aur

Sister Smiles

Lather

Dupree’s Diamond Blues

Believe It or Not

Lovers in a Dangerous Time

Entre Nous

Fast Enough For You

Watching the Wheels

Bertha

Le Ripple (French)