Steve Kimock Garcia Tribute Celebrates Bobby Vega Wedding

Images by: Scott Harris
Words by: Scott Bernstein

Steve Kimock’s Jerry Garcia Tribute :: 3.13.15 :: Gramercy Theatre :: NYC

Steve Kimock brought his Garcia Tribute to NYC’s Gramercy Theatre on Friday night, where the sextet treated a capacity crowd to a marathon show filled with songs from the R&B and soul portion of Jerry’s repertoire. The band’s bassist Bobby Vega tied the knot earlier in the day and the group celebrated at the end of the first set with a toast to the longtime Kimock collaborator and his blushing bride.

In addition to Kimock and Vega, the band featured Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz of ALO on guitar and vocals, Jeff Chimenti of RatDog & Furthur on keyboards, John Morgan Kimock in one of the drum seats and the legendary Bill Vitt, who performed with Garcia/Saunders in the ’70s, as the other drummer. The ensemble and project made their debut at Sweetwater in December of ’13 and following another Sweetwater run this past December and an appearance on Jam Cruise 13 are now in the middle of their first tour together, which ends on Sunday night at The Ardmore Music Hall near Philadelphia.

The emotional high point of Friday evening’s show came at the end of the first set, when Kimock explained that Vega had gotten married in NYC earlier that day. Steve welcomed Bobby’s new wife Allison Vega to the stage while a stage hand brought out a cake. All the members of the band and the audience then raised their glasses in celebration of the nuptials. Allison stood at the side of the stage throughout the night and Bobby would occasionally blow kisses her way.

Speaking of Bobby Vega, they sure don’t make bassists like him anymore. Bobby’s inventive approach towards everything he played on Friday was a sight to behold. There are some bassists who focus on playing the basics and just holding down the bottom end, but that’s not the Bobby way. Vega’s bass parts weave in and around the normal structure of each song with these creative fills that left many jaws agape. He particularly shined on the “Mystery Train” first set closer as it seemed the more basic the structure of the song, the more room Vega had to add flourishes to his playing.

Lebo, who’s been a regular at Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads of late, did an impressive job channeling Jerry’s mid-70s vocals. He also succeeded at bringing the audience into the action by leading a sing-along segment of “The Harder They Come” during the first set. The ALO frontman asked if the NYC crowd could sing as loud and strong as the Baltimore audience from the previous evening which is all many in the venue needed to hear before belting out the chorus of the Jimmy Cliff classic to the band’s delight. Dan also delivered a few bright and soulful solos, but left the bulk of the lead guitar work to Kimock.

Jeff Chimenti utilized B3 organ and electric piano for both rhythm and lead work on Friday night. The keyboardist was also the only backing vocalist for Lebo, though Steve Kimock did help out on “Money Honey.” Chimenti was at his best when the ensemble broke through the normal structure of “Sugaree” and took us on an improvisational adventure that after ten minutes left many wondering “is this still ‘Sugaree?'” One of few complaints from Friday’s show is that more of those out-of-the-box moments would’ve been appreciated.

The drumming duo of Vitt and Morgan Kimock has become more cohesive each time out for the band. Bill and John have settled in on a productive plan of having Kimock handle the basic beat while Vitt adds fills and flourishes. Whereas in December the pair kept their eyes on each other trying to figure out who was doing what, there seemed to be a telepathic communication between the two on Friday night that benefited the music greatly.

And then there’s the leader of this particular pack -Steve Kimock. The guitarist was in fine form throughout the night as one of Jerry’s favorite guitarist did his repertoire justice in New York City. Kimock was especially adept at playing traffic cop, keeping the action moving with hand signals and vocal cues. Steve’s leadership particularly paid dividends on a raucous version of “They Love Each Other” that ended with an anthemic chord progression that was more “Sweet Home Alabama” than “TLEO.” The “Expressway” towards the end of the second set saw Kimock unleash his most fiery lead guitar work much to the delight of those in the packed venue.

[Video by Scott Gibson]

After two marathon sets, the band still had another trick up their sleeves as they brought the show to a close with a spirited romp through Jesse Stone’s “Don’t Let Go” which had portions of “Philadelphia Mambo” thrown in for good measure. The tour comes to a close tonight in Ardmore, Philadelphia but Kimock will bring the tribute to Bear’s Picnic this summer so there appears to more in store for Steve’s Garcia tribute -which is very good news for music fans.

Setlist (via Dan Alford)

Set One: Someday Baby, Second That Emotion, Finders Keepers, Harder They Come, Mississippi Moon, Mystery Train

Set Two: Hi-Heel Sneakers, They Love Each Other, Sugaree, Money Honey, Expressway, Bertha

Encore: Don’t Let Go > Philadelphia Mambo (Sun Sun Sun) > Don’t Let Go