Bobby Vega Celebrates 60th Birthday With Marathon Show At Sweetwater Music Hall
By Scott Bernstein Dec 1, 2016 • 1:41 pm PST
Photo by Ted Silverman
Iconic bassist Bobby Vega may have turned 60, but he’s certainly not slowing down. Last night Vega was on stage for four sets during a bash held in his honor at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, California.
Four different sides of Bobby’s musicality were on display over the course of the four sets at Sweetwater. Up first was a set of six funky covers starting with “Express Yourself” by Charles Wright and continuing on with The Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing,” “Hair” by Sly & The Family Stone, Rufus’s “Tell Me Something Good” and “What Is Hip” by Tower Of Power. Vega’s band for the set saw him joined by drummer Prairie Prince, keyboardist Chris Smith and vocalist Mz. Dee, among others. The set concluded with a particularly funky take on “Come Together” by The Beatles.
Following the presentation of a birthday cake to Vega, the bassist was joined by Prairie Prince and guitarist Chris Rossbach for a series of jazzy instrumentals. The night moved on with a rocked-out third set featuring Miles Schon, James DePrato, Darby Gould and others on Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression” and “Whipping Post” by the Allman Brothers Band.
The evening came to a close with a reunion of the surviving members of Zero, Vega’s longtime band. Guitarist Steve Kimock, Vega, drummer Greg Anton and keyboardist Pete Sears worked through a number of the group’s originals including “Catalina,” “Cole’s Law” and “Golden Road” as well as a cover of “Try A Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding. Zero was joined by vocalist Jessica Fierro, the daughter of longtime member Martin Fierro, for “Catalina.” A handful of videos from Bobby Vega’s birthday show can be viewed below thanks to Ted Silverman, who provided a number of the details found in this report.
