Animal House: Roosevelt Collier and Unlimited Devotion
[Photographs courtesy of John Strojny]
We’re all familiar with the saying “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” It is not an axiom; it’s not always true. Results of collaborations range from “just what I expected” to “who the heck thought this would be a good idea?” And, every once in a while, the collaboration IS axiomatic, simply brilliant.
Such was the case last Friday (November 23rd) at Dunedin Brewery for the second of eight shows around the Sunshine State with Roosevelt Collier and Unlimited Devotion playing the music of the Grateful Dead. Unleash the superlatives!
There will be plenty to say about Collier on his new lap steel guitar (an actual guitar body for convenience of playing) and UD’s two excellent guitarists: Al Zilinsky and John Zias. But this night more than anything was about the other three players. The rhythm section of TJ Glowacki (bass) and Dan DeGregory (drums) was brilliant.
However, the man of the night was Darryl Quesenberry, the Rev. Funky D, and affectionately known as Animal. Cancer has done nothing to dampen Animal’s remarkable musical spirit; indeed, some of us thought this was one of his most enthusiastic, unfettered performances ever.
Unlimited Devotion blasted off with a gorgeous take on “Eyes of the World,” and Animal took off on electric piano, and we had a pretty good view of what the rest of the evening would hold for us. Then Collier strode on stage, and soon after they tore up Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle.”
At this point it’s worth noting that much of the Grateful Dead catalog was filled with cover tunes and traditional melodies. That was the case with this night’s setlist, as only six of the 16 songs were actually penned by the Dead. More than anything, this bespeaks the true American nature of the Grateful Dead experience.
After the deep R&B roots of “Hard to Handle,” the band switched gears and took the great John Phillips Western ditty “Me and My Uncle” at almost double-time, DeGregory a powerhouse on drums; he also handled most of the vocals all night. Animal’s barroom piano was the perfect accompaniment, and from there the sextet slid into an equally uptempo “Sittin’ On Top of the World.”
The intro to “Deep Elem Blues” could just have well segued into “Loose Much,” and “Elem” was deep, indeed. The jam that developed out of “Hey Pocky A-Way” was absolutely amazing, Animal’s synths at the center of it all. Again, Collier on lap steel and Zias on guitar traded lots of leads, with Zilinsky hard at work, often in the Bobby role of fascinating rhythm guitar.
“Sugaree” exploded all over DunBrew — “epic,” Dan Farkas called it. No disagreement from anyone. Animal, Collier and the collective jammed this right into outer space. They chose “Turn On Your Lovelight” to close the first set, inviting Matt Hillman to join them on harp. He had a fine solo, and he and Collier traded back and forth as well.
Set two leapt out immediately with the great traditional tune “Cold Rain and Snow,” Zias on vocals. Song over, he said, “It’s hard to sing that song with your wife right in front of you!”
What occurred next was an incredible half hour plus that began with a powerful “Samson and Delilah.” DeGregory was again singing and powering the band with his relentless beat. As the tune was peaking, they made the turn into “That’s It for the Other One.” This was stunning, Glowacki’s bass leading the way. The jam was so uptempo, so tight, so smokin’ hot. Eventually, that jam yielded to “Fire On the Mountain.” Everybody was lit up, but nobody more so than Animal on electric piano and synths.
It is always a joy hearing musicians include quotes and teases and themes during their solos, and Zias delivered one of my all-time favorites, fitting “The Lonely Bull” (the first hit single by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass) seamlessly into the “Fire” jam. And the band worked in another one during their “Not Fade Away > Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad > Not Fade Away” sandwich. GDTRFB morphed briefly into “And We Bid You Goodnight” before returning to “Not Fade Away.”
Theoretically, that was the end of the setlist, so after a brief huddle Collier and Unlimited Devotion offered crowd favorite “Shakedown Street.” Given all the superb jams preceding it, “Shakedown” began just so-so, but by the time they got to the jam, it was magnificent. Collier soloed, then Animal on electric piano. Then Collier and Animal (synths) again batted the lead back and forth. Interestingly, the jam could just as easily have yielded to “I Know You Rider,” but it returned to the “Shakedown” head.
To say goodnight, the sextet romped through a frantic “Big Railroad Blues.” It was the perfect ending to a perfect evening, brought to you by Unlimited Devotion, Roosevelt Collier, Dunedin Brewery, and Bungalow Entertainment.
Catch one of the remaining shows if you can! That means YOU, Miami, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, and St. Petersburg! Read more about the tour here.
[ONE: Eyes of the World, Hard to Handle, Me and My Uncle, Sittin’ On Top of the World, Deep Elem Blues, Hey Pocky A-Way, Sugaree, Turn On Your Lovelight; TWO: Cold Rain and Snow, Samson and Delilah > That’s It for the Other One > Fire On the Mountain, Not Fade Away > Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad > Not Fade Away, Shakedown Street, Big Railroad Blues]
ROOSEVELT COLLIER & UNLIMITED DEVOTION
11/27Tuesday | Miami Beach JCC | Miami FL
11/29Thursday | 1904 Music Hall | Jacksonville FL
11/30Friday | Rok Bar | Daytona Beach FL
12/01Saturday | Ringside Cafe | St. Petersburg FL
