Photos: Jon Angel
Words: Slade Rand
Oteil Burbridge and his band lifted off during a pair of Día de los Muertos shows in Denver this weekend.
The bass wizard cloaked himself in purple and gathered soulful players deeply looped into the musical lineage of the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band on Friday night. Oteil triumphantly returned to Denver for the first time since Dead & Company pulled back from the road, bringing a spacey blend of jazz and heavy bass to a thousand heads in the Cervantes ballroom.
The tour-closing, sold-out Oteil shows arrived in Denver with apt timing, just a week after Phil Lesh died. The founding Grateful Dead member and bass genius was 84. The band sonically honored Phil over and over again on Friday night, and bookended the run with two takes on ‘Unbroken Chain.’
Steve Kimmock again joined Oteil onstage this weekend, creating standout moments out of thin air. Melvin Seals, impossible to replicate on his bench behind the keys, consistently pushed Kimmock’s solos further into outer space with long wails from the organ and relentless energy.
Jason Crosby on piano and fiddle, John Kimock on drums, Tom Guarna on guitar and Lamar Williams, Jr. on vocals rounded out the band, never losing pace and always leaning in. Crosby played a couple hot fiddle solos on Friday, and Lamar Williams, Jr. shined bright while leading the band on Earl King’s ‘Time for the Sun to Rise.’
Oteil paired the Allman Brothers’ ‘Dreams’ with ‘That’s What Love Will Make You Do’ midway through the first set Friday. The Jerry Garcia Band staple set off a dance party over plucky, free-flowing bass while Melvin sang with the crowd. Next, Oteil embarked on a 20-minute version of ‘Dark Star,’ completing a trio of songs not many others would design.
Later, Kimmock’s haunting guitar work on Jerry Garcia’s ‘Rubin & Cherise’ floated around inside a light bass and piano duet. Oteil’s band moves from airy melodies to thumping rock jams with ease.
Friday night’s only true nod to Halloween came late in set two, with a familiar Nirvana riff. Oteil & Friends concoction ‘Friend of the Lithium Devil’ descended on the Cervantes crowd next. The electric mixture of ‘Lithium’ and the Grateful Dead’s ‘Friend of the Devil’ rocked the room.
View a full gallery of Oteil & Friends at Cervantes shot by Jon Angel below:
After Midnight 
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