- ripplefan2's Rating
There is nothing more interesting than a crowd of patchouli wearing hippies packed into a small venue for a Garcia tribute. BB Kings, a relatively small venue, was packed to the gills last night for the celebration of the lead Dead (no pun intended) guitarist's 66th birthday.
Upon arriving, my buddy Matt and I decided to sit at one of the tables that occupy the perimeter of the dance floor. And since there is a $10 minimum per person per set, we figured why not. And just as we sat, the music started and the place broke out into a whirlwind of dancing and swaying.
For those of you who have never seen the Zen Tricksters (www.zentricksters.com), I would suggest definitely checking them out. Rated as one of the best Grateful Dead cover bands around, these guys really put on an entertaining show. The quartet really knows how to play to the audience and have a good time themselves while doing it.
As our beers arrived from our waitress (the service was great) the show was getting into full swing. The Tricksters can play to the point that if you didn't know the Dead broke up, you would assume that this was them. As the show roared on, the crowd really started to get into it, with people dancing like spinning tops and windmills, it was crazy. It was like a ritualistic séance emanating from the underworld of New York City. There was one guy, I swear he was out of it, spinning around in circles from the start of the show to the end, 3 straight hours of spinning in circles watching his hands and the lights; not a truly uncommon sight for a Dead show.
The best part of any New York Tri-State area jam band show is Will Denson, Jr, the craziest man ever set in motion. With long white blond hair and a full matching beard, this guy takes the cake. He can be seen everywhere with his traveling backpack and that urge to dance. And when he dances, you know it. He gently places his bag down and then proceeds to dance his ass off without a care in the world. Then picks up his bag and leaves to places unknown until the next show causes him to reemerge.
The show was amazing and the Zen Trickster put on one hell of a show. So, if you can check them out (they do a lot of free shows throughout the year) or just check out BB Kings for the ambiance.
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