Hello everybody! Hope
you are doing well. I am rapidly approaching the 6 month mark of living in the
Green Mountain State. So far, so good. But I do work a lot. So I miss out on a
lot of stuff. But after the Cabinet show in December and talking to Pappy, I
had to go see Gatos Blancos in 3 weeks. And without further ado, here is Gatos
Blancos, Live at the Hostel Traverse in Warren, VT Jan. 19th, 2018.
Gatos Blancos is
one of Pappy’s many projects. They are doing a 3 show run and since Pappy lives
in this neck of the woods, the first show was in state. Warren is a tiny little
village in the valley of the Mad River valley area. The elevation of this
valley? About 700 feet. Burlington is in another valley, elevation sea level.
Weather was clear and dry. Definitely would have been a different experience if
it was storming. But super pumped for first in state road trip to see music.
Went through 3 or
4 villages after getting off the Interstate. Driving in Vermont is unique. In between
the villages, its 55 mph. Then as you get closer, it drops to 40, then 30, then
25. And 25 through the whole village. Every village has a general store and
NONE of them are open 24 hours. Found this out the hard way as I was starving
after the show and nothing was open until I hit Burlington. It’s like going
back in time. I love it.
The hostel was
above the bar and performance area, which was just someone’s living room.
Seriously, this place is really small. I mean smaller than the main area of
Kclinger’s back in the day. The main room, 25 by 50 feet. Another smaller room
with a bar. Everything still covered in snow outside. Nice and cozy inside. Met
and talked with entire band. Keyboardist is Al Smith, from York PA of all
places. Says he plays at the Circle on the Wed. Night Blues Jam.
Justin Mazer is
also originally from Scranton but lives in Vermont now. Both Justin and Pappy
played the Dead Set last Tuesday. They absolutely crushed Maggie’s farm, using
the arrangement Dylan used at the Newport Folk Fest in 1965. He also was
throwing down some serious Mike Bloomfield licks and when I asked him about it,
he didn’t know about the arrangement but was totally into Bloomfield.
Pappy recognized
me!
Dylan the bass
player is also a Scranton native and former member of Cabinet. Very chill but
super kind. Totally remembered the Snail Pie Lounge show. And last but not
least, Russ Lawton. He is best known as the original drummer for Trey Band.
Super cool and nice.
I also know the
guy taping and running the sound. He is an old school Phish head who has done a
lot of taping in his day. During the first song, he asked me how it sounded mix
wise, just like I was asked about back in Hanover. I HAVE FOUND MY HOME.
Gatos Blancos,
Set 1
Crazy Mama, They Call Me the Breeze, Ray Moore’s Blues, Blues
for Roy, Lucille, Sunrise in Vergennes, Bangkok 45, Freddie’s Tune, Cocaine,
Angel
Cajun Moon, Heavy Rain , Hey Baby, Cool River, Happy
birthday, Catfish John, Lies, Lies, Lies, Travelin Light
You can stream it
here
The setlist is
really close to being accurate. Might have missed a tune or two. A lot of JJ
Cale sprinkled throughout. The arrangement of Lucille, a Little Richard tune, was
very different and outstanding. The Gatos originals, Bangkok 45 and Sunrise in
Vergennes are really good. The second to last song in the set made myself
exclaim, “That Cocaine was fantastic” Note to self, don’t say this out loud,
people may judge. Besides banjo, Pappy also played steel pedal for a few tunes.
But the tones Justin was getting were out of this world. Several times I opened
my eyes expecting to see Pappy at the steel pedal but it was Justin getting
those beautiful ringing notes out of his guitar.
Second set, after
a long set break, was even better. Cajun Moon had a real up beat bluesy feel.
Heavy Rain and Cool River were a nice surprise, being Cabinet tunes. I am glad
that Cabinet tunes are not going on the shelf. Hearing a band do Travelin’
Light that isn’t named Widespread Panic was a true pleasure.
Mad props to Phil
for taping and doing an excellent job with the sound. I also went to a party on
Sat. at a Most Wonderful Place that totally lives up to its name. Hobbs got to
meet 6 other dogs and because he was smaller than all of them, dominance was
not an issue. And my vegan pulled pork bbq was a big hit. Can’t wait to visit
that place once it is summer. It rains all spring up here. Up next, although I may
not write about it, Dead Set with Grateful Grass at my bar, Nectar’s.
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
