Golden Gate Wingmen returned to The Hamilton in Washington, DC last Monday, August 15th. While the grouping is still relatively new, these guys have a long track record. It consists of John Kadlecik, Jeff Chimenti, Jay Lane, and Reed Mathis, coming from Grateful Dead-influenced projects like Furthur, Billy and the Kids, Dead & Company and Fare Thee Well, to name a few. The band features an impressive amount of talent and they bring unique touches to covers, as well as some of their own music. Their voices mesh together nicely and they clearly enjoy each other’s stage presence.
Kadlecik is a local favorite, and the DC crowd is always energized when the Wingmen come to town. Fans noticed that Chimenti was down to one instrument. There were some tech issues with Chimenti’s organ right before showtime, and after a bit of tinkering, they ultimately pulled it. The night opened with a Dylan cover, “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” and a powerful “Crazy Fingers” with a seamless segue into “Dweller on the Threshold.” They hit on several classics, like a 21 minute “Terrapin Station,” a pretty “Throwing Stones” right into “Not Fade Away,” and a “Brokedown Palace” encore to close the night out.
The Wingmen are in Asheville tonight, August 17th, before heading to Ohio and Chicago. Check out full audio of their DC show, uploaded by taperjeff, and a gallery of photos by Will Urquhart below.
