New York City Deadheads were treated to a thrilling two-set show from local Grateful Dead cover band HIGH TIME on Wednesday. The performance from the local five-piece band—which has grown in popularity since emerging out of the Brooklyn indie-rock scene in early 2018—filled the recently reopened Brooklyn Bowl with the psychedelic sounds of early Grateful Dead music to match the mesmerizing light show put on by local light artist Macrodose.
The first half of the night opened with a high-energy rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land” followed by an uptempo performance of “They Love Each Other”. The band kept the first set energy riding high with takes on “Jack Straw”, “New Minglewood Blues”, a garage-rock version of “Cold Rain and Snow”, and “Scarlet Begonias”. The first set came to a close with a lovely performance of Jerry Garcia’s “Bird Song” and finally “Playing in the Band”, with the latter treating the Spinners who had taken over the front of the stage to the first real jam of the night.
HIGH TIME returned to the stage to open the second half of the show with the classic “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” combination, followed by a feel-good sing-a-long version of “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo”. From there, the band embarked on a psychedelic exploration of “Dark Star” featuring some fabulous playing between guitarists Michael O’Neill and Jake Rabinbach. The extended jams continued much to the delight of the audience with strong performances of “Eyes of the World” and “The Other One” before drummer Adam Kriney brought fans back down to Earth with the familiar rhythm pattern intro of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” followed by an anthemic rendition of “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” into “We Bid You Goodnight”.
Following a brief pause, the band resumed playing with the final two songs of the night in “New Speedway Boogie” and the ‘Primal Dead’ era fan-favorite blues tune, “Turn On Your Love Light”. Scroll down to check out a gallery of images of HIGH TIME at Brooklyn Bowl on Wednesday courtesy of photographer Pranksters Photography.
Setlist: HIGH TIME | Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn, NY | 9/15/21
Set One: Promised Land (Chuck Berry), They Love Each Other, Jack Straw, New Minglewood Blues, Cold Rain and Snow, Scarlet Begonias, Bird Song, Playing in the Band
Set Two: China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider (traditional), Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo, Dark Star, Eyes of the World > The Other One > Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly) > Going Down The Road Feeling Bad (traditional) > We Bed You Goodnight
Encore: New Speedway Boogie > Turn On Your Love Light (Bobby Bland)
