Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country made a strong first impression on Portland, OR Friday night with a completely sold-out show at The Get Down featuring special guest Torrin Daniels of Kitchen Dwellers.
Demand for tickets was unusually high, with music fans from Portland and beyond eager to catch the rising guitarist and his psychedelic country outfit during their first visit to the city. Despite the threat of a rare Portland snow storm, which luckily held off till the following morning, fans lined up around the block in frigid cold, most of them to see Donato for the first time. The room buzzed with energy as it grew more and more packed, the audience hungry for something they’d never seen before, and boy did Donato and his posse deliver.
Firing on all cylinders right out of the gate with a pair of originals, “Lose Your Mind” and “Waymore’s Blues”, and Junior Parker‘s “Mystery Train”, the band fed off the energy of the crowd, who in turn locked in to the band with intense focus. The results were an immediate bond between the audience and band and a memorable first set featuring a range of classic songs, recent compositions, and dramatic jams. Highlights included the band’s signature “Hi-Country” and a cover of Marty Robbins‘ “Big Iron” that flowed into a heavily improvised “GRITS” jam, ending the set on a high note.
The energy in the 400-capacity room remained electric as Cosmic Country returned to the stage for set two with surprise guest Torrin Daniels on banjo. Daniels toured alongside the band with Kitchen Dwellers last year on their joint Galaxy Grass x Cosmic Country tour and recently relocated to Portland from Montana. He sat in for most of the second set, including “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, “Broadside Ballad” > “Hangman’s Reel”, “If I Lose”, “Sunshine In The Rain”, and “Fourteen Carat Mind”.
After Torrin’s sit-in, Danny D and the Double C wandered from their twangy country repertoire and went fully cosmic with a dancey, four-on-the-floor electronica jam during “Dance In The Desert”, with keyboardist Nathan “Sugar Leg” Aronowitz switching to funky wah-wah guitar as the crowd bobbed up and down with increasing intensity.
Later, bassist Will McGee led the charge singing lead vocals on “Ten Feet of Rope”, while Sugar Leg shined on both guitar and keys during the “Double Exposure” jam that followed. A pairing of “Luck of the Draw” and “Sugar Leg Rag” concluded the set before the band brought the house down one last time with Bob Dylan‘s “Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)”.
Friday’s showing was an impressive feat for Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country not just because of the band’s stellar performance, but because of the audience’s too. It is rare for any artist to be met with such enthusiasm on their first trip to a new city, and Donato and his band made the most of the opportunity, winning over hundreds of first-time fans. That seems to be a theme for the young Donato, who has expressed humility and gratitude at each step of his righteous journey, and it is surely a sign of great things to come.
Check out fan-shot video and photos from Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country at The Get Down in Portland, OR courtesy of band photographer Ant Braaten below.
For a full list of the band’s upcoming shows and to purchase tickets, click here.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country With Torrin Daniels – “Broadside Ballad” – 1/12/24
[Video: keaton6921]
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