Steve Kimock, Jeff Chimenti, George Porter Jr. & More Team Up For Voodoo Dead Celebration

Last weekend, the beloved Voodoo Dead returned to the Republic for a New Orleans-twinged take on the music of the Grateful Dead. This year’s incantation of Voodoo Dead featured a glorious assemblage of musicians, with guitarists Steve Kimock and Jackie Greene, bassist George Porter Jr., keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, and drummer John Morgan Kimock.

The band hit the stage on May 1st with an opening medley of standards, as the band worked through Little Milton’s “That’s What Love Will Make You Do” and Allen Toussaint’s “Get Out Of My Life Woman” seamlessly. The two songs were more commonly played by the Jerry Garcia Band, but certainly typify the Voodoo Dead sound.

From there, the band went into the Rascals’ classic “Good Lovin’,” a true staple of the Grateful Dead’s repertoire. The funky cover led the group into a series of Grateful Dead originals, starting with “Sugaree.” When the jammed out version ended, the band brought out guitarist Papa Mali as a special guest for the next two jams, “Bird Song” and “New Speedway Boogie.” The group was locked in and rocking all the way through.

The band closed out the set by calling on the venerated Cyril Neville, who lent his vocals to the Marvin Gaye-written song, “Dancing In The Street.” The upbeat number was also a Grateful Dead staple, and the Voodoo Dead band injected it with a bayou boogie.

The show raged on with a rockin’ “Scarlet Begonias” to start set two, before going into the instrumental piece “Philadelphia Mambo.” From there, George Porter Jr. had a chance to shine, singing The Meters’ classic “Fire On The Bayou” before wrapping the band back into “Philadelphia Mambo.” The set grooved on with “Many Rivers To Cross,” before Papa Mali returned to lend his hand to the blues-rocker “Deal.”

Next up was another chance for Cyril Neville to work his magic, as the band broke into a cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together.” That song segued into the Led Zeppelin instrumental “Moby Dick,” before finding its way back to “Come Together.” Finally, the show closed out with a Jackie Greene led rendition of “Turn On Your Lovelight,” another Grateful Dead staple written by Bobby “Blue” Bland.

Check out more photos from the show and a full setlist below, courtesy of Jeremy Scott:

Setlist: Voodoo Dead at Republic NOLA, New Orleans, LA – 5/1/16

Set: That’s What Love Will Make You Do > Get Out Of My Life Woman > That’s What Love Will Make You Do, Good Lovin’, Sugaree, Bird Song*, New Speedway Boogie*, Dancin In The Street#

Set II: Scarlet Begonias, Philadelphia Mambo > Fire on the Bayou > Philadelphia Mambo (instrumental), Many Rivers to Cross (instrumental), Deal* Come Together# > Moby Dick > Come Together, Turn On Your Lovelight (JGe)

* = w/ Papa Mali
# = w/ Cyril Neville.