[…continued from last post]

The next part of the evening was a leap into the unknown for me. A complete run through of the “Blues For Allah” album by The Grateful Dead. I’d heard four or five Dead songs on the radio or television in my time and I’d never heard enough to find an affinity within myself. If I had to pick a favorite it would easily be the funky Disco of “Shakedown Street.” A song that I’m guessing was [very] divisive to Deadheads. But I would not be one of those.

I had probably heard more live than studio recordings by the band as it was impossible to listen to college radio in the 90s and to not hear The Grateful Dead. And for the record I consider myself indifferent to the free-form jams that my ears told me made the reputation of the band amongst its devotees. So I was curious as to how this band’s interpretations would greet me this evening.

Truth be told I don’t think that The Grateful Dead ever sounded so good to me before. “Blues For Allah” was a melange of instrumental and vocal songs that gave most members of this large band a chance to deliver some hot solos. Guitarist Wayne Gerard was primary among these with a few solos high up the neck but on one of the songs I enjoyed how the solo careened from the top to the bottom of the neck for a bracing quality of extreme dynamism of the sort that I didn’t expect from The Grateful Dead. And with Ms. Christi’an delivering the vocals these “Blues For Allah” were really steeped in The Blues.

Elsewhere, keyboardist Luis Resto shifted between piano and synths but for one song he picked up an electric violin for something a little more expansive. In a move that I would imagine never happened onstage with The Grateful Dead, the trombonist Vincent Chandler also got a solo during one song where he was playing through what sounded like a Mu-Tron envelope for maximum mindblow.

Vocalist Steffanie Christi’an brought grit and soul to the proceedings. Her leads on “Franklin’s Tower [Roll Away the Dew]” were a full flowering of gospel passion that I couldn’t imagine The Dead actually delivering. As a Grateful Dead virgin this song really stood out as something special here. And her physicality at the mic was magnified by her stage garb. Her fringed pants were a constant flurry of motion as she delivered the songs. Often removing her glasses as she was definitely grooving in the face of adversity!

Saxophonist Dave McMurray had an investment as deep as Don Was when it came to the music of The Grateful Dead. He had two volumes of reimaginings of their music in his “Grateful Dedications” series under his belt in the last five years and he was ready to move on this material. The fact that Mr. McMurray had been playing with Was and Resto for almost 50 years had laid an incredible foundation for tonight’s performance as he had a profound body of experience in pushing the boundaries of this music to new vistas with his solos, on both sax and flute.

The audience was a mixture of Deadheads in their tie-dye [even in the freezing weather], Jazz fans, and Was [Not Was] funkateers. The Dead fans were joyously taking selfies with the band behind them onstage. I could hear those fans all around me singing along with certain songs in hearing “Blues For Allah” so closely in the wake of Bob Weir’s death. This was maybe a bigger event for them right now as it was for this long-standing Was [Not Was] fan to be finally hearing their songs that would pepper this set.

When the conclusion of that album happened, there was a soft transition to the rest the show with the inclusion of “Loser,” a Jerry Garcia solo song, before the rest of the program happened. Then Ms. Christi’an took to the mic for “Midnight Marauders,” the single from the “Groove In The Face Of Adversity” album. Giving us some tough Reggae adjacent Funk to chew on as we went for the home stretch.

This was followed by something different. With drums and congas/percussion onstage by Messrs. Jeff Canaday and Mahindi Masai, neither of those players had taken any solos yet in the evening so they got a chance to create their own powerful dialogue with an improvisation that had a strong taste of Salsa as the set list called it simply “Drums And Percussion.” Then the pressure rose for the climax of the set when they next dug into the final track from their album, a cover of Cameo’s “Insane.” The syncopation of the rhythm guitar from Mr. Gerard and the horn section was making us get all sweaty on the dance floor. With torrid soloing by Mr. McMurray they next took things up a few notches further into the red with the peerless classic “Wheel Me Out!” This was a real gift from the gods!

Ms. Christi’an famously deadpanned the pure Dada lyric with foxy panache as trumpeter John Douglas took a fierce solo! I was getting my Was [Not Was] fix in a big way this evening! And then the band played a major hat trick of funk by pivoting back to The Grateful Dead canon [!] with “Shakedown Street!” Possibly the only Dead connective tissue that could follow “Wheel Me Out.” Steffanie Christi’an gave the funky strut of the track all of the bite it needed then managed to take it even further with some athletic high kicks on the song’s distinctive hooks to the astonishment of the crowd who added cathartic interjections of “woooo” to each bold move. Then the trombone had the last word as the band took it home.

Now it was time for the capstone to the evening; Don Was introduced the whole band, and told the audience that their final song would be a cover of The Impressions never more relevant song “This Is My Country” from their nearly sixty year old album of the same name. A well-chosen cover from the band’s new album. This band had provided an alchemy this evening that found common ground in Souljazz, Funk, and even Jam Bands this night through the expansive chops that this nine-headed hydra brought to the stage.

And then the house lights came up. It was two hours later but Don Was admonished one and all to stop by the merch table and say “hi” or if anyone needed a shoulder to cry on regarding Bob Weir, whether you bought something or not. I always buy merch up front and already had the T-shirt, but was more than ready to have a few words with an iconic musician from the Record Cell.

I saw more than a few fans with their copies of Was [Not Was] CDs and records in tow. I almost mentally kicked myself for not thinking to bring a CD along that could have fit in a jacket pocket, but the fact was that my copy of the “Robot Girl” UK 12” number one had been autographed by Was! This night it would be more important just to have a brief chat with the man. I got in the line and awaited my turn.

The well-wishers and grateful Deadheads were getting handshakes and hugs from Don as the line progressed. Then it was my turn as I introduced myself and gave him my card. I mentioned that I was a Cristina superfan who had been invited by editor Ian Birch to contribute a small piece to the “Cristina” book and I thanked him for his production on the incredible “Sleep It Off” album. “Possibly the finest album ever made,” as I put it to him.

I also thanked him for taking this band on the road as I was a Was [Not Was] fan dating back to 1981, who’d never had the pleasure of seeing that band live. I told him that this show had gone a long way in scratching that musical itch as we shook hands and I moved out into the single degree Cleveland night. Cruising home in a warm glow thanks to the magic of Don Was And The Pan-Detroit Ensemble. Take care not to miss this band. Personally, I can’t wait for the next time!

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