Davey and Ron Davey
Show review of Davey Pattison and Pete Sears by Ron Love
at Bimbo's in San Francisco Sunday April 21, 2002
While I was preparing for my vacation to California, I learned
(with help from brother Steve) that Davey was going to be appearing with
Pete Sears in San Francisco. So attending that performance instantly became
part of my itinerary.
The group was billed as Pete Sears and The
Dawn Patrol and they were sharing the stage with The Flying Other
Brothers, fronted by Bob Weir, as one of several Grateful Dead tribute
bands in the area. The night’s performance was a benefit concert for underprivileged
children as well as a tree preservation movement.
I arrived at Bimbo’s 365 shortly before the doors opened Sunday
night at 7:30pm. At first glance, I saw two lines formed in front along
Columbus Avenue and thought this might be a long wait. However, once the
doors opened, the line moved rather quickly. Once inside, I found the club
to be a pretty decent concert venue, with tables surrounding a “dance”
floor directly in front of a low profile stage.
Bob Weir and his band started playing sometime after 8pm. Pete Sears
joined the group onstage to play keyboards. Shortly after the band began
playing, I looked toward the entrance and spotted this “wee” fellow with
a lovely young lady walking toward the center of the club. I took a chance
and walked up to him and introduced myself, and it was indeed Davey Pattison.
He told me that Steve had said that I would be there looking for him. I
asked him if he would sign some things that I had brought and he gladly
obliged. We had a nice visit while he was waiting to go on stage. He was
very excited about his new CD, which he is still hard at work putting the
tracks together. He is using the same producer that he used on Mississippi
Nights and Davey was really pleased with the work thus far. As an extracurricular
activity, Davey said that he has been performing solo in some of the dinner
clubs in Marin, which he says helps him develop new material.
As most of you know, Davey is featured on Pete’s latest CD, “The
Long Haul”, which I bought at Tower Records just down the street from the
club. It is a great collection of songs that pay tribute to the masters
who helped create the blues style of music. Pete has assembled a great
collection of artists who demonstrate what the blues music sounded like,
I suspect, before the British Invasion of the sixties. There’s a little
bit of every style of blues music on the album and everyone shines in their
performances, especially Pete Sears on piano and Davey on vocals.
Davey was due to take the stage with Pete Sears at 10:30 pm but
Bob Weir and the Grateful Dead tribute went long and didn’t finish until
after 11pm. Finally, Pete Sears (who started playing around 8pm with Bob
Weir) and his Dawn Patrol began around 11:20pm. The first two numbers featured
Davey on vocals and rhythm guitar. What a voice! Davey sounds as good as
ever. Bob Weir returned to the stage for a couple of songs to appease the
large Dead Head contingent, before saying farewell.
Davey returned to continue singing tracks from “The Long Haul”,
as well as some other standards, including “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”,
which Davey coaxed the crowd into singing along. Pete Sears on piano was
very sweet, and didn’t even seem fatigued in spite of being on stage for
almost 4 ½ hours. The crowd was very animated throughout the show,
dancing and singing along with the “standards” that they played. The show
finished at 12:30 am.
It was a great evening, highlighted by the flawless performance
of Mr. Pattison and a wickedly talented Mr. Sears on keyboards. I thank
Davey Pattison for his hospitality and generosity, and a very entertaining
performance. It was, indeed, a memorable evening.
Ron Love
Davey and Ron
Davey