Oteil Burbridge & Friends at Ventura County Fairgrounds, April 20, 2023

Skull & Roses 2023 Four-Twenty Celebration featuring Oteil Burbridge & Friends
Ventura County Fairgrounds
Seaside Park, 10 West Harbor Boulevard, Ventura, CA 93001 USA
8:45 PM, Thursday, April 20, 2023

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

• 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Shaky Feelin'
• 12:30 - 1:30 PM Wall of Sound
• 1:30 - 2:30 PM Garcia Birthday Band
• 2:30 - 3:30 PM Xtra Ticket
• 3:30 - 4:45 PM the Latin Dead
• 4:45 - 6:15 PM Stu Allen & Mars Hotel
• 6:15 - 7:00 PM Big Steve & the Assbites
• 7:00 - 8:30 PM Grateful Shred
• 8:45 - 11:45 PM Oteil & Friends

[8:46 PM] {the stage turns again, no Jason Crosby, no Lamar Williams}

1. [8:47 PM] ? “Brother walk with me” (OB)
   [8:59 PM] {add LW}
2. [9:00 PM] My Sisters and Brothers (OB)
   [9:08 PM] {full stop for hot drinks}
3. [9:08 PM] Magnificent Sanctuary Band (LW)
   {Lamar Williams heads off}
4. [9:16 PM] Positively 4th Street (OB)
   [9:28 PM] {LW back out; more hot drinks delivered onstage}
5. [9:30 PM] Every Hungry Woman (LW)
   [9:39 PM] {pause, add Sikiru, drop LW}
6. [9:40 PM] ? African jam » [9:45 PM] Garden of Eden (OB)
   {Drop Sikiru, add LW}
7. [9:55 PM] Midnight Moonlight (OB)
   {Another brief warming pause}
8. [10:01 PM] Blue Sky (DB)
   [10:10 PM] {Oteil introduces the band}
   [10:10 PM] {set ends}

[10:48 PM] {performers back out, stage hands added a heat lamp for Oteil}
[10:51 PM] {noodling}

1. [10:52 PM] Southbound (LW) [10:58 PM] {stalling again}
2. [10:59 PM] See What Love Can Do (OB)
   [11:07 PM] {OB: “That was by request of Bill Walton”}
3. [11:08 PM] Waiting on a Song (DB)
   [11:13 PM] {stop}
4. [11:14 PM] Mighty High (LW)
   [11:21 PM] {another full stop}
5. [11:22 PM] Bright Side of the Road (OB)
   [11:29 PM] {thanks for hanging out with us}
6. [11:30 PM] Les Brers in A Minor
   [11:42 PM] {OB: “bye, see you next time”}
   [11:45 PM] {show ends}

Oteil Burbridge & Friends

• Duane Betts: guitar, lead & harmony vox;
• Oteil Burbridge: bass, lead & harmony vox;
• John Morgan Kimock: drums;
• Steve Kimock: guitar;
• Melvin Seals: Hammond B-3 organ;
• Lamar Williams Jr.: vox.

While it might have been a truffle warmer tonight than yesterday, it was still darn cold for hanging out and dancing in the dark, and I suspect that was a major factor in depressing attendance.

I really liked the set from Oteil and friends: there was lots of great interplay between them. So many of the first set tunes were enjoyable that it's hard to pick a favorite. Certainly my Dylan itch got scratched by Positively 4th Street, and Lamar Williams really lifted the already high energy jam of Every Hungry Woman with his soulful singing. The African jam with Sikiru was also mind-bogglingly good: very spacey, like Miles' Shhhh, Peaceful, and the segue into Garden of Eden was really sublime. Yum!

I was kinda surprised when Oteil announced a set break after Blue Sky (which featured really inspired picking from Kimock, as well as an electrifying unison run with Betts & Burbridge once the band returned to the head at the end of the tune that had Oteil laughing with joy. Why stop now?

Anyways, they did, and the crowd really cleared out over the break. It was rather strange sitting at the rail and gazing across empty space all the way back to the soundboard. I guess other folks had stuff to do! Ting and I killed our first minutes by hanging out, chatting, and then making new friends with the first folks to saunter up close enough to be sociable. As the heads trickled back in, it was surprising to me that many of the freaks nearby seemed feral, hanging out alone, or with a single companion instead of the larger tribal groups that I think of as the norm for dead-like shows. They were too skittish to come close and talk, so I can't really say anything more of substance about them.

Set Two was another barrel of fun, but it was also darn cold, and the band kept stopping between tunes to warm their fingers and tummies with hot drinks, replenished regularly by the attentive stage mistress.

Bright Side of the Road was another treat, but the unfortunately highlight of the set was the closer, an expensive take on the Allman Brothers classic, Les Brers in A minor: that's a tune you don't see covered all that often! Props to the guys for getting it together so well. Hopefully we'll get a chance to see them again soon under warmer conditions.

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!