New Riders of the Purple Sage

My first recollection of a Riders show is rather memorable, for a number of reasons. It was April, 1973 and it was my very first (of many subsequent) "honest to God, hippie freak, seeing three concerts in one week" kinda weeks. That week started off with Hot Tuna (featuring Papa John and Sammy Piazza) sandwiched by a NRPS/Grateful Dead gig at the then new Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, and ended with a Cheech & Chong gig (in the round) with none other than Steely Dan as the opener.

The memorable part of that New Riders gig (and, believe me, it was one fuzzy night) was attempting to locate our car at the end of the show. It seems that in their haste to open the Nassau Mausoleum, the powers that be forgot to mark the parking lot. Not terrible if you were attending a Nets or Islanders game, but absolutely heartless if you were emerging from a psychedelic rock concert.

Needless to say, the other 18,000 folks in attendance had to find their cars and clear the lot before process of elimination took over and we finally stated making our way back to civilization: Queens.

But the show itself, some 35 years ago, was the perfect complement for our homemade rainbow-inducing snow cones flavored with Mateus. When was the last time you drank a glass of Mateus? Exactly. It was one smokin', very wavy show.

Kicking back after an another outstanding set at Long Island’s Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, aboard the NRPS tour bus, pedal steel guitarist Buddy Cage went and matched my lost car saga with a similar tale of woe he had experienced at Dodger Stadium.

At that point I realized the problem. Sports venues weren't made for serious rockers.

Some bands reunite after a hiatus. Others barely resemble their original configurations. Worse, some just downright sound like bad cover bands.

The Riders, who took an extended hiatus of almost 20 years while pursuing solo projects, call their re-coagulation a Renaissance. I'm not about to argue their choice of labels. Founder and driving NRPS force, John Dawson gave original bandmates David Nelson and Buddy Cage his blessing to resurrect this seminal band and use the NRPS name.

The duo of Nelson/Cage hit the boards with some extraordinary players: Mike Falzarano (Hot Tuna with Jack and Jorma for a few decades) on axe, Ronnie Penque (a confessed NRPS devotee since age 6) and on skins, Johnny Markowski, one of the finest jam band drummers of his generation (that would be generation X.) Jimmy Fleming, a local Long Island guy sat in for most of the set, alternating between guitar, mandolin and fiddle.

Just like back in the day, this night featured an early show and a late show. And, just like back in the day, the early show crowd exited smiling, always an encouraging sign.

The Riders navigated through a nearly two-hour set interspersing new tunes with classics. David Nelson has once again joined forces with song writing collaborator/co-conspirator Robert Hunter and the end result was a most tasty variety of ear candy. The classics never sounded better, either.

For a look and listen at "Garden of Eden" -- a Riders perennial classic -- follow this band-approved link.

Best of all, after the show the band couldn't have been more engaging, and afforded me almost an hour of their time aboard the tour bus.

The only way to summarize this most memorable evening would be to steal a line from another classic, the first X-rated full feature cartoon, Ralph Bakshi’s Fritz The Cat, who uttered the following:

"I’ve been up and down the four corners of the Earth. I've seen it all. I've done it all. I've fought many a good man and I've been with many a good woman. BUT STILL MY SOUL CRIES OUT FOR MORE!"

That's exactly what the crowd on Long Island was doing on June 14, 2008 as the house lights came up at this show's conclusion.

Review, photo and video by Jim Smith