Steve Kimock feat. Bernie Worrell 10.19 & 10.20

The Oriental Theater
Denver, CO

Words By Tom McMinn
Photos By Carly Marthis
Audio By Corey Sandoval (Kind Recordings)

Steve Kimock Live at Oriental Theater on October 19, 2012.



Set One: Nana's Chalk Pipe, Coles Law > Tangled Hangers, Thing One, Baby I Love You*, Y-Spy^

Set Two: Congo Man Chant/Get Up, Stand Up, Come Together, A New Africa, Stella Blue, Turn On Your Lovelight*, Take Me To The River

Encore: Red Hot Mama^

* = Kim Dawson on vocals
^ = Bernie Worrell on vocals w/ Kim Dawson on backing vocals

Steve Kimock returned to Denver with his new band and a lot of new material. Kimock performed two brilliant shows at the majestic Oriental Theater. The band listed such talents as Bernie Worrell (founding member of Parliament Funkadelic, Talking Heads), Wally Ingram (Sheryl Crow, David Lindley) and bassist Andy Hess (Gov't Mule, Black Crowes). Kimock showed he was still true to form with his technical and articulate guitar playing. The new band really gelled and the synergy between Kimock and Hess was a driving force in the band. Wally Ingram is a master on percussion that both gives the band great structure and really fills out the band's sound. The addition of a keyboardist adds greatly to composition of the band. Not since Pete Sears on keys for the 2000' run has SKB had a dedicated keyboardist. Bernie brings a powerful sound with his Hammond B-3 Organ. Bernie also sang a few tunes to really change up the Steve Kimock Band dynamic.

Friday Kimock played many of his classics like “A New Africa," “Cole's Law” and “Tangled Hangers,” while also mixing in great covers like “Stella Blue” (The Grateful Dead), “Come Together” (The Beatles) and “Get up/ Stand up” (Bob Marley). Bernie contributed to the repertoire with his catalog of Talking Heads classics like “Take Me to the River”. Friday everyone was fortunate to have Kim Dawson (The Motet) sing a few tunes including some nice duets with Bernie. Kim sang lead for a great sing along version of “Baby I Love You” (The Ronettes) and “Turn On Your Love Light” (The Grateful Dead) and sang backup on “Take Me to the River” and “Red Hot Mama” (Funkadelic). Friday had a nice crowd and gave The Oriental a comfortable and welcoming feel. The audience was both appreciative of Steve's artistic genius and subtle but powerful style. I know after Friday night I was really psyched for what was to come Saturday and Saturday sure didn't disappoint.

Steve Kimock Live at Oriental Theater on October 20, 2012.



Set One: Come Back My Love, Crazy Engine, Banana Walk, Five B4 fUNK, TLC, Many Rivers To Cross, This Must Be The Place(Naive Melody)

Set Two: It's Up To You^, 54-46 Was My Number, Sun Sun Sun, You're The One, Hey Man, Tongue 'n' Groove, Burning Down The House

^ = Willie Waldman on trumpet

The word must have gotten out how good the show was on Friday because Saturday's Steve Kimock Band show at The Oriental was packed! Not sold out, not uncomfortable, but definitely had enough people to sustain some great energy in the crowd and get everyone dancing. Kimock got things started with a beautiful version of “Come Back my Love” (The Impressions). The “Crazy Engine” and “Banana Walk” that followed were great, but a little slow. The set really got going with the classic “Five B4 Funk” and the new song “TLC”...  I'll save you from looking it up, it is “Tastes Like Chicken”. The “Many Rivers to Cross” (Jimmy Cliff) ripped and was maybe the single best song of the two night run. The set closed with a rousing sing along version of “This Must Be the Place” (Talking Heads). Saturday's second set started off with the always vivacious Willie Waldman (Banyan), on trumpet, sitting in for the Kimock classic “It's Up to You”. Kimock then changed things up with the band laying down great Reggae beats for the song “54-46 Was My Number” (Toots and the Maytals). The set only continued to get better with the Kimock classic “You're the One”. The new Kimock song “Hey Man” followed and had a good reggae beat that eased us into a great version of the Kimock classic “Tongue and Groove”. The sing along version of the Talking Heads classic “Burning Down the House” that ended the run was a blast and had the whole place erupting. Overall, Saturday's second set was on fire and really had the energy and flow that even the most old school Kimock fans would have loved!

The Oriental Theater, opened in 1927, was a great host of the Kimock experience proving to be comfortable, beautiful, and hospitable. There were no long lines for anything. The drinks were strong, the music great, and the atmosphere blissful. There were food trucks out front for those hungry at set break. Plus, the Tennyson neighborhood is a delight to see shows in as it is beautiful, safe and has plenty of free off street parking. Overall the SKB Denver run at the Oriental Theater was fantastic! This weekend proved once again that Denver is one of the best cities for live music in the country, continually delivering great shows in beautiful rooms to passionate music lovers.

Carly's Photo Gallery

www.kimock.com

www.bernieworrell.com