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Mickey Hart
Rhythm Devils Concert Experience
(Star City)
First Appeared in The Music Box, August 2008, Volume 15, #8
Written by John Metzger
Mon August 4, 2008, 06:30 AM CDT
In the 13 years that have passed since guitarist Jerry Garcia died, the
former members of the Grateful Dead have made several attempts to reclaim their
once mighty magic. Initially, they referred to themselves as The Other Ones, and
then, they toured simply as The Dead. None of these outfits, however, managed to
last long enough to congeal into a single-minded entity. Instead, they seemed as
if they were composed of separate subgroups, each of which had its own
specialized agenda and thus was operating independently within the framework of
the larger ensemble. In this regard, Rhythm Devils Concert Experience
provides insight into Mickey Hart’s perspective on the matter.
In 2006, Hart assembled Rhythm Devils, an outfit that consisted of drummer
Bill Kreutzmann, bass player Mike Gordon, guitarist Steve Kimock, vocalist Jen
Durkin, and talking drum player Sikiru Adepoju. Between the personnel that were
chosen to participate in the project as well as the specific roles into which
each of the musicians was placed, it’s impossible not to view the group as a
fulfillment of Hart’s vision regarding what a Garcia-free rendition of the
Grateful Dead should be. Although the collective didn’t stay together beyond its
fall tour, it did serve as the precursor for the Mickey Hart Band, the
percussionist’s latest ensemble.
It might seem strange that Hart has taken a more Westernized approach to his
concerts of late, especially since he continues to create mind-bending rhythmic
forays in the studio, such as last year’s Global Drum Project. On his
1996 set Mystery Box, Hart had demonstrated an interest in merging pop
and R&B influences into his work, but the vocal arrangements that he had
concocted for the outing were designed to feed directly into the material’s
rhythmic drive. This isn’t at all the case with the Rhythm Devils’ output.
Throughout Rhythm Devils Concert Experience, Hart and his collaborators
frequently are constrained by the more traditional song structures. Why he chose
this particular route to follow very well may have had everything to do with its
potential at the box office.
It isn’t that Hart’s approach to the Rhythm Devils is completely misguided.
It’s just that the results of his pursuits are seriously flawed. In effect, the
material on Rhythm Devils Concert Experience undoubtedly works better in
concert than it does under the microscopic scrutiny of a home environment. Its
presentation on video in 5.1 surround sound is meant to temper the collection’s
downside, and to some degree, it does succeed in achieving its goal. From both
visual and sonic standpoints, the set is spectacular, and one can witness the
give-and-take between the band and its audience, even if it isn’t always easy to
feel the connection.
One of the biggest issues with Rhythm Devils Concert Experience is
that front gal Jen Durkin, who is on loan from Deep Banana Blackout, clearly is
out of her league. Her range is limited, and her passive presence isn’t terribly
charismatic. In fact, at times, she looks like an audience member who has been
granted a unique opportunity to perform with the pros.
To be fair, Hart didn’t give her much of anything with which to work. Aside
from Next Dimension and Your House — which sound as if they had
been modeled after Sting’s Love Is the Seventh Wave and the traditional
Mardi Gras anthem Iko Iko, respectively — as well as a cover of Youssou
N’Dour’s 7 Seconds, the songs are lacking solid melodic foundations.
Instead, they feel like the between-song jams through which the Grateful Dead
stumbled during the 1980s and 1990s as its members pondered the possibilities of
what should be the next tune to play. In addition, despite his usual
reliability, the lyrics that Robert Hunter penned for the project are not on par
with his masterfully grand, poetic pronouncements from the past. In a weird
twist, opening number Comes the Dawn as well as the set-closing selection
See You Again, which ought to be the strongest tunes on the endeavor, are
particularly shallow from every possible perspective.
Nevertheless, there are some striking moments that emerge here and there
throughout Rhythm Devils Concert Experience. Taken in full, these provide
an indication that perhaps Hart’s collective could have developed into something
greater, if it had been allowed time to make a few adjustments and coalesce. Not
surprisingly, Gordon oscillates with relative ease between feeding the funky
rhythmic undercurrents and injecting melodic ideas into the jams. Likewise,
Kimock wisely avoids drawing comparisons between his own contributions and those
that Garcia might have made. Often, he favors color and texture over
extravagantly lofty solos, and whenever he falls into the slipstream of a groove
— such as on the Talking Heads-inspired Fountains of Wood — he sounds as
if he, at least in part, is conjuring Adrian Belew.
In the end, there’s nothing on Rhythm Devils Concert Experience that
is an essential part of the canons of any of the Rhythm Devils’ principal
members. If it is approached with little fanfare or expectation, however, the
outing can be a whole lot of fun. 
Of Further Interest...
Phish - New Year's Eve 1995: Live at Madison Square Garden
Youssou N'Dour - 7 Seconds: The Best of Youssou N'Dour
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Rhythm Devils Concert Experience is available from
Amazon. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
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