By Chris Paul
originally published: 11/24/2024
Back on October 24, 25, & 26, 2024, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country rolled into Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg (Brooklyn), NY for a 3-night residency part of an overall east coast run in Asbury Park, NJ and Ardmore (Philadelphia, PA), along with an appearance in Syracuse, NY October 23. During this time at Brooklyn Bowl, Phil Lesh (bass) from the Grateful Dead passed on October 25. This loss is a marker on this leg of fall tour and Cosmic Country paid tribute to Lesh during that night’s show with encore performances of the Grateful Dead’s Box of Rain and Samson and Delilah. We are all connected. On the same night, Phish played its Box of Rain debut to open their 10/25/24 show at MVP Amphitheater in Albany, NY.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country is all about experience. Even before the start of the show, house music is carefully curated. Tonight’s selection, Biggie Small’s Hypnotize. As the lights come up on the stage, my mind’s eye sees a train platform. We are greeted by Daniel with a smile, and a “oh what a thrill it is.” Tonight’s journey starts as a slow ride with a stage setting cover of Mickey Newbury’s, Why You Been Gone So Long? It’s a fourth wall break backstage how this Cosmic train ride starts. The band casually dips from note to note, establishing their connection, sound quality and rhythm. What’s the story tonight? Daniel’s voice chugs forward with a classic country tale of loss, love and regret, but there is a higher purpose, we are on a prison train and tonight’s plan is an escape
First, we relax with the saloon noodling of Nathan "Sugar Leg" Aronowitz on the player piano, have whiskey for the New Mastersounds, Cigar Time. At the core of this band is country. Daniel explains “country music's kind of like 3 chords and the truth. And the cosmic part of it is all the notes. And the truth? There's kind of a unification of simplicity with complexity.” This translates into genre defining exploration and this funky lounge groove delivers with back beat from Will “Bronco” Clark on the drum kit and bass buzz from Will “Mustang” McGee. Lights flash, the engine is chugging and what decade are we in now? The 70’s thanks to the strokes of Sugar Legs. My mind drifts out the window to the prairie desert beyond. All the heart ache reflected off the canyon walls in time for the Passing Storm. Time for action, the wind picks up along the horizon, and the sentence is to be carried out. He is a bad man, and he must be punished. Our anti-hero/hero, Mikey Knox in Natural Born Killers. Mallory is waiting out there and this cyclone has appeared out of fate. He breaks his chains, and the tension builds in the song. Musical parallels of Phish’s Divide Sky echo in my ears. Passing Storm is a testament to the music prowess of this band, and we shall be free. Out of train and on horseback we now race, sheriff on our trail with a rendition of Jerry Reed’s East Bound and Down. Coincidentally since this was a pre-Halloween show, I wore my Smokey the Bear costume adding to my fan foolery. Hilarity continues with Earl Scrugg’s Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms with lyrics change, sweet baby’s legs, in honor of Sugar Legs’ oversized sunglasses, an appendage amendment. This gets the barn derning and the lanes bowling and next up is classic cosmic Blame the Train. Bronco whips the steed; our angel calls out in the starry night. Our insight into this experience frames next via a stroll through the Cosmic Country Gardens, an instrumental breakdown highlighting our merry band of musical thieves. If you like to dance and ride, Translation is the jam. Square dancing half step meets all the mysteries of the universe, storytelling from a troubadour, we barrel through the canyons towards destiny.
Set two opens next with a masterclass in harmony, See Through, a communal celebration of hope, music and one hell of a party! The pacing, the lyrical tapestry, if you have not seen Cosmic Country live you are denying yourself pure imagination and pleasure! Tempo and release and soul, gospel devotion next thanks again the Sugar Legs and a rendition of Down by the Riverside, wash your face wary knight, your love waits in the soothing depths. The next song, Down Bedford, the cherry on top, the meat and potatoes, fuel in a Cosmic stew. This song is a fantastic combination of a classic campfire singalong meets a full-scale face-melt. Bronco is the man; he drives on the sticks hurdles us into super space.
Tonight is my first rail ride in Mustang Alley, and I am blissfully awarded by his aggressive bass drops. We are in a gun fight; lives are on the line. The synchronicity of Daniel and Sugar Legs speeding headfirst into the roaring fire of the crowd. Time for smores and dance drip delight! What’s great about the classic country format is the hits keep coming. Justice reveals our hero’s heart, Mustang slaps the upright bass, and we race into a timeless version of The Allman’s Brother’s Jessica. Boogie Man, next a bayou blend with a soul train spin, followed by Bob Dylan’s Down Along the Cove with guest, Kevin Scott (bassist, Gov’t Mule). This band likes to play, and we are treated to more band member personality and showcase, including another drum and bass breakdown featuring Scott and Mustang slappin’ back and forth with Mustang back on the electric. How big can their sound get? Let it stretch like taffy and let freedom ring with Eddie Harris’ Free Jazz Dance still featuring Scott, the perfect cosmic slide to get us dizzy. The kind of song crescendo that tears our ears off in the most delightful way! More funk and rhythm classically executed. Showdown is here, the final boss, load your chambers, love is on the line, shots fired, death be not proud, I’ve Always Been Your Lover. Every journey may end with balance, maybe a lesson, does true love prevail, Luck of the Draw. Precision through the essence of tension and release, as badass as badass can be. Symphonic perfection of everything this band sounds for and will always be about. Coming down the home stretch, drive those spurs deep, more energy at the end of the night than at the start, how fast can Sugar kick those legs, tickle those keys, set 2 ends with the Sugar Leg Rag!
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Next comes encore fun. The boys gather at the front of the stage for a barber shop quartet acoustic rendition of I’ve Been Working on the Railroad. Followed by a quick snap back to a soul train cover of Warren Zevon’s Nighttime in the Switching Yard, a trans-dimensional currency zap. Then from behind the curtain appears concert promoter Peter Shapiro to request a 3rd encore, just a little bit of Respect (Ottis Reading)! Every note stretches, feeling the grind, shaking your booty, Cosmic Country whips and tickles down to the last licks that snuff the match, smoke lingering in the end of just another Saturday night.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country 10/26/24 Brooklyn Bowl Williamsburg (Brooklyn), NY.
Set I
Why You Been Gone So Long (Mickey Newbury cover), Cigar Time (The New Mastersounds cover), Passing Storm, East Bound and Down (Jerry Reed cover), Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms ([traditional] cover), Blame the Train, Cosmic Country Gardens, Translation
Set II
See Through, Down by the Riverside ([traditional] cover), Down Bedford, Justice, Jessica (The Allman Brothers Band cover), Boogie Man, Down Along the Cove (Bob Dylan cover) with Kevin Scott (bassist, Gov’t Mule), Freedom Jazz Dance (Eddie Harris cover) with Kevin Scott, Always Been a Lover, Luck of the Draw, Sugar Leg Rag
