Without a Net at Senasqua - 7/6/2018

Welcome back friends to my blog regarding the band called Without a Net.

Friday July 6, 2018 was a banner day for fans of the band when they performed for the Summer Concert Series at Senasqua park in their home town of Croton-on-Hudson, NY.  Our lead photo shows a happy Chris Oliver on the drums (who hardly ever gets lead billing) along with a banner custom created for the occasion by lead guitarist and graphic artist Jeff Thornton.

Just to set the scene, the weather was horrendous in the week leading up to to the event.  Call it nasty, oppressive, stinking hot, choose your adjectives.  But the forecast called for clear and cool conditions at show time.  And like a breath of fresh air, cool air flowed from the north as the sun set over the Hudson river valley as the band started, here's a photo from the scene.

Joining the band on stage were Craig Purpura on the saxophone and Shanelle Jenkins on the trumpet from the Havener's who appeared with the band at their most recent gig at The Winery at St George.  The evening started with a rousing rendition of Shakedown Street with intervening sax and trumpet solos from Mr Purpura and Ms Jenkins.  Their strong jazz influence also shined in Eyes of the World which is a breezy, summer-infused number from the Grateful Dead's Wake of the Flood Album.

The multi-talented Dan Howald also weighed in with a smart bass guitar solo toward the end of Eyes of the World.

Set one ended with a striking rendition of Disco Cowboy where band lead Frank Primeggia performs his signature tune and rap where he introduces the band.  Frank is a one-of-kind character who I have profiled on this blog before here.

On a side note, the band arranged a special sound system for the gig which sounded great both 20 feet from the stage and at the very back of the park.  Nice job on this guys.

Set two opened with the lovely and talented Francesa Rose on guitar performing the Grateful Dead's I Know You Rider.  This is one of my favorite tunes of the band and conjures up some deep feelings regarding love and loss.  Francesca also delivered an inspired performance in set one doing I Don't Know You by New Riders of the Purple Sage.

Set two included some band and crowd favorites including Big River by Johnny Cash and Miss You and Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones.  Set two ended with Sugar Magnolia by the Grateful Dead about which time your humble blog author was almost danced out.

The encore for Set Two was the Grateful Dead's US Blues.  This song was particularly meaningful -   with all the turmoil regarding immigration - it was a welcome reminder how fortunate we are to live in the USA and have the freedom to rock out under the American flag proudly flown just behind the stage by the Village of Croton. God Bless America baby!

The night closed out with gospel-inspired, acapella version of I Bid You Goodnight a sweet ending to a perfect night.

Many thanks to the Village of Croton recreation department for hosting this great event.