Picture Show: TLG @ The Highline Ballroom
With disco lights a blazing Tea Leaf Green took to the stage at the Highline Ballroom on April 18. Leading the New York City division of the Green Apple Festival, the band warmed up with such favorites as Bootlegger, One Reason, and Devil’s Pay; but it was the trippy Panspermic De-Evolution that really stole the first set. Aaron Redner of Hot Buttered Rum String Band joined the band on fiddle for a rousing Ophelia before the band went to break.
Highlights of the 2nd set included Kali-Yuga, Criminal Intent (again with Redner sitting in) and a rousing Tequila to send the fanbase into the night. The biggest surprise of the night was the inclusion of Las Vegas and Deep River back into the cataloge, songs that haven’t seen the light of day since Ben Chambers left.
While Steve Adams (of ALO) did a fine job filling in on bass, (and was greeted warmly by the faithful with fake moustaches) I think the band was truly missing the spark that Reed Mathis provides. Hopefully Tea Leaf Green can bring in Mathis fulltime and regain the heights we saw at the Blender last September.
READ ON for more of Jeremy’s photos and links to audio of the shows…
4/18 Setlist [AUD]
Set I: Dont Curse> Bootlegger, One Reason, Devil’s Pay, Rattlin’, Panspermic De-Evolution!, Make a Connection, Las Vegas, Ophelia*
Set II: Georgie P, Country Seduction, Criminal Intent*, Faced with Love, Ride Together, I’ve Been Seeking, Kali-Yuga, Freedom, GIII
Encore: Deep River> Tequila*Aaron Redner on fiddle
Set 1: Red Ribbons, Let Us Go, Garden 1, Garden 2, Taught To Be Proud, My Bastard Brother, Wet Spot, I’ve Got a Truck (with Barry Sless and Pete Sears), Green Eyed Lady
Set 2: Reservoir, Lil Hood, Invasion, Can’t Get High, Bouncin Betty, Zoom Zoom, Jubilee, Carter Hotel, If It Wasn’t For the Money
Encore: Josh Solo, Hot Dog, Morning Sun
Currently, Tea Leaf Green is touring in support of Seeds, a 3 CD collection of the band’s first three self-released studio albums (Tea Leaf Green, Midnight on the Reservoir, and Living In Between) available everywhere on Surfdog Records.
A good read but I would disagree. the spark was there, but it was just a different spark. Reed and Steve are two different bassists that bring different qualities to the band, and that can get the original 3 to tap into different elements of the their musical ability.
Plus we got a Carter Hotel, and that means everything.
I do wish i could have seen the Saturday show as well, ( unfortunately my mother’s brisket called) and perhaps I would have thought differently, but I thought back to those great Blender and Irving Plaza shows and thought something was missing.
Steve is quite talented and was interacting and having fun with the band, but I just really want Tea Leaf to have a full time bass player, I think they’re too good not to.
Great photos, jg, thanks for sharing them!
You do know it was not Reed that played with them at the Blender shows, right? Those gigs were still with Ben C, TLG’s original bassist.
I have not heard TLSteve live so I cannot agree or disagree with your reaction to him - but I am absolutely with you when you sing TLReed’s praises!
– CA