Photo: Dino Perrucci <\/p>\n
Daniel Donato\u2019s Cosmic Country pulled into San Francisco on Wednesday, Feb. 11. The Nashville-based four-piece took the stage at The Independent after completing a slow crawl down the Western shoreline\u2013live shows in Washington and Oregon. The group\u2019s resulting visit to the jam mecca included nods to Bobby Weir\u2019s cowboy era during the first set and, later, the arrival of local fixture and guitarist, Reed Mathis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last night\u2019s performance kicked off with the Merle Haggard-penned, Lynyrd Skynyrd-popularized \u201cHonky Tonk Night Time Man,\u201d ahead of the traditional \u201cDarlin\u2019 Cory.\u201d Next, the ensemble pulled out a section of original music: \u201cTennessee Tumbleweed,\u201d \u201cFortunate Sparrow,\u201d \u201cBlame The Train,\u201d and \u201cCosmic Country Gardens.\u201d The thrill of \u201cBig Iron\u201d took over next and provided a reference to Weir\u2019s Kingfish era. The group completed their initial set after \u201cDark Hollow,\u201d a final nod to Dead and that group\u2019s live album, Reckoning.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The original \u201cPrairie Spin\u201d kicked off the second set. The song ran into JJ Cale\u2019s \u201cTravelin\u2019 Light.\u201d The band paused ahead of \u201cForgotten Days,\u201d but ultimately ran it into \u201cValhalla Peace.\u201d Next, they delivered a debut original, penned by Nathan Aronowitz and titled \u201cPeace Ain\u2019t For Free.\u201d On the other side of the first time play, they added \u201cFaded Lovin\u2019\u201d before bringing out Mathis to add to Bob Dylan\u2019s \u201cTangled Up in Blue\u201d and the Dead-associated \u201cTurn On Your Love Light.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Notably, both Donato and Mathis have deep ties to Grateful Dead member Billy Kreutzmann, who has previously engaged both players to join him for Billy & The Kids concerts. Following Mathis\u2019 sit-in, the band gave weight to \u201cDance in the Desert,\u201d which functioned as the night\u2019s encore.\u00a0<\/p>\n