As purveyors of the wildly successful bi-coastal Best Fest series, the Cabin Down Below Band knows how to host a party. An extremely talented and versatile rock and roll band in their own right, the Austin Scaggs’ helmed outfit packs NYC and LA venues several times a year with their star-studded homages to legendary rock titans, such as Dylan, Petty, and The Who.
No mere tribute act, the Cabin Down Below Band takes these outings seriously by diving headfirst into the artists’ respective catalogs as they re-create old favorites, riff new interpretations to overlooked gems, and dig into the deep cuts to flesh out surprises. They also rock for a good cause, donating the evening’s proceeds to the Sweet Relief Musicians’ Assistance Fund. These soirees have also become known for the revolving cast of musicians, actors, and comedians who hop on and off the stage throughout the night, adding surprise, anticipation, and an air of musicality often seen on stages far larger than the modestly sized venues serving as host.
Lower East Side’s Bowery Ballroom served as the staging ground for Stones Fest, and like its’ sister events, it didn’t disappoint in terms of content or star power as the old rock veterans’ catalog was given a healthy work-over by the various acts that weaved in and out of the nearly three-hour set. In addition to featuring long time fest veterans like Nicole Atkins, Jesse Malin, Delta Spirit, and Har Mar Superstar, last night featured some new guests, including the worthy additions of Jason Isbell, Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, Ruby Amanfu, Butch Walker, Danny Clinch & The Tangier Blues Band, Norah Jones, and the unannounced triumvirate of Jakob Dylan, Perry Farrell, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell.
The show proved to be a veritable jukebox of Stones tunes, as each track elicited howls of approval from the locked in and packed crowd. (Truth be told, the setlist was more of the greatest hits variety, but you don’t really hear people clamoring for much post-1989 Stones material, anyways.) Isbell dedicated a searing version of “Moonlight Mile” to an old teacher who used to share his Stones love with his classes, while Amanfu brought a hush to the building with her gorgeously lilting version of “Angie” before returning later to shimmy all over the stage with Atkins on a soaring “Gimme Shelter”. Whigs’ frontman Parker Gispert teamed up with Carney to blow through a raucous version of “The Last Time”, while elsewhere, Har Mar Superstar added his usual good times levity, dancing around the stage wearing a “Who The Fuck is Mick Jagger?” t-shirt during his two numbers as lead vocalist.
Campbell’s turn in the spotlight was brief, but solid, as he laid down some tasteful licks behind Regina Spektor and Jack Dishell’s duet on “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”. Dylan held court with Jones on a sweet sounding “Lovin’ Cup” before Amanfou joined the two to add harmonies on “Ruby Tuesday”. Then, Farrell appeared to close out the surprise portion of the evening, where he proceeded to prance around the stage in all his Jane’s Addiction glory, belting out “Sympathy For The Devil” and crooning along with his scantily clad wife, Etty Lau on “Time Is On My Side”.
As the night closed and most of the evening’s musicians assembled onstage to close out with sing-along renditions of “Shine A Light” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, everyone-performers and fans alike-shared a satisfied moment of communal joy and basked in the reflection of a night well spent. Mick, Keith, and Co. would be quite proud.
Setlist:
1) “Monkey Man” Cabin Down Below Band
2) “Start Me Up”: Seth Herzog
3) “Satisfaction”: Har Mar Superstar and Patrick Carney
4) “19th Nervous Breakdown”: Sammy James, Jr.
5) “Angie”: Ruby Amanfu
6) “Tumbling Dice”: Mike G, Nicole Atkins, The Uptown Horns
7) “Bitch”: Peter Ericson Stakke and The Uptown Horns
8) “Moonlight Mile”: Jason Isbell
9) “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’?”: Jason Isbell
10) “Dead Flowers”: Cory Chisel, Norah Jones, and Adriel Denae
11) “Salt of the Earth”: Cory Chisel, Norah Jones, Ruby Amanfu, and Adriel Denae
12) “Gimme Shelter”: Nicole Atkins and Ruby Amanfu
13) “Happy”: Steve Schlitz
14) “Live With Me”: Delta Spirit
15) “Midnight Rambler”: Danny Clinch and The Tangier Blues Band
16) “Under My Thumb”: Har Mar Superstar
17) “Shattered”: Nicole Atkins
18) “Miss You”: Jesse Malin
19) “Honky Tonk Women”: Butch Walker and Ruby Amanfu
20) “The Last Time”: Parker Gispert and Patrick Carney
21) “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”: Jack Dishell, Regina Spektor, and Mike Campbell
22) “Lovin’ Cup”: Jakob Dylan and Norah Jones
23) “Ruby Tuesday”: Jakob Dylan and Ruby Amanfu
24) “Sympathy For The Devil”: Perry Farell
25) “Time Is On My Side”: Perry Farrell with Etty Lau Farrell
26) “Wild Horses”: Norah Jones and Everyone
27) “Shine A Light”: Everyone, plus Boz Scaggs & Jason Isbell on guitar
28) “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”: Butch Walker leading Everyone
