Cyril Neville Plays The Dead
9/16/26
Live Brooklyn Bowl, Williamsburg, NYC
New Orleans legend, Cyril Neville has mounted a brief Fall tour where he decided to focus on the music of the Grateful Dead. Backed by his son's fantastic band, Omari Neville and The Fuel, the elder Neville delivered a mix of Grateful Dead tunes, originals, New Orleans classic and more on this perfect early fall Wednesday night in Brooklyn.
Starting promptly at eight, the group entered the stage with zero fanfare and dropped into a quick version of "Touch of Gray". While The Neville Brothers opened for the Dead in the mid 80's and the groups were very friendly, Cyril took a few songs to get in the flow vocally on this night. Obviously new to singing lead on some of the tunes, he was game to give it his all though as the band segued into Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like An Eagle" which had a very smooth/relaxed vibe flowing throughout.
Without a pause the band shifted into the classic "Not Fade Away" dropping in a "Norwegian Wood" guitar tease before some soaring soloing. The flow kept rolling into "Iko Iko" as the New Orleans pride kicked up a notch. Cyril led the group through a stanza of "Jambalaya" and then the fun "They All Ask'd For You" by The Meters before wrapping up the impressive early show segue-fest with a return to "Not Fade Away".
Finally pausing for a breath, the band and Cyril thanked the crowd before starting a relaxed "Scarlett Begonias" that broke down into a straight reggae version of "Fire on the Mountain". The cool groove bobbed and weaved before morphing perfectly into Neville's original, "Reggae From New Orleans" which featured strong organ work and another guitar solo to close.
The very surprising show highlight arrived next as Cyril was super energized for the groups spin on "Deep Elm Blues". Delivered as a funky blues rocker, it cooked with cohesive energy from all involved before wrapping up first set with the title tune from Neville's newest release "Don't Wait 'Til I'm Gone".
The second set arrived with the band out on the road for "Truckin'" which featured an extended electric guitar duel that was blazing all around. The meat of the second set was a slowed down, funk laden version of "West LA Fadeaway > The Thrill Is Gone > West LA Fadeaway" that bumped and grooved around the venue. At times the jam was a bit lackadaisical but the NOLA energy returned with a powerful rendition of "Brother John". While the band's mix of New Orleans and Dead is a ton of fun, perhaps even more of Cyril's Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indian tunes could kick the energy even higher.
After Cyril talked about his favorite moment playing onstage with the Dead (New Years Eve 1987) a funky quick jaunt through "Tipitina" and a fairly straight ahead, soulful version of "Sugaree" closed the set before an encore of Dr. John's "New Orleans" ended the night on a party note.
An incredibly fun combination of spirit and substance, here's hoping Neville and company keep this unique project rolling and growing.
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