The energy of the 60's connects full circle in 2003
by Mitch Deighan - The North Star - June 4, 2003
Review of the show with Vince Welnick, formerly of the Grateful Dead. Special guest on congas during his set: our very own Mike Cunningham! Upon embarking on his set, following BoSu, Vince said to the crowd, "Bohemian Sunrise knocks my socks off!" Download 300 dpi




THE ENERGY OF THE 60’S CONNECTS FULL-CIRCLE IN 2003
Vince Welnick, Gent Treadly, Bohemian Sunrise and The Fire converge... creating a magical night in the City of Brotherly Love!!
By Mitch Deighan

When Vince Welnick and friends, aka Gent Treadly, mapped-out their east coast itinerary, they chose a bright new Philly venue to unveil their hard-driving melodies. Vince is the former and brilliant keyboardist for The Grateful Dead, touring with scorching-hot Gent Treadly of The Big Apple for a group of dates, to be continued later this summer.

The venue they chose to begin their journey is Dan McShane’s labor of love:
The Fire, in historic Northern Liberties.

It was my great good fortune to be there at the birth of The Fire. Three years ago, we tried our best to land Philly’s new retro-stadium/ballpark a couple blocks away. When the dust settled on our legendary civic battle, The Fire was born. Mission statement: LOVE, LOVE and MORE LOVE!!!

So it was no surprise to me when Danny’s crew got the call from Vince’s team.

Thanks to Derek Dorsey (The Fire’s in-house music czar), the opening band for Vince’s show was the hot 6-piece herd from New Jersey, Bohemian Sunrise (aka BoSu), whose music makes me dream of that seemingly impossible convergence of The Grateful Dead with The Allman Brothers and Santana.

So, it was a stunning feeling to witness Vince holding court with Bohemian Sunrise in The Fire’s great green room, before the shows began. I was at one of The Fire’s online computers when I overheard the conversation turning towards amazing anecdotes of Jerry Garcia and things that only someone like Vince could have witnessed. After hearing Jerry’s name over and over, I jumped up and will never forget the amazing sight of Vince and BoSu’s own “Jerry” - burly Ed Clark of Bohemian Sunrise – surrounded by their tribes, all aglow with that energy of the 60’s that so many of us yearn for and hope could be re-kindled here in the new millenium.

The night’s golden music and energy were the proof I was seeking...BoSu split things wide open with a line-up of their original tunes, including some from their soon-to-be-released cd, “Intoxicating” (CD Release Party at The Fire on Saturday, July 12). Their set featured an intricate mixture of tribal-influenced rhythms, throbbing with wave after wave of infectious charisma.

Vince and Gent Treadly followed with a set that soared right thru the ozone, heading towards interstellar space...a brilliant re-invention of classics and originals. And as if to reinforce the connection of energies, Mike Cunningham (one of BoSu’s gifted percussionists) was invited up on stage to play congas for some real rumblers. A true Love Fest!!

I left The Fire that night with the same feeling I had after each of those mesmerizing Dead shows in the 60’s and 70’s and 80’s...again believing (dare I say it): THE DREAM IS ALIVE!!!

Associated bands:
Vince Welnick, Gent-Treadly, and Bohemian Sunrise
Vince Welnick
Gent Treadly
Bohemian Sunrise







News/Home - Dates - Merch - Music/Video - Bio/Photos - Members - Reviews - Contact