New Riders Of The Purple Sage: “Hempsteader: Live At The Calderone Concert Hall” (2024) CD Review

New Riders Of The Purple Sage are a band that in my mind will be forever tied to the Grateful Dead, because of Jerry Garcia’s early involvement, and because the two bands shared a lot of bills together in the 1970s. And like the Dead, NRPS has focused on their live performances. In recent years, they’ve put out a good number of archival concert recordings (though not nearly as many as the Grateful Dead). In 2022, they released Lyceum ’72, containing a show from May of 1972. The band’s new release contains a show from 1976 the band performed in Hempstead, New York. There had been a personnel change since 1972, with Stephen Love now on bass and vocals (and actually Skip Battin had been on bass in between Dave Torbert and Stephen Love). At this show, the band focused on material from New Riders, playing all but one of the songs from it. New Riders was the first album the band released through MCA, after leaving Columbia. Interestingly, the one song they don’t play from it at this show is the album’s sole original number. Hempsteader: Live At The Calderone Concert Hall contains seventy-nine minutes of music on one disc, nearly the complete show (missing just one song from the set, plus the encore).

The band kicks off the show with a great rendition of “Panama Red,” a song written by Peter Rowan, and one that New Riders included on their 1973 record The Adventures Of Panama Red. In 1975, the song was included on the self-titled album from Old & In The Way, a bluegrass band that featured Peter Rowan and Jerry Garcia (through released in 1975, it was recorded in 1973). Here the track includes a brief introduction before the band gets cooking. This is a song that New Riders chose to kick off a lot of their 1976 shows, and it’s clear why that was the case. The energy is high, and the song is wonderful. It features some excellent stuff from Buddy Cage on pedal steel. They keep things moving with “Little Old Lady,” which was written by Richard Wilbur and included on the 1975 NRPS album Oh, What A Mighty Time. This track is a whole lot of fun, with a bit of yodeling on the chorus and a lot more toward the end, and the band racing along.

They then get into material from the 1976 album New Riders, beginning with “Honky Tonkin’ (I Guess I Done Me Some).” “Hey, we just made a brand new record for MCA, and this is one of the tunes that’s on it,” they tell the crowd. This one has a cool country blues vibe, and features some good work on guitar. It’s followed by “Fifteen Days Under The Hood,” which was the lead track from New Riders. It was written by Jack Tempchin, and is a catchy and rocking country number. “Well, I’m awful hungry, I wish I had some beans/Fifteen days under the hood/I spent all but a dollar on Valvoline/Fifteen days under the hood.” The crowd really responds to that song. On the record, that song is followed by “Annie May,” and it is here as well (though we can first hear someone shouting out a request for “Louisiana Lady”). It’s another fun number, in large part because of its subject. “Now Annie May don’t ask me if I love her/But in a way, well,  I suppose I do/She’s not the kind you bring home to meet your mother/Oh, but in time she kind of grows on you.”

The band then goes back to the first album for “Henry,” and an introduction is included, with a dedication to anyone in the audience who smuggles dope for a living until pot becomes legal. Hey, it took a while, but here we are. Some things have certainly gotten worse since 1976, but one improvement is the legalization of pot, at least in all the places that count. John Dawson wrote this one, and, as always, it’s a highlight. The band delivers a great rendition, energizing the crowd. “Let’s take that energy and vote all those silly laws out of the way.” They follow that with another song from New Riders, “Don’t Put Her Down,” written by Hazel Dickens. This track features some nice harmonies, and more good work on pedal steel. Then from the 1974 LP Brujo, they play “Ashes Of Love,” picking up the pace and the energy again.

Well, that woman in the audience doesn’t get her wish for “Louisiana Lady.” But the band does deliver “Portland Woman,” which was also on that debut record. And as soon as the first line is delivered, the crowd cheers. This song has a sweet vibe. And it is here that the band stretches out and jams. They kind of ease into the jam, and let the energy build, and the track features some strong work on drums as well as guitar. Then when the song seems to be reaching its conclusion, the guitars continue in another direction, and then after a brief pause, the song comes back with a delicious force. This track is one of the disc’s highlights. It is after this song that the band played “I Don’t Know You,” the one song from the set missing from this disc. What follows is “Whiskey,” a song from Gypsy Cowboy. This is a good choice for your road trip playlist. They go from whiskey to beer, as one does, following “Whiskey” with “She’s Looking Better Every Beer,” another song from New Riders. In introducing the song, they warn the crowd, “This could happen to you.” This is a delightful number. “Her hair is soft and shiny now, her eyes are bright and clear/How could it be I didn’t notice her when I first came in here/Ah, she’s looking better every beer.”

“Teardrops In My Eyes” was included on The Adventures Of Panama Red, and is an energetic number coming at us with a wonderful bluegrass pace. They follow that with “I Heard You’ve Been Layin’ My Old Lady,” a song from Oh, What A Mighty Time, the band’s final album on Columbia. It’s a rather playful song written by Rusty Wier. The band then returns to material from the new album, playing “The Swimming Song,” which was written by Loudon Wainwright III and is great fun. This track should put you in a good mood. It’s another of the highlights. Also from that album comes “You Never Can Tell,” the Chuck Berry song. These guys have a good time with it, jamming on it a bit. They follow that with a cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle,” which was also included on New Riders. This is a song that I first heard on a Grateful Dead live album. NRPS deliver a strong rendition, featuring some good work on guitar. They then get the crowd clapping at the beginning of “Glendale Train,” one of my favorite New Riders songs (and one that gets in my head every time I drive into Glendale). This is a fantastic rendition, yet another highlight of this release. The set wraps up with an energetic cover of “Dead Flowers,” a song the band included on New Riders and also on the 1974 live album Home, Home On The Road.

CD Track List

1. Panama Red
2. Little Old Lady
3. Honky Tonkin’ (I Guess I Done Me Some)
4. Fifteen Days Under The Hood
5. Annie May
6. Henry
7. Don’t Put Her Down
8. Ashes Of Love
9. Portland Woman
10. Whiskey
11. She’s Looking Better Every Beer
12. Teardrops In My Eyes
13. I Heard You’ve Been Layin’ My Old Lady
14. The Swimming Song
15. You Never Can Tell
16. Hard To Handle
17. Glendale Train
18. Dead Flowers

Hempsteader: Live At The Calderone Concert Hall is scheduled to be released on April 19, 2024 through Omnivore Recordings.