Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason took to the Riviera Theatre stage this past Tuesday night to perform an hour and 35-minute set. Mason has a legendary career that consisted of having spent time with Traffic and has recorded with Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Cass Elliot and Fleetwood Mac to name a few. The show was advertised as Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam but, the show was more than his time in Traffic. It was really a career retrospect of what Mason has done over the last 50 plus years in music.
Mason’s band features Mark Stein on the Hammond B3, Johnne Sambataro on guitar, Ray Cardwell on bass and Marty Fera on drums. Each took turns handling vocals throughout the set (minus Fera). They started off with Mason singing acapella for his solo song “Share Your Love.” This is the only time he did that during his performance. He then played guitar for the rest of the night. The next three songs he got in the groove with Traffic songs. There seemed to be a muddy mix with the sound, but I think it slowly evaporated as the set went on. Many of the songs Mason talked about the history behind them and gave a history lesson on King John of England. He also talked about the release of his brand-new book titled “Only You Know & I Know.” Mason provided a seamless transition in between tracks. I thought Mason’s voice still sounded very strong. Stein (Vanilla Fudge fame), also killed it on the songs he did especially on “I’m a Man.” The band ended with a barrage of hits including the iconic “Feelin’ Alright?”
This is the 3rd time in 4 years that Mason has played the Riviera Theatre and the fans keep coming out for it. It’s not only a testament to the musical ability of Mason and his band, but the timeless songs that he is performing.
Setlist:
Share Your Love
Pearly Queen (Traffic song)
Rock and Roll Stew (Traffic stew)
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (Traffic song)
The Words
Every Woman
Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith cover)
We Just Disagree (Jim Kruger cover)
Forty Thousand Headmen (Traffic song)
Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave
I’m a Man (The Spencer Davis Group cover)
Medicated Goo (Traffic song)
Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic song)
Only You Know and I Know
All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan cover)
Encore:
You Keep Me Hangin’ On (The Supremes cover)
Feelin’ Alright? (traffic song)
We would like to thank David Fillenwarth from the Riviera Theatre for the credentials to review the show.
