Celebrating Musical History: Psychedelic Symphony

As a sold-out crowd – many dressed in colorful ‘60s and ‘70s garb – tooled down the aisles, the band exhorted them to “Come-on Baby, Light My Fire.” Thus began another amazing evening of rocking music brought to us by the collaboration of the Doublewide Kings and Nir Kabaretti and the Santa Barbara Symphony. The Granada Theatre was the happening place in town as the Symphony and the Kings grooved to the music of the Psychedelic Era on Saturday, November 8.

The playlist of Psychedelic Symphony reached back to a time of dramatic societal change and a desire to build a better world and to expand the mind, often through mind altering drugs. Young people developed a bitchin’ slang and began to drop out of “The Establishment,” and, oh man, the music was revolutionary and totally out of sight. It was also enduring, as the concert on Saturday night, November 8, revealed.

For the second song, the Bach-derived instrumental melody of English rockers Procol Harum brought the Kings and Symphony together for “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” The addition of a full orchestra enriched the soulful and melancholic tone, and the audience mentally “skipped the light fandango and turned cartwheels ‘cross the floor.”

By then it was time to “Get a Little Help from My Friends,” a Beatles’ song with a timeless and genre-busting popularity. Vocalists Miriam Dance and Terrill Carter joined the group, and George Friedenthal was creating cool magic on the keyboard. Next, they got moody with “Nights in White Satin,” and the instrumentals of Kings and Symphony took flight between each verse. 

As each song played, flashing-colored lights augmented the stage, and the screen showed each artist through a swirl of rainbow-colored psychedelic images. It was groovy, man, groovy. Cord Pereira’s powerful, exquisite guitar playing defies description and the entire band of Palmer Jackson Jr., Charlie Crisafulli, John Simpson, Robert D. Teneyck, and Dan Zimmerman were completely out-of-sight!

During the second set the band tackled and brought down Marvin Gaye’s pleas for peace on Earth with “What’s Goin’ On.” The lyrics, “war’s not the answer, only love conquers hate,” are still relevant today. Miriam Dance ramped up the psychedelic theme with a full-throated, powerful performance of Jefferson Airplane’s haunting bolero, “White Rabbit.”

And the beat went on through the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields” and Led Zepplin’s “Kashmir” before jetting out to thunderous applause. Psychedelic Symphony is the third successful collaboration sponsored by the Granada Theatre and Earl Minnis. The Granada proved once again that it is the central coast’s premier performing arts venue, thanks to a generous tribe of donors and the Granada team of Caren Rager, David Johnson, Stephanie Boshers, and Jon Fowler.