Whiteleaf Private Concert Club Brings Don Was and the Pan Detroit Ensemble to Sarasota
Six-time Grammy winning producer & musician Don Was and his band came to Sarasota to jam and did they ever! Performing for a private audience of members of Whiteleaf, at the Venue @ LEC, it was an amazing evening of music and socializing for music lovers of Sarasota. Whiteleaf is the brainchild of Barry Weisblatt, who worked as a celebrity talent agent for over 38 years with a client list that included Warren Haynes and Gov’t Mule, Joan Osbourne, Southside Johnny among scores of others. He moved to Sarasota from New York in 2019 and immediately saw that it was a no-brainer for a music town like Sarasota to have this kind of special private concert club.
Opening act was Charlotte, North Carolina-based Josh Daniel performing an acoustic set with Don Was, surprising the crowd and sitting in on bass for the hauntingly lovely “Only A River”, a Bob Weir-written song on his “Blue Mountain” album, which was Bob’s last solo album. Don played with Bob Weir for 7 years in the Wolf Brothers band. Next, there was a short Q&A with Don & Barry talking about his work with the Rolling Stones and producing the late Gregg Allman’s swan song record, “Southern Blood.” Don had great stories and could have listened to him for hours. Next on the agenda was Barry presenting Peter Anderson from the Sarasota Jazz Club an autographed guitar for the club’s work in the community since 1980!
Back to Don and the talented band of musicians he is touring with, everyone are musicians from Detroit, obviously by the name. They opened the show with a cover of a Hank Williams ditty, “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But Time”, vocalist Steffanie Christi’an has an amazing instrument that blew people away. Another number on the setlist and instantly became a crowd favorite was the tale of “Elvis’s Rolls Royce.” Don’s band “Was (Not Was) released the song in 1983. A fun favorite that was not on the setlist but deserves a listen is the Was (Not Was) hit “Walk the Dinosaur”, check it out on YouTube.
Don gave an eloquent tribute to his friend of many years, the Grateful Dead’s Bobby Weir. Images of a young Weir to most recently filled the screen as Don shared about working with Bobby. The next part of the show was Don and the band playing in its entirety “Blues for Allah”; the Grateful Dead album is celebrating its 50-year anniversary! Certainly, a labor of love for Was and a band of musicians that are so incredible with years of playing with many famous artists in the studio and on tour. Starting with Luis Resto on keys and violin, he has been producing Eminem for nearly 20 years. The horn section consists of jazz saxophonist Dave McMurray who has played with Don since the early days and has played with such artists as Bob Dylan, B.B. King and Gladys Knight.
Well-known jazz trumpeter, John Douglas, is on board as well as Vincent Chandler, trombonist, who has been a music instructor at the University of Michigan. Mahindi Masai, on percussion, plays with jazz ensembles around Detroit. Guitarist Wayne Gerard has worked with Patti Smith and Bonnie Raitt. The powerhouse drummer is Jeff Canady and there is a fireworks drum/percussion solo on the setlist. There were several original songs from the band’s album, “Groove In The Face of Adversity.” A show with top-notch professionals, as well as a stellar sound system in this venue, made for an incredible experience! Whiteleaf will have another private show in March featuring rock band, “The Spin Doctors”. If you are interested in how to join the Whiteleaf Private Concert Club, go to https://whiteleafconcertclub.com/ Barry Weisblatt hosts concerts open to the public on various Mondays at McCurdy’s. For tickets and dates check out www.mccurdyscomedy.com Artwork in the lobby was provided by artist Kira Lee. There were various paintings of The Beatles, Steven Tyler and Johnny Cash. Kira’s gallery is located at 1620 Main Street, Sarasota or www.KiraLeeArt.com.
Vicky Sullivan Photos for The Suncoast Post.