Lacking Its Namesake, JGB Loses Personality

Jerry Garcia is gone, but the Jerry Garcia Band, a.k.a. JGB, was back in action at the Galaxy Concert Theatre on Thursday. The pressing question was whether the surviving members of Jerry’s old band have any business carrying on in his name.

“Some people have come up to us and said, ‘What are you trying to do, rip Jerry off?’ ” guitarist-vocalist Peter Harris said by phone recently before the concert.

“Melvin [Seals, the group’s keyboardist] started the band back up about a year ago because we all missed playing together. So we’re calling ourselves JGB. I don’t think there’s a perfect solution or name for us, but JGB seems to work for now.”

Some concert-goers agreed with Harris.

“Why not call them JGB?” asked Todd Norris of Irvine. “The main players [Seals, singers Jacklyn La Branch and Gloria Jones] have been part of the group for 11 or 12 years. I came tonight because I love the music and want to recapture the old feeling . . . that communal spirit.”

A dissenting opinion came from Jaime Dellachiara, a 22-year-old store clerk from Anaheim who reluctantly tagged along with her boyfriend.

“I don’t like the name,” she said flatly. “They’re not the Jerry Garcia Band. That’s past tense. I think they’re just using JGB to get the band going again. They should use another name if they still want to play together.”

By any name, JGB was certainly grounded in the past during its two-hour set. The bulk of the show was devoted to Jerry Garcia Band staples, Grateful Dead numbers and numerous rock ‘n’ roll chestnuts.

Dipping into blues, folk, rock and pop tunes, the eight-member band came across as one very well-oiled cover band. Sadly, it isn’t much else.

Certainly when Garcia--who died two years ago--fronted the band, he was prone to fumbling notes and had his share of forgettable moments. Yet the guitarist’s improvisational flights often could lead to delightful discoveries. And man, that big Garcia smile could light up the stage.

In contrast, the group formerly known as the Jerry Garcia Band is colorless and uninventive.

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If this is now Seals’ band, you’d never know it. Buried behind his keyboards throughout the set, the reluctant leader didn’t utter a word to the crowd all evening. In fact, not a word was spoken by any band member to the audience.

The songs were equally lacking in communicative powers. Indulgent soloing was far more prevalent than any real self-expression, particularly when Harris and guitarist Judah Gold seemed bent on bettering each other instead of serving the song. This was especially annoying during a tortuous, extended version of Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue.”

Most frustrating of all, the group missed the opportunity to bring a gospel edge to the mix. Both La Branch and Jones spent years singing in gospel choirs, and Seals has extensive experience performing and producing gospel music. Exploring this avenue could have provided the band inspiration to at least try to forge its own identity.