Photo by Tim Stiegler

With babysitters secured, hash pipes stowed away and faded tie-dyes retrieved from the bottom of the t-shirt drawer; dozens of aging hippies packed the cramped performance area aboard the “Rockin’ the River Cruise” happily enduring the sticky humidity for a chance to dance up close to The New Riders of the Purple Sage. Others less concerned with proving that they still rock, stood out on the back balcony, where they could enjoy views of Manhattan and listen to the music as it lingered in the muggy summer evening before being swept away by the cooling Hudson River breeze. Inside, underneath the second-floor awning, the most recent incarnation of the New Riders tore through its blend of fiery, acid-infused country-rock, in a converted Circle Line Boat turned floating amphitheater. 

The show attracted more “original heads” than a Robert Hunter poetry reading, in part due to the presence of one-time Grateful Dead singer Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay who lent her vocal pipes to a number of Dead covers as well as a few New Riders originals throughout the evening. The band opened up with the widely familiar and well-received chords of “I Don’t Know You” from the band’s self-titled debut album, with Jerry Garcia’s successor, Buddy Cage, pulling strings on pedal steel. Next, founding member Dave Nelson traded licks with Cage on the traditional “Ballad of Casey Jones,” and harmonized with rhythm guitarist Michael Falzarano (Hot Tuna) on the mellow, note-bending number “Contract.” By the time the boat rounded the Statue of Liberty, the band was midway through a romping, pounding cut of “Garden of Eden” as the ship literally swayed and rocked upon the river.

Technical difficulties halfway through the show cut the power for a few minutes, making way for an upbeat and impromptu “Drums,” courtesy of talented percussionist Johnny Markowski. Fans deemed this a fitting introduction for Godchaux-MacKay, as she took the stage soon after the power returned, harmonizing with Nelson and Falzarano on “Last Lonely Eagle” and commanding lead vocals on the classic Dead cover and runaway crowd favorite “Franklin’s Tower.”

 
The evening turned to night as heat lightning erupted along the horizon and the band broke out a galloping “Henry” that had giddy fans stomping and clapping like a bunch of rum-drunk pirates at a roadhouse. A cantering cover of “Take a Letter Maria” closed out the night as this ship of outlaws and old-school music lovers shuffled back into port.