The New Riders of the Purple Sage, a seminal group of cosmic cowboy rockers whose roots go back some 40 years, knocked down a couple of butt-kicking sets at the Events Center in old-town Auburn, Calif., on Nov. 27. The band, which originally included several members of The Grateful Dead, included a now-stable lineup of founding member and front man/guitarist David Nelson (who also leads his popular David Nelson Band); Buddy Cage, who took over on pedal steel guitar following Jerry Garcia’s departure from the band in 1971; ever-competent guitarist/vocalist Mike Falzarano (Hot Tuna, Memphis Pilgrims); Ronnie Penque (Ripple/Ronnie Penque Band) on bass, and Johnny Markowski (Stir Fried) on drums.

After opening with the timeless NRPS classic, “I Don’t Know You,” the show included such throwbacks “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy,” Willie and the Hand Jive,” “Louisiana Lady,” “Lochinvar,” “Panama Red,” and Henry,” with Falzarano handling most of the vocals for the dearly departed band co-founder and principal songwriter John Dawson, whose recent passing is still a sad circumstance to ponder.
Selections from “Where I Come From,” all co-penned by Nelson and famed Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, also came hot and heavy, including the title track as well as “Down the Middle,” “Ghost Train Blues,” and epic second-set-opener “Barracuda Moon.” The show also included an after-midnight sing-along encore of The Grateful Dead’s “Ripple.”

The concert, a four-hour-plus hoedown in total, also included two other significant pieces. Bob Woods, a longtime Sacramento-area singer-songwriter/guitarist opened the festivities with his band, which was almost as popular with the crowd as the main course. And before the New Riders’ second set, SkareCrow and Delacey, part of the NRPS road team, kept the energy flowing with a nifty little ‘tweener set of guitar, bass and voice, featuring some originals as well as a cover of “Friend of the Devil.”

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