Donavon Frankenreiter at the Bottle & Cork

Donavon Frankenreiter soothes the Dewey crowd with his velvety voice. (Credit: Ryan Cormier)

When Donavon Frankenreiter ambled on to the Bottle & Cork stage last Wednesday night, replete with a tie-dyed Hendrix/Zeppelin T-shirt, brambly mustache, 10 o'clock shadow, and comb-be-damned Franken-fro atop his six-foot frame, it looked as if the surfer/singer was right at home.

A native of Southern California's sands, Frankenreiter was playing Dewey Beach for the first time just a year since releasing his third album. But he felt quite comfy in front of a more-than-half-full Cork, after a day of surfing down the street.

"Thank you for sharing your night with us," he said, after saying that he'd enjoyed some of Dewey's waves earlier in the day. He'd just finished with an opening rendition of the title track from last August's 10-song release, "Pass It Around."

Seemed like an appropriate song to start off the night with, considering Frankenreiter's eyes went from half-open to fully closed as he sung. This would definitely prove to be one of the more chill concerts at the beach this year, with a breeze blowing and tunes flowing.

Along with four backing band members, whose play featured drums, bongos, bass guitar, plenty of keyboard, electric organ and even a wind-powered wood melodica, D.F. ripped through "What 'Cha Know About," to the delight of the audience.

His response was simply, "You guys are a lotta fun. I like that shit," which elicited even more yelling before getting into the next 14 songs from his previous albums, scattered over a surprisingly quick hour-and-a-half set, with one encore.

It's hard to say whether a majority of the ladies in the house, all of whom screeched at D.F. between each song, would give him the time of day on the street. He's got that certain questionable Earl Hickey look that might cause folks to cross the avenue.

But that was neither here nor there on this evening, as D.F. looked like he was surrounded by friends at a beach party, enjoying an extended version of "Swing On Down," and later "It Don't Matter," during which a few fans got the chance to sing.

Frankenreiter passed out the mike as the crowd chanted, "If it don't matter to you/It don't matter to me." Most fans got it right when it was their turn, though some slurred and stuttered at times, causing D.F. to help them by mouthing along the words.

After a quick break at 11:45 p.m., Frankenreiter came back for a two-song encore, which included a solo rendition of "Call Me Papa," followed by a building cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Kind of Man," during which the band re-joined him halfway in.

A very appreciative crowd, who'd leisurely danced around the Cork's watery floors for about 90 minutes, cheered D.F. as he exited the stage and left hoping the venue's powers that be were as happy with the show, in anticipation of a return date next summer.

Add a comment