Review | The Doublewide Kings and Santa Barbara Symphony Shine On 

The Granada Theatre transformed into a kaleidoscopic time machine on Saturday for a night of ’60s and ’70s tunes in their sold-out “Psychedelic Symphony.” Under the direction of Nir Kabaretti, Music and Artistic Director, local classic rock stalwarts the Doublewide Kings, backed by the incredibly talented Santa Barbara Symphony, took us on a Magical Mystery Tour of sorts, covering iconic tracks from this groovy era of music.

This performance was the Kings’s third annual symphonic rock collaboration at the Granada, with prior tributes to Van Morrison and The Band’s Last Waltz selling out each year. As described on their website, these “Six fairly nice guys with one big sound,” have mastered the art of covering and creating their own roots rock, and the joy with which they approached Saturday’s show was contagious. Their camaraderie was on full display as they kicked things off with a heartfelt, all-hands-on-deck rendition of “With a Little Help from My Friends.” They lived up to the title with guest appearances from buddies such as singer-songwriter Miriam Dance, whose backing harmonies and later main vocalist performance of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit,” added depth and powerhouse pipes to the talent already shimmering. 

The audience was encouraged to “feel the vibe, dress the vibe, and celebrate in style.” Seeing everyone donning their favorite sequins, bell bottoms, fur, feathers, and alien-inspired glasses heightened the transportive fun. 

“Our basic criteria tonight was music that expands the mind,” they explained at the start. With a colorful light show shifting, swirling, and silhouetting the Santa Barbara Symphony prodigies who played with immaculate precision, and the raw rock-and-roll energy of the Kings commanding the front, I felt a variety of pleasure centers in my brain ignite and grow. 

Their soulful cover of “What’s Goin’ On” had people swaying in their seats, especially when front man John Simpson took off on a rollicking harmonica solo. Their rendition of “Bird Song,” a Grateful Dead tribute to the late Janis Joplin, had the crowd hypnotized and demonstrated the musical prowess and undeniable passion of each individual on stage. 

With such a cacophony of skill, each song offered a delightful trip, but perhaps my favorite odyssey of the evening was their take on the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever.” It’s a song that has held me in its outstretched palm since first hearing John Lennon muse, “Living is easy with eyes closed / Misunderstanding all you see / It’s getting hard to be someone, but it all works out.” This night at the Granada, the art pop classic truly had me wandering those strawberry fields, with a full symphony hitting precise string arrangements, and the full band committed to harnessing all of Lennon’s wacky, wild, soulful talent. Ending with the booming Doors’ classic “Light My Fire,” the Kings and Co. demonstrated a true commitment to the bit. If you’ve ever seen these guys play elsewhere, you know this fortitude is not just reserved for the ’60s. 

As purveyors of psychedelia, Pink Floyd have said, and the title of another showstopper of the night, in a world that’s in need of a little light, “Shine on, You Crazy Diamond!”