Photos and recap by Scott Sheff

Soul rockers Dawes kicked off their 2016 tour dates in grand style at the majestic Theatre at Ace Hotel. The band continues to tour strong in support of last year’s release All Your Favorite Bands, playing most of the album during their set. Sitting in with the band for much of the latter part of their set was session guitarist and master of the pedal steel Greg Liesz, which included a cover of The Waterboys’ “Fisherman’s Blues.” Dawes ended the night with a medley of the album’s title track that bled into a tribute to the late great David Bowie with a cover of “All the Young Dudes.”

Vetiver, the songs and recordings of the Bay Area’s Andy Cabic, opened the night to a warm welcome and a swarm of fans packed against the stage for an up-close-and-personal experience of the band’s folksy-roots-rock sound and spirited jams. And like Dawes, who paid tribute to one of the late-greats in music that recently passed, Vetiver surprised the crowd by paying tribute to Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead fame. However, they didn’t play a Motörhead tune, but rather “Hurry Sundown” from his earlier days with Hawkwind.