The Band’s epic The Last Waltz is set to be recreated in Vancouver

Legendary Canadian/American roots rockers The Band performed their farewell concert dubbed The Last Waltz on Nov. 25, 1976. The star-studded concert featured everyone from the group’s previous employers, Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan, to contemporaries ranging from Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to Dr. John.

Last month, San Diego tribute act Chest Fever released The 21st Century Last Waltz — Live at Massey Hall.

The recording documents the band’s sold-out concert recreation of The Last Waltz, including a lineup of invited Canadian and international artists reprising the original show in new ways.

The group brings its unique take on The Band’s music on its 50th Anniversary of The Last Waltz Tour that lands in Vancouver on Nov. 7 at The Rickshaw.

Putting together the nearly three-hour-long show involves a fair amount of advance planning.

“The touring group is our five-piece band, which is augmented in every city by a four-piece local horn section,” said guitarist/singer Dan (Dude) Cervantes. “Then there are sometimes up to a dozen local guests that are invited to perform the songs the original guests sang. This template has really created a great opportunity to work with the local music community everywhere we go with this show.”

Cervantes notes that each presentation becomes a one-of-a-kind event using this approach and ensures that the core group never feels like they are just going through the same paces every night. It also provides a great opportunity to get to meet fellow artists all across the country.

“We get to meet so many incredible artists and musicians and have a blast along the way,” he said. “The majority of the time it also means that, when we come back around, people are into coming and hearing what’s going on this time.”

Billed as The Official Revival of The Band, Chest Fever takes its name from the song of the same name found on The Band’s 1968 debut album, Music from Big Pink. But the tribute shows are only one side of the five-piece crew from Southern California.

Their other life is as the San Diego rock band Mrs. Henry.

The long-running group has a number of albums out under its own name. It’s latest release is a three-part rock opera titled Keep On Rising, on Blind Owl Records. Besides the 21st Century Last Waltz live album, Chest Fever has released its own versions of The Band’s classics Music From Big Pink and Rock of Ages and a Live in Little Rock record.

Previously, the two sides of the band would hit the road as a double act.

“We’ve decided to keep to separate lanes now, because it was hard to do in a way that kept each distinct identity clear,” he said. “We were first asked to do The Last Waltz in 2017, and it worked out so well that we just kept it going. Robbie Robertson was a big influence on me in becoming an all-around guitarist working rhythm and lead together.”

While wanting to deliver the material with respect to the originals, Cervantes says Chest Fever and the invited guests performing with them aren’t aiming for a note-by-note recreation.

That has already been immortalized in the film and soundtrack recording of The Last Waltz directed by Martin Scorsese and released in 1978. Considered one of the finest concert documentaries ever made, the film is preserved in the U.S. Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically or esthetically significant.”

“While we handle The Band songs as we do, the guests will perform the songs that were originally done by artists like Bob Dylan and Neil Young and others,” said Cervantes. “It always is surprising what directions those jams can take.”

For the Vancouver performance, Chest Fever has invited guests Daniel Moxon, Rich Hope, Gord Kushner, Marin Patenaude, Colleen Rennison, Cobra Ramone, Scott Smith and Paul Pigat. It’s a varied selection from the local music scene that brings everyone from garage rockers and rockabilly string-benders to jazzy singer/songwriters and Blues belters.

sderdeyn@postmedia.com