Garage A Trois 12.17.11

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
Denver, CO

Words By J-man
Photos By Carly Marthis & J-man
Audio Recorded By Corey Sandoval (Kind Recordings)

These are the shows I live for. Supergroups have come to embody what I love about our scene. In this situation, it came to us in the form of a well rehearsed, well established project. Garage A Trois has been out-putting intense and thrilling music for some time, but very rarely do the stars align for a tour. Realize, all of the

members have other projects going on, so to find time that all are available to hit the road is a rare treat. That night in Denver would mark an epic musical experience for those who attended.

Initially I was curious as to how the turn out would be. The musicians are solid and reputable, but was the name "Garage A Trois" recognizable outside of a small group of folks? The answer was yes. With the opening band Zobomaze' hitting the stage to a respectable crowd, I was drawn to Zobomaze's organization and progressions. I recalled them doing a lot of funk when I last saw them, but that night at Cervantes they catered to the crowd and experience.

Patrons danced and moved

to the unfolding arrangements of Zobomaze. The music was jazzy, kind of funky, but more than anything it was coherent and impressive. Each member, from the bass player to the drummer to the guitar and sx/keys reflected a poised approach to the music.

It was great to be surrounded by friends dancing and partying, anticipating what would be our ultimate demise. There was an elevated level of energy as there often is at Cervantes. Screams from the stage marked the beginning of Garage A Trois' set. We braced ourselves as the band eased into a bright progression via Mike Dillon's vibraphones... Then the jam dropped with fury.

Garage A Trois Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on December 17, 2011.

Enter Marco Benevento on keys, Stanton Moore on drums and the psycho on sax, Skerik. The music was a combination of experimental jazz coupled with immeasurable energy and rage. Then the music took a turn for the scary as dark radiating tones projected from the stage followed by some overwhelming percussion from Mike and Stanton. As with previous GAT experiences, I was blown away. The set did have it's low points, typically in the form of screaming or an attempt at rapping, but overall it was mainly high points... which were indeed breathtaking.

At Set break the band stayed on stage to sell merch, sign autographs and meet with fans. I'm not sure that I had ever

seen that happen before. It was good marketing, but also came off as a little cheesy...

The second set played out similarly to the first, but with even greater intensity. There were moments when I would look around and noticed most of the folks within immediate sight literally looked horrified. The experience was overwhelming, especially if it was your first. What an incredible two set of music! That night was one of the best musical experiences that I had enjoyed in some time.

J-man's Photo Gallery

www.garageatrois.net

Livetronica Sampler 3.22.11

Words by Greg Molitor ( ReMIND Photography ) Ozric Tentacles This British group has proven innovative throughout the years offering a space-rock meets psytrance sound that remains alive to this day. Though never having a major record label, Ozric Tentacles has produced 28 albums of diverse psychedelia throughout its career. The band met at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983 and truly fathered livetronica music with its use of sequencers and synthesizers. Simply put, there would be no livetronica without Ozric Tentacles. www.ozrics.com Octopus Nebula Colorado’s Octopus Nebula has certainly hit its stride as of late with its constant touring and increased festival interest. The group expands on the deep sounds of highly regarded acts such as STS9 and Shpongle but also carves a path of its own with its fresh takes on synthesizer tones and sampling in the live setting. Octopus Nebula Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on March 26, 2010. <--- Direct Archive Link www.octopus

Buckethead: Gimmick or Guitar God?

Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( phatphlogblog.blogspot.com ) At what point does the gimmick overshadow the performance? The obvious answer is Buckethead. The man is an amazing guitarist but something is not right in this world. The idea a performer who dons a KFC chicken bucket on his head for a concert has always intrigued me, and some of his side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Bernie Bucket of Brains have been huge successes. However his performance last weekend in Fort Collins simply left me perplexed. From his robotic dancing, to his nunchuck display, to the fact the he performed with an iPod rather than a band all added to my confusion. Going into the show I was ready to be blown away, despite rumblings of disgruntled fans from the previous night’s show at The Gothic. Buckethead had had some sound issues and some missed cues in Denver but I was still trying to be positive for the show in Fort Collins. It did go off without a hitch technically but that was the least

The Origin of MusicMarauders

Words By J-man "What should I name this fucking thing?" I asked myself in the midst of a joint in my Upstate, NY apartment. "It's got to be something with just 'Music'in the title. Nothing more specific than that, as we'll be covering a wide variety of genres." One more drag on the joint yielded the memory of driving down Woodward Ave. in Detroit, listening to Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders. "MusicMarauders! That's it... It completely encompasses what we do in the sense the we are 'maraudering' or 'pillaging' for music," I thought as I stared out of the window at about three and a half feet of fresh Upstate snow. First things first, the domain had to be registered. "Do I have ten dollars in my account?" I thought to myself from a position of just scraping by. Pulling out my shiny, rarely used debit card, I put it to the test and was able to secure MusicMarauders.com. "What's next?" I

MUSICMARAUDERS

Search This Blog