Spaghetti Warhol 2011.10.29 Funky Buddha Lounge & Brewery Boca Raton, FL

Repost from NewTimes Broward/Palm Beach found here.

Concert Review

Live: Spaghetti Warhol at Funky Buddha, October 29

By Adam Smith Mon., Oct. 31 2011 at 5:39 AM

Categories: Concert Review

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Photo by Adam Smith

Spaghetti Warhol With the Heavy Pets Saturday, October 29, 2011 Funky Buddha Lounge & Brewery, Boca Raton, FL

Shedding their questionably suggestive nomenclature for something a bit more on the silly side, Fort Lauderdale's the Heavy Pets transformed into their Halloween-enhanced doppelgänger act Spaghetti Warhol at the Funk Buddha Lounge & Brewery on Saturday.

Although having auditory selection differences, the lineup is the same. The alter-ego project has an affinity for covering other bands' tunes. Of course, that is a thematic constant during this holiday's music season and especially true for jam bands. The room and front outdoor patio were overflowing with costume-clad fans building a preshow buzz on choice microbrews. Even before the first note, the vibe was nothing but a good time and seemed to be more of a private holiday party for the Pets faithful. The laidback approach to the night eventually saw the band take the stage in full matching black Venetian raven masks and long black capes. The lights were dimmed, and trace guitar notes of the set opener came from Bob James' "Nautilus." The spooky aspect was in full effect, and a trance-like sway was contagious on the dance floor. True to form, the Heavy Pets' schizophrenic project switched gears, and drummer Jamie Newitt took the mic for a solid take on Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." As if trying to purposefully leap over the genre boundaries, a triumvirate of covers finished off with John Denver's "Country Roads."

A short break bought out an odd approach, as Spaghetti Warhol covered their Pets counterpart's fast-paced rock instrumental "Earthchaser." During a breakdown, the tune melded into the David Gilmour's guitar solo section of Pink Floyd's "Time." The ringing note to close the legendary rock tune started a segue back into a stunning solo by Jeff Lloyd to close the Pets-Floyd sandwich.

Homage was also paid to Kurt Cobain with a heartfelt "Dumb," which was followed by a mockingly funny Cee Lo tribute with "Fuck You." Playful anthems for the night were the midpoint of the goofy set and included the Police's "Bring on the Night" and Neil Young's "Out on the Weekend." All members were hitting every fill and gap, pushing the tunes to places the originators would have even given approval.

Things took a turn for the awesome when bassist Justin Carney revealed a Ramones shirt under his cape, then added a leather jacket, wig, and glasses. The band proceeded to do a marathon of punk with "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," and "Blitzkrieg Bop." The departure into throwback material with that kind of energy had the crowd energy peaking and mockingly slam dancing. Carney capped off the rare vocal performance by throwing down the microphone stand. A return to the Pet's catalog with "Castles Made of Sand" brought about an extended jam landscape on which Lloyd laid down some machine-gun guitar soloing to close the set.

Set break put the party back into full swing, and the judges roamed the room looking for the best costumes. A spaceman and spacewoman took pictures with random members of the crowd in between libations and laughs. A pink Foxy Cleopatra worked the room for what it was worth. Brotherly Love Productions founder Matt Beck, dressed in a hilarious dog costume, came onstage and was followed by the band back in the Heavy Pets mode. As he announced the winners of best costume, the band played a beat-poetry instrumental before jumping into "Keep Me Running."

Without stopping for breath, the tune faded into one of the best versions of "Better" to date. The guys' theatrics reflected that they were really feeling the alternative-rock deep cut. The dance party went off the Richter scale when "Girl You Make Me Stupid" dropped and the entire room was jovially pulsing. Hoots, hollers, and high-fives were cut off when a deep dig into the discography brought out a stunning rendition of the psychedelic rock intensive "Monster Box." Not only the highlight of the night but really one of the best moments from the quintet in recent history.

As the hours grew late, a fitting "3 AM" was jammed to perfection, and a fun "Instant Karma" encore preceded an afterparty that went late into the night. Newitt and keyboardist Jim Weust took the party into the early morning with their dubtronic duo Dubble James at the Boca Muse. As twilight was beginning to peak its head over the horizon, another epic Halloween weekend of music came to a close.

Critics Notebook:

Random Detail: Sporting black Venetian raven masks and full body capes, the band had the best costumes of the night.

The Crowd: A sizable turnout of the Heavy Pets regulars, and many of them had great costumes.

Overheard: "I can't do right foot yellow and left foot blue at the same time" from a spacewoman attempting to play a game of Twister on a girl dressed as the game.

Set I

Nautilus, Rapper's Delight, Country Road, Earthchaser> Time> Earthchaser, Dumb, Fuck You, Bring On The Night, Out On the Weekend, Honey From The Jar, Sheena Is a Punk Rocker> Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue> Blitzkrieg Bop, Castles Made of Sand

Set II

Costume Contest Jam> Keep Me Running> Better, John Galt, Girl You Make Me Stupid, Monster Box, 3 AM

E: Instant Karma

Videos courtesy of Cheesehead Productions.

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Voodoo Town 2011.08.15 The Funky Buddha Lounge & Brewery Boca Raton, FL

Voodoo Town

Anticipation for a well-liked act coming to town is often enough reason to get through a long day, but nothing can beat a case of the Mondays better than a surprise show from a band not on the radar. Especially if that ensemble is a trio of New Orleans jazz fusion artists that are gracing your local hang out for free. Brotherly Love Productions played their cards right on making it an open door night for the impromptu Voodoo Town show - a gamble on the South Florida faithful representing on short notice. It paid off.

The Buddha was retrofitted for lounge listening mode, complete with plush chairs and sofas. The 30 or so patrons smoked hookahs and sipped craft beers as Tom slipped on his bass, Trace picked up his trumpet and Brandon twiddled his sticks. The first set moved through their catalog of yet to be recorded tunes, as well as intermittent covers of "Pink Panther Theme" and "Chameleon." Some how they made the staple anthems really their own. The sound was unique and fresh - a perfect mixture of a funky rhythm section and a jazzy trumpet that incorporated a myriad of effects and loops. To top things off Trace also showcased some skills as a beat boxer and rapping vocalist. The combination was a rich, balanced sound that traversed the technical genre spectrum in a way that appealed to both the adept jazz freak and the grooving funk head.

The second set opened up the chance for some sit ins with our own local musicians. First Travis Ackers took over the bass reigns for an extended jam before being joined by band mate Cameron Troy on drums. They launched into another extended improvise section. Interestingly enough, the trio including Trace on horns was a flashback to when these guys all played together in Tallahassee years ago. Much like conversation with an old friend, they picked up right where they left off, and the communication was noteworthy to say the least. Cameron stuck around for a take on George Gershwin's "Summer Time" before another audience member, Jessie Ricca, jumped in on acoustic guitar for a quick jam and "So What". A fitting end to a stellar night of creativity clashes was a solid rendition of "When The Saints Go Marching In" with Cameron playfully filling in on bongos. Despite the week night status, no one wanted to leave just yet, as the buzz was pretty high. After a few night caps and laughs the early morning finally sent us home satisfied with our dose of NOLA.

Videos courtesy of Adam F. at Cheesehead Productions

   

The Ginger Bakers 2011.07.14 The Funky Buddha Lounge and Brewery Boca Raton, FL

The Ginger Bakers

A few months ago I feel into a routine of Thursday nights kicking off the weekend. I some how justify this by playing up the theme of casual Friday. Not asking you to buy it, but it certainly has it selling points.  Lately I have been laying low on that schedule due to a constant series of traveling, which is not a bad trade off considering most of it was for music. Last night I forced my second wind after wrapping up a piece and decided to grab my camera  before heading over to the Funky Buddha Lounge and Brewery. The BLP crew was there in good numbers and The Ginger Bakers were putting on their second show ever. The ode to Cream a la red head glorifying name may be new to the scene but the faces are familiar. The power rock trio is comprised of members of The Heavy Pets, so this incarnation is technically a side project, but the raw tenacity and uniquely dynamic style sets them apart from their parent project in a more ways than one. The first contrast that comes to mind is a much heavier sound. The tones were defined and it often seemed like there were more than 3 guys on stage. The improvisation is geared towards trading individual solos by Jeff and Justin, as opposed to the Pets style of building the jam with all the members being on board before peaking. I like both approaches but it is refreshing to see Jeff given so much space to really let loose on the 6 strings.

The vibe was very relaxed but the venue had a decent weekday turn out. The guys personalized the experienced by dropping gimmicky puns like announcing the name of the band after each tune and emphasizing Jamie's new ride cymbal. Everyone was loose and this heightened the experience. Many of the song selections are covers with a few originals sprinkled in. The formula is a balanced and many of the songs simply serve as a platform for jumping in an extended jam section.

Jeff Lloyd

During set break we discussed Jeff's Atlantic City Phish experience over last Halloween. The conversation was fitting give the Pets had announced a Langerado lineup spot opening for the Trey Anastasio Band - news that we had actually gotten earlier that day.

The second set made it difficult to leave as each song was better than the last.  A particularly nice sequence started with Jamie breaking in the new ride cymbal and skillfully faded into an explosive showcase of Jeff bringing crisp peaks one after another. I have not seen him exercise that kind of focused dexterity while also really going for it, given the encouraging laid back setting, in quite some time. This was especially true in an extended Hendrix cover of Castles Made Of Sand that cleverly incorporated Thriller and The Way You Make Me Fell teases.

Jamie Newitt and Justin Carney

The clock was getting closer to 2 AM so made my exit before the second set concluded, but I hadn't make it home when I got word that they dropped a Jackie Bones. Can't win them all! Overall the show went better than expected and I see potential for this heavy Heavy Pets project in the future.

Thanks to the guys over at Cheesehead Productions for supplying the HD videos. If you missed the show be sure to check these out, it is almost as good as being there. Almost.