“It’s Tuesday night baby, and we like to party on Tuesday nights!” -Casey Russell, the Fat Tuesday event creator and a master keyboardist for The Magic Beans.

The theme for this latest Fat Tuesday, at Cervantes Other Side, was presented by KGNU community radio: A Cajun crawfish boil to support the NOLA culture. If you know the Magic Beans, then you know how they love themselves some crawfish and soulful music. I must say, with such a diverse group of attendees, that all of the above suits the historical musical neighborhood of Five Points Denver quite perfectly.

The night kicked off quickly with a high energy patio set featuring members from both Tenth Mountain Division and Part & Parcel together as Loose Willis & The 6th Sense.  They had Jacob Moss on guitar, Mark Pietrovito on the mandolin, Evan Harris on the bass, Devon Lindsay on drums, Mj Ouimette on guitar, and Campbell Thomas on the keys, plus special guest Kevin Watson on the dobro. They played funky bluegrass covers of the Beatles (Lady Madonna), Phish (Dirt; Ya Mar), and finished strong with “Hurricane” by Levon Helm.

After the patio set was over, it was time for the get down with one of most ever-expanding groups of Colorado local musicians I’ve ever seen on stage at Cervantes. Just to give you an idea of who joined Casey Russell & The Soul Shack’s circulating cast of musicians for this particular Fat Tuesday...

The featured artists were:

Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff (of Lettuce) on guitar

Nick Gerlach (of Michael Menert & The Pretty Fantastics) on tenor saxophone

Will Trask (of Analog Sun) of drums & percussion

Sean Dandurand (of Dandu) on

Eric Luba (of The RunniKine) on keys

Amanda Silecchio on vocals

Parris Fleming (of the Motet) on trumpet and vocals

Lyle Divinksy (of The Motet) on vocals

Matt Flaherty (of Matt Flaherty Band) on guitar

Mark Wilkolak (of Mercenary Horns) on trombone

Matthew Wilkolak (of Mercenary Horns) on trumpet

Michelangelo Carruba (of Turkuaz) on percussion

Megan Letts (of Mama Magnolia) on vocals

Kaila Mullady on beatboxing vocals

Mark Martin on beatboxing vocals

DJ Williams on Guitar

With every song having different musicians enter the stage, the crowd was consistently satisfied and never bored right up until the very end of the show. The bangers of the night were “Night People” by Allen Toussaint, “Qualified” by Dr. John, and “Stretch Your Rubber Band” by the meters. The set finally began to wind down with vocalist Megan Letts, from Mama Magnolia, singing “Into the Deep” by galactic and Macy Gray.

Upon asking Casey Russell how he felt about the turnout Fat Tuesday has been getting lately, he said, “We have been building the show, and we have a solid turnout every month. We were only 50 people short of selling out on Mardi Gras.” To follow up, my next question for Russell was, “Do you see the experience you are providing for your loyal attendees to continue monthly for some time to come?” Russell replied, “I plan on continuing this show for as long as I live in Colorado! I would love for it to be a standing tradition and to continue growing it for the next decades!” On that note, he has succeeded in creating a popular event that also supports the local music community in Colorado that should definitely become a monthly ritual for you if you really love music. Russell is also very excited to see all of the new faces and the Magic Beans family this summer at Beanstalk 2018.

Beanstalk Music & Mountains Festival has confirmed their return to Rancho Del Rio in the Vail Valley for 2018. Rancho sits along the banks of the Colorado River nestled into the Rocky Mountains just 2.5 hours west of Denver.

This year’s lineup is a stacked party full of some musicians from the biggest touring bands out there. It features members of Vulfpeck, Disco Biscuits, Lotus, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Dopapod, TAUK, Fruition, Kitchen Dwellers and so much more! Also, not to mention, some of the hottest new acts on the scene: The Magic Beans, Aqueous, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Ghost Light (who I can’t wait to see again!) and a large varying slew of the most exceptional local music Colorado has to offer. With a little something for everyone, this lineup leaves no one in the cold. If you like good music from the heart that makes you move with your deepest soul, then this is the event for you. It features activities like swimming, tubing, whitewater rafting, hot springs, and miles of hiking/biking trails. The boutique camping and music festival, hosted by Magic Beans, focuses on combining art and the awe-inspiring environment of Colorado.

If you haven’t experienced Beanstalk yet, here’s what you can expect, other than it being the best time of your life. My first emphasis will be on the crowd. The people who attend Beanstalk bring on very welcoming family vibes. The campfires at the end of the night are a great chance to chance to have an intimate setting with the artists sometimes playing around the fire with a communal vibe that meets a laid-back jam session. Or, the campfires at the end of the night can just simply serve as a great hang out spot with your friends. Each stage offers the same intimate vibe as well. The ranch is beyond beautiful with a big river to float and cool off in with your friends. Because of the layout of the ranch, you also won’t have to worry about the horrible long trek back to your campsite like other festivals tend to put us music lovers through after a long night. The charming downtown of Bond, Colorado, is very close and a great place to stop for a quick bite and/or restock on any essentials you could possibly need! The drive coming up to ranch has a beautiful overlook of a lush valley worthy enough for any nature lover to stop and take some pictures also. One more amazing thing that I know our eco-friendly music lovers will adore: no one litters! Improper cigarette butt disposal causes environmental damage at festivals all over the world. But at Beanstalk, even the security cares to make sure littering does not occur, and that fire safety is being carefully tended to. So, while they protect the land, you can just kick back and have a grand old time. Every aspect of Beanstalk is chock full of with creativity, friendship, love, nature, and music. What else could you possibly ask for?

Nothing! So, bring your floatie-tube, sunscreen, best friends, and come up to the river for some great music and memories. Don’t forget to take advantage of the great rafting and other outdoors activities available too! There is nothing like Colorado summers, and Beanstalk perfectly exemplifies what this time of year is all about. This festival is an ideal mini vacation for music and nature lovers everywhere. So, act now before we reach capacity! We hope to see all of you up there to partake in the growth of our Beanstalk family.

If you have Spotify, here are some of the artists you can look forward to enjoying on a playlist I made just for you my dear Grateful Webbers: https://open.spotify.com/user/1260011763/playlist/5XwglwG9whaogauy0vocs7?si=u78O2TRJTd6pK_1XHus6jw

Sonic Bloom of Summer 2018 has successfully put on another festival with a little bit for everyone. Going into Sonic Bloom as a pretty hardcore jam band fan, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I knew a lot of the artists but just hadn’t experienced an electronic music festival like it before. I was blown away to find myself embracing another musical culture all over again and let me tell you why.

First and foremost: The Hummingbird stage. The Hummingbird stage was an intimate setting surrounded by hammocks and amazing artists creating masterpieces all around you. The acoustics were amazing and could shake you from your head to your toes, with sound done by Digi-Funk. The best Hummingbird sets to have caught over the weekend varied a lot in style. My number one set of the weekend: Cycles. Cycles played many of their originals but strayed from their usual sound with Pat Harvey looping their songs with some crazy digital sounding distortions, perfect for Sonic Bloom! Number two and three of the best at the Hummingbird stage for 2018 was Random Rab’s “secret 5 am set” and Yheti who played right before. Both artists blew me away to the put of me being in love with electronic music all over again. They had terrific visuals done by Binary Visuals. Rumor has it this year that the Hummingbird stage is being torn down and taken to Burning Man to be, you guessed it… burned!

Next up, at the mainstage, Keys N Krates did a remix of the song “All The Time’ by Tove Lo that seemed like there wasn’t anyone not dancing to, which easily became a highlight of the weekend. The Desert Dwellers beautifully played their popular song, “Bodhi Mandala” and it seems as though everyone had left their body for a sacred place to dance as one big tribe. Dirtwire was my number one performance on the main stage. As most of you know, Dirtwire consists of David Satori from Beats Antique, Evan Fraser from Bolo, and Mark Reveley from Jed and Lucia. There was a heavy theatrical performance with extremely talented belly dancers that matched perfectly with what they’d call their “post-millennial psychedelic” sound. Even though Dirtwire, unfortunately, had the worst weather that felt as if you were standing in hurricane weather while watching, they still kept going, and the crowd was certainly inspired to do the same with their enjoyment. EOTO also put on a powerful set with a huge crowd getting down. They played my personal favorite, “Warp” and my other “Flying Red.”

There were an only a few unfortunate slips about Sonic Bloom but nothing too devastating. I will say the most regrettable thing about Sonic Bloom was all of that all few of the jam bands I was looking forward to most, were mainly scheduled at the same time. We also were bombarded with poorly timed but much-needed downpours, and unluckily the bar service and ATMs got a little out of control. I watched the head bartender yelling at everyone, claiming he wasn’t ever going to work that festival again because of how disorganized the P.O.S. systems were. But, amongst his stress, he still provided excellent service and sent other attendees and me with a free beer for the trouble since there was no way for anyone to get cash out of the only 2 ATMs within the venue. With the festival being on a ranch in the desert during some random crazy weather, we must not blame the production crew for these mishaps and remember that they did their best to get them fixed as fast as possible! Everyone had a fantastic time regardless. I would also like to remind festival goers how vital fire safety is during a stage 2 fire ban in Colorado. I witnessed three small fires being put out due to cigarettes not being extinguished and even a few people lighting off fireworks. If we want to have the privilege of enjoying live music in beautiful places, we must respect the fire ban and the amazing security team that helped make Sonic Bloom a safe place for everyone!

Anyways, all of the fantastic music was just half of the best part of Sonic Bloom. The festival also had cool places to experience for your meditative and artistic needs as well. The Art Gallery was full of amazing pieces by some of the best psychedelic artists in the country. The Yoga dome held multiple sessions over the weekend that helped you unwind from all the fun and be good to your body, and your mind with guided meditation and deep breath stretch. The oracle portal was exciting as well. You could get your palms, or tarot cards read and even just speak to someone who could sense any disruptions in your life to help you see things from another perspective. There were even Ted Talk like seminars to experience as well about chemical components of our body, psychedelia amongst today’s society, and how to help better our world and environment. Although, My favorite of them all was “The Spaceship.” Already sounds cool, doesn’t it? The Spaceship was a circle you sit in the middle of surrounded by giant gongs that get struck and send you to an extraordinary place in your mind full of energy and laughter. It was even better when you got to enjoy with other people, leaned up against one another for support as you leave your mind for a whole minute. The food vendors were even all of my favorites, with the Grilled Cheese Incident making brie sandwiches and Hetty Spaghetti killing it as usual with their delicious & somewhat random noodles menu. With all of these extra amenities available as options all day and night, I will say that every penny spent on Sonic Bloom would be worth it for any music-loving festival goer. I give Sonic Bloom 2018 a 4.5 out of five stars for the weekend!

Check out more photos from Sonic Bloom 2018.

Beanstalk Music Festival 2018 was one for the books, everyone! Where to begin… Imagine a festival with one of the best lineups the Colorado jam music scene has to offer in a beautiful location on the river, deep in the mountains. There was rafting, hiking, tubing, kayaking, paddle boarding, camping with friends, fantastic food, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, and a full moon lighting your way at night. Those are all just the extra activities available at Beanstalk every year, but this particular line up was very special.

The top of the list for me this year was The Magic Beans. The Magic Beans played three nights, and I will tell you what, it is hard to pick a favorite night. I am going to have to say Saturday, even though everyone seems to have a different favorite for the weekend. That’s always a good sign though, right? So, on Thursday night, they played my favorite, “Mr. Scientist,” and a brand-new song called “Feed the Beast” that was a total banger. On Friday night, they had an interesting song transition from “What in the World” into “5 Points” and ended the night with Matt Jalbert, from TAUK, jamming with them until their set was over. Let’s not forget the rager of the weekend, “Believe” by Cher that had the entire crowd singing and dancing wildly.  “Believe” transitioned back into “Lost & Found” and they ended the set with “Elusive.” Ah, Saturday though, they ended the festival with song choices that truly brought everyone together such as a deeply chill version of “Inventor” and a higher energy cover of “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers. The Beanstalk Super Jam band performed the song “Flashlight” which led to vocalist Kimberly Dawson proudly taking her new crowd-given title as “The Soul Queen of Denver.” She shined brighter than any other vocalist of the weekend for sure.

Next up, we have Aqueous, who played before The Magic Beans on Friday night. Aqueous has been doing very well for themselves this past year with all of their successful touring and what not, so I was not surprised to see such a loyal fan base headbanging front row and yelling out song names the whole time. Aqueous played “Weight of the World,” an amazing“Benny and the Jets” by Elton John, and my personal favorite that I was hoping for, a nice long “Kitty Chaser.”

Mungion was another favorite band for the weekend as well. Mungion could be described as contemporary rock, funk, with a little bit of jazz mixed into their sound. Mungion’s Joe Re easily became one my new favorite keyboardists this weekend. They played a set of mostly original tunes starting with “Chatterbox” that transitioned into a spicy “Quemaste Tu Cabello.” They finished very strong with “Hung Daddy” and “Beneath the Shadows.”

Octave Cat, a band well known for their first original members, Jesse Miller, the bassist for Lotus, and Eli Winderman, the keyboardist for Dopapod, added their third member, Charlie Patierno who is the drummer for Brazilian Girls. All together, they have created a vintage sounding synthesized and heavy funk with a bit of an electronic influence. They definitely put the crowd into a very enjoyable musical trance.

Cycles played a set on both Thursday and on Saturday. They performed another one of my favorite sets of the weekend with songs such as “Martyr,” “Tucker’s Pet Weed,” & “Clyde.”

Lespecial also played two sets although their first set was “Lespecial does Primus” and they did a great job. Their drummer, Rory Dolan, did the vocals for the Primus set and absolutely nailed it. Horseshoes and Hand Grenades played an amazing set featuring their song “Millennial Girl”, and it was beautiful and relaxing right before diving into the rest of their set.

I know a lot of jazz loving Beanstalk Attendees were excited about Cory Wong’s performance. The show was quite educational. You could tell Wong has been greatly influenced by the band he belongs to, Vulfpeck, with the large amounts of crowd participation. They all played wonderfully while taking a lot of breaks to explain some amazing hacks about making jazz music. It was the most educational set I think I have ever seen actually.

Yak Attack, Malai Llama, Flash Mountain Flood, Mantaray, and Brad Parsons all killed it on the smaller stage and did a great job of keeping the party going for everyone. Flash Mountain Floods organist, Paul Copoulos, even had a c.100-year-old Leslie amplifier as well. Just to name a few other amazing artists from the weekend that played earlier sets during the day, there was, Eminence Ensemble, the Jauntee, Part N Parcel, and Amoramora. Lastly, I’d like to give Kali Durga some recognition for her amazing noon yoga sessions on Friday and Saturday as well.

There you have it, Grateful Webbers! The Beanstalk of summer 2018 was one for the books. As the Beanstalk family grows closer each year, I can’t wait to see new faces to come and share all the fun with us next year. It’s an experience that gets better and better every year and I am very proud of all of the hard work and dedication of the production team put into the event for the sake of the music. Congratulations Beanstalk! I give you a 10 out 10!

On August 11th, Victor Wooten Trio came back once again full force to Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom with Roosevelt Collier to amaze their audience once again. As many of you probably know, Victor Wooten holds a reputation as one of the best bassists in the world. By his side, outstanding drummer Dennis Chambers, & powerful saxophonist Bob Franceshini, made for an excellent show.

As if Victor Wooten Trio wasn’t enough motivation to attend the concert, Roosevelt Collier, otherwise known as “the Dr.” came all the way from Miami. Collier rocked the house with his mastery of the pedal steel guitar. Collier has a long history as a past student of Wooten’s, so, you can certainly imagine his level of mastery. Towards the end of the set, Wooten joined Collier & members on stage. Together they played, “Make It Alright” from Collier's popular record “Exit 16.”  After having spoken to quiet natured Mr. Collier, he stated that his favorite song of the night they played was in fact “Make It Alright.” He continued his statement saying that there is nothing better than playing with his longtime friend and mentor once again. The drummer for Dopapod, Neal “Fro” Evans, and the bassist for Genetics, Joel Searls, supported Collier on stage for the night to make quite a lovely trio. It was amazing seeing a Colorado local artist, such as Searls himself, wail on his bass alongside of Wooten as well! The amount of talent it would take to keep up with Wooten is unfathomable, but Searls nailed it. Ten out of ten for the Collier experience of the night!

Soon after, we had the wonderful Victor Wooten Trio join the stage for the first set. Wooten’s opening line, “Hello, my name is Les Claypool,” that of which got the crowd roaring with laughter. He followed up remarking about what a talented bassist Claypool is of course before carrying on with his first song.

Wooten’s stage presence has just as much a shock factor as his playing. Wooten threw his base up in the air an caught it and swung it around like a young hula hooper at a music festival while playing. He engaged the crowd with a huge smile and a lot of solos for each member of the band. Chambers’ and Franceshini’s solos were just as impressive as Wooten’s as well. A few favorites of mine they played were “A Little Rice and Beans” from the trios’ album, “Trypnotyx” and “Zenergy” from his album “Yin-Yang” with a small “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson teaser as well. Shortly after they also teased “Brick House” by The Commodores, which really got the distracted crowds involved again. Colorado local, Bob Hemeger, on the “Barry White sax” as Wooten deemed it, helped them climb 13 flights of stairs like to that forbidden “Thirteenth Floor” written by Franceshini.

One final note...I understand that perhaps some people might not know that it is rude to talk through a jazz show but if you truly love music that is not a good excuse.  If you music lovers find yourself at a jazz show and notice someone is talking, perhaps give them a little bit of friendly constructive criticism to shut their mouths and open their ears!

Check out more photos from the show.

As a committed Cycles fan, it felt like a long wait to see them headline the Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, especially because they have played quite a few large shows/venues in the past. For those of you who don’t know Cycles, they are a three-piece jam band that incorporates rock, jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. They have three albums available to listen to on Spotify; each one is amazing in its own way. Cycles is definitely a band I would recommend following, for their rate of growth is rapid and extraordinary.

Before moving on the music part of the review, I’d like to set the scene. The friendly and excited crowd was mixed with Phish attendees and familiar loyal Cycles fans I am always happy to see at most Cycles shows in Colorado. Tim Farquar, my favorite local stage lighting specialist, created a colorful atmosphere for the entire room. Honestly, I would go to a show to see his lights even if I didn’t know the band playing. He used vibrant colors from every angle and it perfectly collided with Andrew Hibbs’s liquid light show. The art of liquid light shows can be dated back to the velvet underground at the very beginning of acid culture. As a person who also does liquid light shows as a hobby, I must say, he has an impressive set up to be able to pull off two projectors at the same time on his own without making a mess. If you would like to see more of Hibbs’s art, he also has a side project/company called “LOOK” where he makes apparel and graphic items as well. You can find him on instagram with the handle of @LOOKMFG for inquiries and more.  The collaboration of these two stage specialists was top notch and set the mood perfectly.

This show was all in one long set, which I must say, must have been delightfully exhausting for the boys, and I was completely dazzled. The set went form about 12:30 AM to 3:30 AM. Cycles opened with “Something in the Water” that transitioned into “Aloe Parade.” Next, they played “Oh Whale” and my one of my older personal favorites, “Tuckers Pet Weed” followed after.  Towards the later end of the set, they incorporated “Tootsie Roll” in to the song “Mean Dog”. They also played “Hang it up on the Wall,” “The Martyr,” “Changer,” and “Party Boy 1999” as well.

Tucker’s stage presence has always been very interactive, but I have never seen him move so with such excitement and power in his playing. You could say the music brought him to his knees that night. I must say, Tucker’s fancy red reflective tuxedo jacket that was gifted to him at Sonic Bloom 2018 by a generous vendor, really compliments his stage personality.

Overall, the show was a hit. I expect Cycles to return to The Masterpiece Ballroom in due time, to give us another amazing show, and I certainly wouldn’t complain if it was another Phish afterparty! Ten out of Ten for Cycles once again.

To check out Cycles music, click this Spotify link here!

The Jeff Austin Band played a wickedly high energy show at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom with openers on the first night of their two-night run.

The first act of the night, Turkeyfoot, had a very authentic Bluegrass sound with all acoustic instruments and beautiful harmonies. They had six people on stage all of whom were very lively and did a fantastic job getting the crowd excited for JAB.

The Dead Winter Carpenters, the second opener of the night, all the way from Tahoe City, California, put on possibly one of the best (opening) shows I have ever seen. Every member took part in the job of vocals with lovely harmonies. Jenni Charles, the fiddler, was immaculate with her timing and sang and danced like a little wildflower in the wind. They incorporated their bluegrass sound with a fusion of hard rock with Nick Swimley on the electric guitar. Ladies, I say this in an attempt not to sound shallow, but it's incredibly hard, Swimley was like a dark-haired, John Mayer playing the blues with soulful Bluegrass riffs that led the ears from the bands original music into “The Third Stone From The Sun” by Jimi Hendrix with a taste of Santana sprinkled in to the mix.

After talking with a few of them, I found their drummer, Brendan Smith, extremely friendly and he expressed his excitement towards their opportunity to play with the Jeff Austin Band for rest of the run of the tour. It was clear to me that they are a wholesome band that got a real shot from J.A.B. and were incredibly grateful. I have never seen a smile so wide than that of Smith’s after asking him how proud his Mama was. (Mama Smith I hope you see this and smile as wide as he did that night!) I would also like to point out the way the stage was set up, with the drums on a riser, being a wonderful aesthetic for everyone’s enjoyment and I would love to see it used in stage settings more often at Cervantes. The Portland music journal column, “The Portland Metronome” claimed that the band was “at the forefront of a youthful generation trying to redefine what string music is and what it can do” and I couldn’t agree more, although, I think their progressive fusion already has redefined what a string band is capable of. The Dead Winter Carpenters is a band that I would absolutely recommend everyone to check out if they have the chance, bluegrass lovers or not. They won me over before they even left the stage, twice more off stage, and I can assure you they will not disappoint. I cannot wait for my next dose of The Dead Winter Carpenters.

I have seen the Jeff Austin Band a few times now, but this was my favorite yet. My favorite part of every show with Jeff Austin is his stage presence, for he is witty with his narratives that extend into his musical narratives, and he doesn’t fear to talk about his eventful past with Railroad Earth one bit.  It’s almost like your listening to your cool uncle tell you stories of his past and in a way could it make one look up to him with respect and lust for the lifestyle. JAB opened with, “Too Late Now” in the first set, “One More,” and quite a few others. The first set ended with “Ten,” and they opened the second set with “Dawns Early Light” that transitioned into a really awesome “King Ebenezer.” They ended with “Steep Grades,” and “Boatman,” and lastly encored very strong with “Static.” All together they did a great job avoiding too much repetition and keeping the night spicy with some new flavors. I am excited to see Austin’s side project with Umphrey McGee’s very own, Brendan Baylis, called 30DB. If you are reading this Jeff, please bring the project to Colorado again!

Check out more photos from the show.

Consider The Source played a show with some incredible openers on November 2nd this year. The band is getting a lot of attention in Colorado these days, especially after having played with The Magic Beans at The Fox Theater in Boulder on Halloween.

The first band to open up has been one of my favorites since they first assembled their progressive and jazzy rock trio: Moonlight Bloom. Moonlight Bloom has been finding their way on to the scene impressing one crowd at a time with their original sound that stays outside of the box when it comes to jam band expectations. Moonlight Bloom was even mentioned as one of the top up and coming bands of Denver in 303 Magazine last year as well. Paul Copoulos, from Flash Mountain Flood, another popular band in Colorado for a long time, told me that they are one of “the best bands and one my of favorites in Colorado!” after the show.  Their statement of the night for me was, “We are already moving beyond the most recent EP and hope to have our new full-length album out early in 2019. It will mark a big stylistic change, and we are sure that it will please our current and new fan base.” For those of you wondering what they played, the best of the night was their original, “Sour Culture” and their newest song, “Memoricide.” Be sure to keep an eye out for their new album!

The second opening band, The Arturo Complex, stole my heart! As most know, I am a big Umphrey’s McGee fan and picked up similar energy with this bands sound. Although, their guitarist is seemingly a master of mixing and loops and gives them a sound that sets them apart from the typical jam band. They were a perfect match to be opening up for Consider The Source. Their bassist Josh Barratt hooked me up with their setlist since I was new to their music. They played:  “The Fabric pt2,  Habitual rituals, Origin, Terra Firma, Collide, The Fabric pt 1, Healthy Tension, and Alchemic.” I was thoroughly impressed this intricate four-piece band that has declared their sounds “Time Decoration” and can’t wait to catch their next show in Denver.

Consider The Source is a three-piece band that categorizes themselves as, “Progressive Sci-Fi Middle Eastern Fusion” from New York City. CTS writes some of the most intricate music, with their intense polyrhythms, riffs, and random metal/jazz breakdowns. Guitarist, Gabriel Marin, plays a double neck electric guitar, with the top neck fretless that also serves as a midi to help him create any sound he wants. Bassist Ferrara has a special way of making the entire crowd stop and listen with this deep solos on his six-string bass. To keep a beat with those two, you’d have to have a truly impressive drummer, and for them, they have Jeff Mann on the drums and percussion. They played, “Moisturize the Situation,” “I’ll Fight For The Imp,” “It Is Known,” “Ti Hai for The Straight Guy,” “Sketches From a Blind Man,” “You Won a Goat,” “Complex Complex,” “Unfulfilled and Alienated,” and finished strong with “Keep Your Pimp Hand Strong.” I will never miss another Consider The Source show again. It was a comparable experience to mine at Victor Wooten Trio. There is just so much talent in this group. I have to give this show a nine out ten for the night, solely because I think it should have been played on the Masterpiece Ballroom side of Cervantes.