Following what felt like an eternal winter, New York City has finally begun to get some (somewhat) warm and sunny weather, and that alone was cause enough for celebration. The day of Saturday, April 20 became no less sunny as Marco Benevento rolled into the Brooklyn Bowl, along with the Mike Dillon Band and Diamond Doves.The beckoning smell of fried chicken coming from the established Blue Ribbon joint in the back of the venue resulted in my missing much of Diamond Doves’ opening act, but I finished my plate in time to catch Garage a Trois compadre Mike Dillon take the stage. The band’s performance made it obvious that everyone’s spirits were high that evening, early start time and all. Dillon displayed talents that went beyond mallet mastery: mounting various instruments, rapping a la MC Silver Ice, casual stripping, and parading NOLA-style around the stage with saucy trombonist Carly Meyers rocking out atop his shoulders. Marco then took the stage, donning a lei in honor of a friend’s recent Hawaii wedding, and was joined by the usual-as-of-years-late suspects Dave Driewitz on bass and Andy Borger on drums. And of course, the tiger head was there.The trio played old and new Marco material, but the show was played more to the tune of Benevento’s latest release, late 2012’s Tiger Face, which is characteristically a bit more indie pop than prior releases. Exceptions to that included highlights such as Bus Ride’s psych experimental piano solo sandwiched in between heavier jam jazz. More recent experimentations with vocals were not missed much - his instrumental melodies stood on their own two legs, and those legs danced more and more as the setlist progressed on with tracks such as RISD and Limbs of a Pine. Renditions of LCD Soundsystem’s “Someone Great” and “Heartbeats” by The Knife make one wish that every indietronica dance party featured more bouncy piano. In essence, it was fun, and Marco, as usual, was beaming. As he should be: his ability to continually captivate the crowd may leave other like pianists wondering what they’re doing wrong.
On the last Saturday of Jazz Fest, the late night grids displayed a smorgasbord of concert choices all over town. Which band to see was a tough decision for most, but a superjam always makes that decision a little easier, and those who made it to the Blue Nile on Frenchmen Street before it sold out were fortunate to catch the Royal Potato Family All-Stars, a celebration showcase of the Royal Potato Family record label spearheaded by Marco Benevento.The lineup that evening consisted of Marco Benevento (piano), along with Skerik (sax), Robert Walter (keys), Mike Dillon (percussion), John Speice (drums), and Reed Mathis (bass) anchoring the performance. While several of the musicians play together relatively often, it’s been awhile since seeing so many of the RPF crew onstage at once. The sounds were flavorful, a conglomeration of jazz-based instrumentals mashed with punk, metal, pop and hip-hop contributions reflective of each’s style. The members took turns delving into their individual songs, weaving in improvisation wherever possible, and donning the tiger head mask.
The show’s energy revved as the night wore on, with help from fancyfeet trombonist Carly Meyers, who paired nicely with Skerik up front for a mini horns blowout, and Derrick Freeman, who provided lyrics (to which Mike Dillon chimed in “my balls are big, my balls are black!” -- obscenities such as “ass everywhere” and “you got that coke dick” kept things lively throughout). The chorus of the entire performance was ‘Real Morning Party,’ an energetic tune off of Benevento’s Invisible Baby album, which was returned to throughout the night. By the time the last song of the night rolled around (‘Limbs of a Pine,’ surprise, surprise), the crowd was moving and it felt as if the real morning party just started.
On Monday night in New Orleans, the House of Blues was graced with the presence of one of the next generation’s blues guitar heroes, Gary Clark Jr. Clark, who spent his years learning guitar in Austin, Texas, was preceded onstage by fellow Texans the Moeller Brothers, both bands lending a similar southern blues rock sound to a sold-out room of ears. Having witnessed Clark rip through a handful of outdoor festivals, locals were excited to see him at a more intimate venue. Clark opened the evening on with one of his most popular songs, “Ain’t Messin ‘Round (Give it Up),” the upbeat debut track from his 2012 album Blak and Blu. Four songs in, the slow, gritty sounds of “When My Train Pulls In, “ got the crowd hooked as Clark dug deep on an Ephiphone axe for an entrancing minutes-long Hendrix-induced solo. The tune showcased just one of Clark’s many influences; minutes later it was a rendition of Albert King’s hit “Oh Pretty Woman,” on which Clark and rhythm guitarist Eric King Zapata traded riffs.Shadowing the eclectic track layout of Blak and Blu, Clark integrated lighter songs based in soul and R&B into his heavy guitar-laden repertoire, the focus being Clark’s smooth vocals and lessons in love, though those songs didn’t seem to be highlights for either Clark or his audience. Clark ended the set with the radio “Bright Lights,” a crowd favorite, and encored with “You Saved Me,” followed by “Numb,” sending the crowd home with what they came for, which was Clark’s heavy fuzzed-out guitar and deep vocals.The band’s music was rivaled only by its fashion sense, which could only be more Austinite if it were barbeque-scented: trench coats, sunglasses, bowler hats, dark-rimmed glasses, beanies, angel-wing jewelry and lots and lots of black abounded. More than one of Clark’s female admirers felt compelled to throw articles of clothing onstage, including one scarf which Clark donned for a few moments before placing it in the pile on the amp behind him. Maybe he thought John Varvatos wouldn’t approve, but I thought it fit him well.
