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Thread: 3rDegree Burns with IZZ Lite and Pinnacle

  1. #1

    3rDegree Burns with IZZ Lite and Pinnacle

    Rainfall is a good thing. The plants need it to grow, the self-absorbed need it to ruin their perfect hair, we all need it to stay alive. So the torrential, surging downpour that drummed a thrilling single stroke roll with virtuosic accents outside my window - as I brewed two caraffes of wonderful coffee to bring for the bands and crew at the New Jersey Proghouse - made my heart soar in excited anticipation of the musical cornucopia to come.
    The first person I saw after parking in Roxy And Duke’s lot and lumbering toward the backstage door with my twin towers of caffeinated C4 in hand was Rob Pashman, who smiled at the sight of the coffees and said “He’s here!” Knowing the intense scrutiny that has furrowed his brow at past 3rDegree gigs I’ve attended, all in the empassioned pursuit of musical excellence, this relaxed and tangible enjoyment on Rob’s face boded well for the impending festivities. Plus, he’s a true coffee aficianado.
    Into the venue and there’s Laura Meade! One of the big appeals of the John Galgano/IZZ Lite portion of this show is that, as Laura has not played nor sang on the last two IZZ albums (and I for one have missed her), the chance to hear her regal and clarion call soar atop some classic Galgano music again accompanied by Coralian thrum and the omnitient note expansions of Paul Bremner (Brems to the converted throngs) would have brought me out tonight even if it was raining blood. As she inquires about whether the numbers two and three on the coffee airpots correspond to relative strength of the elixirs within, (an intelligent question) I respond that most people would ask something along the lines of “two and three? What about one?” Probably sensing a sly manipulation on my part, the stunning chanteuse smiled and said “Okay, where’s number one?” To which I threw my head back and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, someone just asked where ONE is – we HAVE a PROG SHOW!!!”
    Rwanda and Colombia were our coffee host nations this evening, roasted fresh on Thursday by Dallis Bros. Coffee of Ozone Park, NY, and they are both as delicious as they are different. With no frantic rushing since Pinnacle will be the last to set up and soundcheck, I am blissfully able to bask in the warm glow of musicians I admire as people as well as players and sip the magic bean. The ease and camaraderie between bands is so pleasant; any original musician can regale you with tales of jostling and jockeying between musical strangers at clubs as fragile artist egos collide with the social skills that are so often in short supply among persons drawn to the stage like moths to a flame. Not tonight! These players all developed as people as well, and they, along with the NJ Proghouse “Staph” and the Roxy And Dukes crew are a pleasure to hang with.
    I got to catch up with Mike Emerson, a new father of 20 months, who I have always regarded as a man among men. He knows what he likes and he’s loyal to his friends and welcoming to strangers. Integrity personified. Fatherhood has only increased his stature and I feel honored to call him friend. The enigmatic Jon Yarger is there as well; I apologize for not having enough Rwandan coffee to share a bag of beans with him as I already know he is going to taste it and flip. We agree to arrange a bean buy together. As the official Proghouse archivist, our best chance at an audio or video record of this event lies with his expertise, which is legendary. Alan Benjamin is ensconsced in the minutiae of setting up the stage but never loses his cool; I get the pleasure of savoring coffee with his better half Amy, a one-in-a-million mythical being, a woman who loves prog.! (True, Donna O’Donnell is another one and I got to enjoy seeing her later on as well) Amy likes to tease me that my coffee is “almost as good as Starbucks” and “not bad” and I enjoy her version of busting my chops as much as she enjoys a taste of REAL coffee. The backstage door is propped open by someone and who should I see outside in the lot but Scott Corcoran, promoter of the CT Prog On The Sound concert series and, by virtue of his appearance here in NJ from CT, an enthusiast of the highest order. It means everything when people who love this music go to great lengths to support it, both literally and financially. In two nights Scott will host 3rDegree and IZZ Lite on a Monday night in Trumbull, CT and so far, though initial sales have been scant, Scott, the backbone believer, is putting his money where his mouth is when so many potential attendees so often prove to be all mouth. I applaud and support him with every fiber of my being.
    He’s among friends. My heart jumps with true joy at the sight of the man who probably knows more about risking his money, his health, his heart and soul for this music he loves than anyone. My eyes having finally focused in the dark venue, I am able to see the Godfather of prog himself, Jim Robinson, one of my oldest friends in the scene, seated across the room by the front door. Hugs and smiles exchanged, he wastes no time in introducing me to the owner of the venue, who informs me that it was originally going to be a coffee and music place until an opportunity for an affordable liquor license appeared. Still stinging two years later from the insincere celebrity chef scene paying lip service to quality when the TV cameras are on, then saying “Sure, your coffee is amazing, but this other guy will give me free stuff I need that has nothing to do with coffee”, all of which conspired to drive me out of the coffee business, I inform this gracious gentleman that he definitely made the wiser choice. When it comes to caring about quality in coffee, no one ever went out of business underestimating the American consumer. Plus, most people like liquor.
    A bazillion thanks also to Aaron Nobel, 3rDegree drummer and class act who not only supplied his drums for us to shine on but completely took it in stride when I told him I thought I might have broken his snare mechanism in soundcheck as he tried to eat a quick dinner. I hadn’t, thank God, and quick as a whip he fixed it before we went on, without a hint of displeasure. I am in your debt, good sir. Would some coffee do?
    I could go on all day about who said or did what pre-show but I’m probably boring you, so let’s get straight to the concert….

  2. #2
    Modesty dictates that I leave any description/assessment of my own band’s opening set to others. But I will say this: I have never been so personally bathed in positive comments from people I look up to and who are musical heroes of mine as on this night, starting with my bandmate Karl, Pinnacle’s resident virtuoso and, to my utter disbelief and stunned joy, the great George Dobbs of 3rDegree and John Galgano of IZZ. I could have died happily on my drive home. To paraphrase Wayne and Garth, I’m not worthy. And though he was twice beset by keyboard misfires, including a patch that triggered its own key change, our secret weapon singer Matt Francisco soldiered on like the great talent he is and brought the vocal firepower we love.
    After Pinnacle was the criminally great 3rDegree, a dangerously creative furnace that few have seen live and none that have will ever forget the experience. Robert Pashman is a genius, plain and simple; his songwriting alone would be more than enough to carry any band. And he is one of THREE principle writers in this artistic juggernaut, the others being world-class powerhouse singer George Dobbs and guitarist Pat Kliesch, who lives in California and is rarely available for gigs back East. But his presence is heard all night in the parts that the other two guitarists bring alive on stage. Eric Pseja has done quite a bit live with 3rDegree and is a fan favorite; this gig was the first airing of their expanded lineup featuring new addition Bryan Zeigler and to borrow a phrase from their narrow-caster album, It Works! The band opened with the classic sarcastic Televised from their latest LP The Long Division and the contrast between the ominous piano chords that frame the piece and the mellotron sounds that give a dreamlike introspective respite laid a foundation that the drums entering followed by guitar shards fractured, sending the song and I into that cackle-inspiring musical madness that I love so much. What a perfect opener! After nailing the next one, a scorching version of Apophenia, out comes “the hit”, “You’re Fooling Yourselves”, and people are actually dancing!
    Highlights of their set could honestly be described as the whole thing, but I’ll point out a few more: the bizarre descending “whoa” Wizard Of Oz-like vocal melody in Memetic Pandemic, the glorious sax solo in A Work Of Art by my stalwart cohort Bill Fox, seeing Alex Cruzeta dancing with Fred Astaire and Danny Kaye abandon, Bryan Zeigler’s manic soloing with utter joy, Alex pointing in emphasis at key lyrics all night, and the whole place jumping in their chairs for The Socio-Economic Petri Dish. George Dobbs may be the greatest singer alive today, certainly among the top 5 in my book, and my favorite to watch as he sways and swoops behind the keys like a negative of Ray Charles with eyes that shoot laser beams. By far, the best 3rDegree gig I’ve seen so far.
    Tough act to follow, alright, but when John Galgano strode onto the stage with bewitching songbird Laura Meade, Ninja drummer Brian Coralian and the best guitarist I know personally, the mighty Brems, and launched into their arrangement of Late Night Salvation, I felt like I was at a YES concert with surprise guest singer Jon Anderson. Brems thrilled the crowd by playing the theme from Close To The Edge in his LNS solo, and we were off and running into a wondrous set of shimmering emerald snowflakes of light. John Galgano, a tremendous bass guitarist and songwriter par excellence, played many instruments that night, and in particular his stunning expertise on piano drove me to yell out “tell your brother he can be replaced by an I-phone!” To avoid spoilers, I won’t tell you the brilliant choices they made in cover tunes; just know that THIS is an incarnation of live IZZ that must NOT be missed! Hugest highlights for me were the parts of “1000” and “This Is How It Happens” from Real Life Is Meeting, “Light From Your Eyes” and “23 Minutes Of Tragedy” (the former my favorite IZZ tune and the latter my current favorite Brems solo). And, uh, oh yes – we all got to hear a brand NEW IZZ song. And it was awesome.
    Tonight in Trumbull, CT – this show is a CANNOT MISS! Thanks to Alex Cruzeta and his friend Allie for some great company. To paraphrase that song from Dirty Dancing, I Had The Odd Time Of My Life …..

  3. #3
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    Always love your reviews Greg, sorry I missed it. Will hopefully make the Orion show this Sat. but unfortunately
    Pinnacle won't be there. ;(
    Jeff

  4. #4
    Jefferson James
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    Love it! Been hearing great things about your drumming at this show, Greg, congrats all around. Someone needs to book these guys at a festival...

  5. #5
    Thank you, Jeff! Trust me, with the way these two bands are laying it down, you won't miss us.....

  6. #6
    Aw Kerry, man, thanks! When Brems and Brian add in to what John and George said, and Bony does the "We're not worthy bow" at me, I'm humbled and touched beyond belief. Thank you!

  7. #7
    A glutton for punishment, I was at the CT show last night as well - and though very sparsely attended, both bands played like they were at the Beacon Theater and both won over new fans. You all in the Baltimore/DC/N. VA area will not know what hit you this coming Saturday.

  8. #8
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    I had a great time on Saturday and was happy to catch up on old friends....

    AP

  9. #9
    And let's not forget, THIS Saturday our trio of shows concludes with a visit to Orion Sound Studios in Baltimore, MD!

  10. #10
    That's great, Rob - will IZZ Lite be at the Manhattan show May 29th as well? Or is that all you guys? Either way, it's an exciting time to be a 3rDegree fan....

  11. #11
    May 29th will be:

    7pm The Yellow Box (featuring Chris Merlo and Charlie Labs)
    8pm Linus in The Sapphire
    9pm Inner Situation
    10pm 3RDegree
    11pm Out Of The Beardspace

    PROG BANDS ALL! I actually was charged with culling this night together by Emily Rock-a promoter who wanted a prog night!

    Alphabet Lounge Avenue C NYC

  12. #12
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Is 3RDegree Lite called 2NDegree?

  13. #13
    Greg, great to finally meet you in person at the NJ Proghouse show and see you again at the CT show! All three bands burnt up the stage on Saturday and the two bands were just as good in CT if not a bit abbreviated due to the venue basically screwing them over, delaying their load-in time by hours and then trying to close the place down before the bands had finished playing even though the delay in them performing was directly due to them! Excellent review and thank you for the shout-out!

    Peace,
    Alex
    Last edited by ajcmixer; 05-19-2013 at 12:10 PM.

  14. #14
    Well, thank YOU for the kind words about my review. I had a blast seeing the show with you on Sat and Monday night dinner was a sweet hang as well. I'm still trying to hang onto last weekend - which is bad for work productivity!

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