reCAP :: Twiddle w/ Tauk :: 2016.05.07
On Saturday night, May 7th, 2016, a milestone was reached for quickly-ascending jam juggernaut, Twiddle, at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. Over 2 hours of incendiary musical musings, showcased a band on top of their game, it was a bath of improvisation and stellar shredding.
The quartet formed in 2005 at Castleton State college in Vermont and the occasion marked their first ever appearance at the Capitol Theatre. Remarkably, the band sold out their debut and the concert was a unique display of unparalleled energy. Twiddle consists of Brook Jordan (skins), Zdenek Gubb (low end), Ryan Dempsey (ivories) and Mihali Savoulidis (axe). Although each member is a professional musician, the band is overtly buoyed by Mihali’s genuine brilliance. He was a master shredder on this night and led the troops on a musical adventure that had the rabid fan base, called “Twidiots”, in a frenzy.
The history of the venue, which included many famous jam acts including The Grateful Dead, wasn’t lost on the boys and they were clearly in rare form as they represented a new era of jam music. With trippy projected visuals adorning the Cap’s walls, the band opened with a blistering new tune, “Blunderbuss” which concluded with Mihali stated it will be forthcoming in the band’s new and yet to be released album, “Plump, Vol. 2.” The band released “Plump” just a few months ago and they played a few choice cuts from the album including, “Dusk ‘Til Dawn” and “Polluted Beauty.” The energy was palpable throughout as Mihali led a guitar clinic as Dempsey added enough flair to insert perfect fills on the keys. The conscious minded, “Sycopated Healing” demonstrated Mihali’s skill with the pen as his reputation for quality songwriting with insightful lyrics that include quality and deep declarations like “relax and dream” and “hug your mom.”
The highlight of the night was when reggae rapper, Matisyahu, joined the guys for their song “Lost In The Cold” before adding a raucous version of his “King Without A Crown.” During the latter he took a stage dive into the bombastic audience before surfing about the crowd for a while. It was a beautiful and effective collaboration as Matis’ voice and the band’s groove melded well together. The set list offered a varied and fresh mix of early and recent ditties from their ever growing catalog. “When it Rains it Pours” closed the show in exemplary fashion and remains a fan favorite. Twiddle has grown exponentially in the past year and their debut sold-out show at the Cap marked a celebratory event in the band’s history and a tangible litmus test that they had reached an impressive and indelible moment in their history. The band continues to tour with the next stop at Scranton, Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna Breakdown festival. Fans of the band continue to share all things Twiddle at the “itwiddle” facebook page.
Twiddle’s performance demonstrated a passing of the torch from bands like The Grateful Dead and Phish to a new generation of face-melting jam music.
Set One: Blunderbuss[1], Beethoven and Greene, Dusk ‘Til Dawn, Polluted Beauty, Wasabi Eruption -> The Box, Lost In The Cold[2], King Without A Crown[3]
Set Two: Grandpa Fox, Apples[4], Syncopated Healing, Frankenfoote, Collective Pulse
Encore: Zazu’s Flight[5] > Hatti’s Jam -> When It Rains, It Poors
Show Notes: This show marked Twiddle’s debut performance at the Capitol Theatre. The show was sold out. The show was webcast via Nugs.tv. Tauk opened the show. The pre-show featured Holly Bowling and had Ryan sitting in during her rendition of “Harry Hood”. Twiddle’s entire show was dedicated to Mom’s in celebration of Mother’s day which was the following day.
[1] “Blunderbuss” was a debut. Mihali stated it would be on their upcoming album “PLUMP: Chapter Two”. [2] “Lost In The Cold” featured Matisyahu on vocals. [3] “King Without A Crown” featured Matisyahu on vocals and was a debut. [4] “Apples” contained “Beat It” (Michael Jackson), “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson) and “Smooth Criminal” (Michael Jackson) teases. [5] Prior to “Zazu’s Flight” there was an “A Thousand Miles” (Vanessa Carlton) tease from Ryan.