[ATTENDED: December 6, 2018] Garcia Peoples
I had never heard of Garcia Peoples either and they may have blown me away more than Mountain Movers (who were amazing).
Garcia Peoples are from Rutherford, NJ and they played a kind of jam rock but with an awesome prog rock edge to it–time changes upon time changes, two singers and solos upon solos. In fact, they also had a funky edge and a classic rock vibe, Heck they could do it all. I’m not sure if they played four songs or fifteen songs.
They are apparently friends with Mountain Movers and it’s always great to have bands who like each other on the bill.
Garcia Peoples are led by the twin lead guitars of Danny Arakaki and Tom Malach who both switch off lead vocals as well. What I loved so much about these two guitarists was that they played at the same time. Their soloing would often be slightly at odds with each other–not cacophony but two guys playing different solos that fit perfectly with the music…at the same time.
Their soloing styles were quite different, with I’d say Malach’s a little looser (except when he tightened things up). And then every once in a while they would sync up and play the same concluding riff at the same time–usually in harmony. It was magical the way the songs came together.
But even if the songs had two or three-minute solos, they weren’t simple two chord songs either–usually after some soloing the song would shift gears into a new section that might last for 30 seconds or might just take over the song entirely.
This wouldn’t work if the rhythm section wasn’t top notch and that’s where drummer Cesar Arakaki and bassist Andy Cush come in. Cush played a dynamite low end, sometimes doing some riffage of his own, but mostly holding the rhythm down while Cesar played fancy things on a simple kit. They were assisted by Pat Gubler on keys. To my ear the keys weren’t loud enough, unless he was the perfect unobtrusive backing instrument that fleshed out the sound without me realizing it.
Sadly, I don’t know any of the songs names. They had put out an album back in August but they also have another one coming out in March, so who knows where these songs came from.
Sometimes the songs sounded like the greatest jam band around, sometimes the solos had metal flourishes, I loved how much thought went into these songs. I would absolutely see them again, and I am thrilled that they were on this bill.
Being as close as I was, it was really hard to know who to watch. The soloing was fun to watch, but as soon as you focused on Danny, Tom would shoot off fireworks. Even the rhythm section was fun to watch.
Both Malach and Arakaki have good voices as well–different enough to keep things distinctive without either one standing out in a negative way.
The psych rock of Mountain Movers and the jamming duel guitar work of Garcia Peoples was a perfect appetizer for Heron Oblivion.
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