[ATTENDED: August 30, 2019] ORB
After the great stoner/groove vibe of Stonefield I still wasn’t If I had missed ORB or not. We had heard a band playing while we were waiting on line, but it seemed too early for the opening act to end.
On the other hand, ORB went on first in Central Park the night before.
Well, we didn’t need to worry because after a very brief window, ORB came out and continued with the stoner/groove vibe. They impressed me by adding a whole lot of prog elements to their songs–time changes, keyboard solos, extra long drum fills, nifty riffs and long songs.
When the band started, Zak Olsen was on bass, while Daff Gravolin was on guitar. I really enjoyed the roaring sounds that Gravolin was getting out of the guitar.
Olsen sang on all of the songs, but after the first two, he and Gravolin switched instruments and for the rest of the show, Olsen was on guitar with Gravolin on bass. This meant that Gravolin got to add some pretty great bass lines to this songs.
I was impressed by drummer Jamie Harmer. There were times when he was playing drum fills that lasted longer than a typical fill–kind of a mini drum solo–and they added cool transitional elements to their longer songs.
Everything I’d read about the band talked about them being a trio, but for this show they were a four-piece. 
Some digging around led me to understand that their extra guitarist (in the hat) was actually Callum Shortal,the guitarist for The Murlocs, [Ambrose Kenny-Smith from King Gizzard’s other band].
I’m disappointed to see that no one has added a setlist to the internet, so I don’t know exactly which songs they played, but I was able to figure out a few from the lyrics and riffs.
They opened with “Reflection” a terrific song that showcases their sound perfectly. Many of the songs seemed to having a jam component. I’m not sure if the recorded versions stretch out like this or if it’s just a fun component of their live show.
The first couple of jams, featured some noisy Wah wah soloing from Daff Gravolin and some more soloing from Callum Shortal.
One of my favorite songs of their set was the fabulously rocking “Migration.” I also loved the cool riff at the end of each verse in “A Man in the Sand“–an unexpected treat in a slow grooving song.
Sometimes it was hard to tell if the track they were playing was one long song or a bunch of songs segued together. But I have since learned that “O.R.B.” is almost 9 minutes long with several different parts, including this trippy keyboard section.
As with Stonefield, the crowd was quickly won over and everyone could be seen moving to this excellent Australian band.
There is some great music coming out of Australia. It’s a shame they’re so far away they can’t come out here all that much.
Markit Aneight had the whole video uploaded
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