I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: February 7, 2020] Garcia Peoples

I saw Garcia Peoples on New Year’s Eve eve at a Phish after party.  The show was great with them playing their new 30 minute song “One Step Behind” as well as a few others.  For that show, their original bassist Derek Spaldo was in town (after this Philly show I talked to Tom Malach and he told me that Spaldo lives in Chicago and tours with them when he can–sometimes they are a six-piece band).  That show was great.  It was the second time I’d seen them playing a short set and I really wanted to catch them as a headliner. So I was pretty excited to see that they’d be playing Boot & Saddle (even if I’d only seen them a month ago I wanted to check them out again).

When I arrived the place was pretty empty, but by the time Garcia Peoples went on, it had filled in nicely.  I was intrigued by the diversity of ages in the crowd–a lot of old Dead-heads and a few younger frat boy types as well as a lot of (drunk?) women.  I am also pretty certain that Chris Forsyth was in the audience.

The crowd was responsive and really appreciative whenever the guys played some impressive soloing (which was often).

I was intrigued to see that Spaldo was not with them this time but bassist Andy Cush was.  Cush played with them when I first saw them.  This means that there are two guys who know the bass parts to their songs. Pretty cool.

The set felt very different to me.  I’m not sure if it was because Cush was with them and they play different songs with him or if they just felt like doing something different.  Whatever the case, the vibe felt different and yet still sounded terrific.  I assumed they’d be playing “One Step Behind” since it was their newest album but they didn’t open with it.  Rather, they started out with two songs from the “Suite” on Cosmic Cash.  The Suite is 14 minutes long, although they only played the first two parts.  The intro “Cashing Out” with that great riff (and wah wah from guitarist Danny Arakaki) and the mellower second part “Sigh of Relief.”

Rather than continuing through the suite, they shifted gears to play a brand new song.  I absolutely loved this song called “Gliding Through” which has some outstanding King Crimson type chords.  I talked to Danny after the show and he said it was a new song and that they were hoping to put out a new release in a few months (already!).

Its really fun watching Cush play bass–something about those dark strings on the pale fretboard really accentuates the great stuff he is playing. I love in this moment that he and Arakai are basically playing the same riff.

I have yet to figure out who sings which songs.  Last time Spaldo sang a lot of the lead vocals.  But in this show the bulk was sung by Arakaki, like on the slow Grateful Dead-ish “World’s Illusion.”

Then it was on to some major jamming.  I took a picture of the setlist but I can;t really read it too clearly.  I think it just says D > D maj jam > D min jam.  Whatever it was called, there was some cool jamming and the lighting guy (DJ Julian Booker from WXPN) responded accordingly.

Last time I Was right in front of Tom Malach, but I wasn’t really able to watch him play that carefully, so it was great being able to see him play some solos, especially this little freakout here.

Malach then sang lead on Natural Facts‘ “Total Yang.”  Then it was time for another jam and then a new song with lead vocals from Cush.  “Hourglass” had a very different feel than their other songs and I wonder if the new album is going to be a progression for them.

Finally after an hour or so, they started the opening riff of “One Step Behind.”  It was really interesting to hear how different it sounded with a different bass player–not radically but different enough since Spaldo and Cush have different styles.  It was also cool that Peter Gubler (P.G. Six) was playing flute on the opening.  I was never really able to see him clearly at the other shows, so I made sure I was on his side this time.  And I was rewarded with a really pretty flute solo.

Midway through the song, these three really large dudes pushed their way in front and stood pretty much right in front of me.  It was weird and seemed almost deliberate (I’m not paranoid, I know it wasn’t deliberate).  They made it a little hard to see for a while, but they didn’t stay there for that long (which was also weird).

I was also able to see Cesar Arakaki on drums pretty clearly too.  I hate to say that I didn’t pay him a lot of attention since there was just so much else going on, but he is a great drummer.

This 30 minute song is just fantastic, with a great man riff, a catchy vocal line and some of my favorite harmony guitar moments.

What do you play after a song like that? Just another fantastic song like “Feel So Great” the opening to Natural Facts.  This song has some fantastic guitar riffage and awesome bass chords!  You can also hear P.G. Six’s organ on this song which wasn’t always obvious at the other shows.

They were pretty much going to end there, but it was still early so Danny said he guessed they’d play one more song.

They played the very poppy “Show Your Troubles Out”: which has a sweet slow intro and then totally busts out with some great guitar lines and chords by the end.

This was such a good show.  And it felt so very different from the last time.  Even though the band only has three albums out, they could easily play for ages without repeating very much.  And it has really felt like every show is unique.

So, yes, I will absolutely see them again next time they’re nearby.

Here’s Markit Aneight’s video of the show

SETLIST

1. Suite: Cashing Out/Sweet Relief ©
2. Gliding Through [New]
3. World’s Illusion ©
4. D major Jam >
5. D minor song
6. Total Yang ℵ
7. Jam
8. Hourglass [New]
9. One Step Behind ⇔
10. Feel So Great ℵ
11. Blue Seal
    encore
12. Show Your Troubles Out ©

© = Cosmic Cash (2018)
ℵ = Natural Facts (2019)
⇔ = One Step Behind (2019)