It’s been bitter cold here lately. Suffice to say, going out late to a show takes a little extra effort. However, as a musician, I feel obligated to go see good live music–always. It’s even better when you get to hang with a few musician buddies, because let’s be honest–your girlfriend doesn’t care about odd time signatures, syncopated rhythms and cool glitch fills. Glad to hear from a newer acquaintance (and terrific vibe player in his own right) about this particular show, otherwise I would have missed it. Called up another musician friend (fantastic drummer) and we were off to see Nate Smith!

You never know what you’re going to get with the “& Friends” moniker. Honestly, this is usually the type of show that gets put together last minute because the artist and a few familiar players are in town at the same time and they happen to know enough of each others material to get the gig done. Making a few extra bucks while on tour ain’t bad either, imho. My only reservation is that sometimes these shows are more of a smorgasbord of joints versus the specific tunes from the main artist.

However, all that said this show was pretty sweet. The format was a trio: Nate Smith on drums (obviously), Kiefer (Kiefer who? As far as I know, just “Kiefer”) on keyboards and Carrtoons (again, what’s with the names?) on bass. Let me just address the name issue for a second. I’m’ generally bad at remembering or writing down the names of the auxiliary players at shows. I made a special effort at this show and feel a little let down–I kept waiting to hear more than a first name or nickname and it never happened. I must have asked at least 5-6x if I heard the bass player’s name right–Cartoons? Wtf? Yup, that’s his name. It appears that the “title” Kiefer is more like a Prince thing, so no last name there either. Honestly, I couldn’t care less, these guys were solid and fun to listen to.

For those who don’t know Nate Smith, he came up more recently via guys like Dave Holland (in Dave’s sextet) and Chris Potter (Underground album) in the early 2000’s. He’s a Grammy nominated drummer and highly sought after. His style is super cool. It’s like a mix of Antonio Sanchez, Damien Reed & Questlove–very solid jazz drumming fundamentals and rudiments mixed with an absolute devotion for the “One” that you could tune an atomic clock to. This guy is so solid and at the same time so creative it’s really fun to watch and listen to him play. This more modern jazz/funk style has been the go to standard for a lot of artists and performers in the last couple decades, and you can hear why. It’s funk based solidarity with tasty jazz spices intermixed and it makes for not only a wonderful creole of drumming, but a really tight, grooveable beat that audiences tend to love.

The other really cool thing about drummers like Nate Smith is that they are always on the forefront of the “cool” stuff–the long rest fills that syncopate the beat, the ghost noting snare drum and fully glitched out meters. It’s funny, at times he often sounds like a really tasty drum machine as his playing seems almost quantized. His 16th note cymbal and hat beats are so straight, so tight and so consistent! He uses quite a bit of sampling as well–clap tracks, snare triggers, etc.–that adds that classic “electronic”feel. And, when he wants to get that super tight piccolo snare drum sound, he cracks that thing! As a musician/player listener it just adds a whole other element to the drum kit and the collective sounds of the band that are generally not there. I love it.

Playing a trio with keys and bass is a great way to hear the drummer. The mix of the EQ’s of those instruments really lets the drum sound shine through, without being muddied up by anything. Carrtoons had a nice comfortable command of the low end and sounds a lot like the newer school R&B players. Not much overplaying at all, just picking out the right notes and rhythms to accommodate Nate’s drumming. His phrasing was great and his playing reminded me of more of the electronic feel that many producers add into their bass tracks. Generally these are software or midi programmed, so hearing it live is a nice change.

On keys, Kiefer was a solid player. He was using a spacey Rhodes sound most of the night. I personally love this sound as I’m a big Herbie fan–I assume Kiefer is too. He was very musical and creative, adding a great dual harmony and lead texture to the group. His soloing was thoughtful and melodic; at the same time, he morphed really well in and out of the broken and altered rhythms that Nate would throw down, sometimes at the drop of a hat! Together with Carrtoons on bass, he really added a nice flavor that sounded reminiscent of electronica music, just with a lot better phrasing and creativity that comes from actual live players. It made for an incredible groove type of canvass underneath it all and the choice of colors and textures was wide open from there. I have to say the dynamics were much better live than listening to electronica.

So back to the “& Friends” thing. You never know what you’re gonna get. Well, in this case we got a little bit of Charlie Hunter! How cool is that? I haven’t seen Charlie for…geesh, 10-15 years? Same cat, same irresistible smile and down home enjoyment emanating from his grill as he plays. It was a nice touch for sure. He jammed with the band for the last couple joints–on a regular Telecaster–of all instruments. I had never seen him outside his funky bass/guitar combo instrument. He sounded good though, as always. I don’t know if he now more regularly plays the Tele (or other 6-string guitar) or this was just a one off. Honestly, I haven’t kept up with Charlie in the last decade or so, but nevertheless–great to see him! Hope to see him again soon, honestly.

So all in all, great show and very serendipitous happening. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to hear at the start of the night, but was pleasantly surprised at the end of the show. Again, to be there with musician friends makes everything better because you can actually talk about the things that matter (as opposed to what the band is wearing with your girlfriend). Also, having never heard Nate Smith live before (or really much of him as a drummer outside of a few projects) it’s nice to be exposed to basically what is a new artist (at least to me). Let’s just say I immediately set my Pandora for the Nate Smith station and was digging it. (But to my surprise, there is also a Nate Smith country artist–which made for active thumbing down in between the cool stuff. That is a whole ‘nother Oprah.)

To be fair, there were a few small rubs to the night beside the bitter cold temps–three things:

1) The room is REALLY, REALLY small. I was so excited for Nate that he sold it out, but had no idea how REALLY, REALLY small the venue was. It made for more of packed sardines type of crowd and it was hard to see the players. This room honestly looks like more of a stand up comedy joint (with no seating) or a beat-nick poetry venue than a music venue. The sonic element was fine, assuming you were standing in the right place, but it was like watching a live show in a subway train.

2) The band only played for a little over an hour. Nate, I love you bro, but for $47 and a room full of sardines, I probably won’t go back to see you there. Hope to see you somewhere else soon though!

3) Last, and let me rant for just a second–what the fuck is up with this “We don’t accept cash here” bullshit? People, venues, club owners, et al, look at the cash you have in your wallet. Do you see the part where it says “This note is LEGAL TENDER for all debts, etc.”? Yeah, you actually are obligated to accept cash whether you like it or not. Then of course, when I bring that up I get the “Well it’s more convenient for us” (the bar) and I’m like, motherfucker, “I’m your fucking customer!” So fail there as well.

Should you have the future opportunity to see a show at the Missy Nelson Assembly Room, tread carefully. It may not live up to your standards as a legitimate “music venue”. However, if you see Nate Smith in your town, do make plans to see him. Hopefully he’ll be in a better venue!