I love me some Polyrhythmics. They are one of the many great finds that Pandora has produced over the years. I think they originally emanated out of the SoulJazz Orchestra station–they crossover into several similar genres so I hear them quite a bit over many different stations. But I digress…I recently had the opportunity to see them at one of my favorite newer venues here in Durham: Motorco. Surprisingly, this was the first time I was seeing them in the flesh. Not disappointed at all…

Well, I have to be honest…I was a little disappointed when I found out they were not headlining. How could this be? And who is Sam Greenberg?? I came to find out that they were actually stuck in the middle slot of a multi-band bill, with a local band (Everything Yes) opening and Sam Greenberg as the closer. As it turns out, the Polyrhythmics were just starting their East Coast tour and it seems as though this billing may have been more last minute just to pad the dates a little bit while they are out here in NC. They were off to Charlotte the next night and then Asheville. So…unfortunately the set was much shorter than I had anticipated. Bummer.

However, the show was great. First of all, hats off to Everything Yes. These guys were very cool. They brought a new school modern fusion sound that was fun. It was also all over the goddamn place, so the producer mind in me was screaming at them to stop and groove a little more. But in the end these guys are quite talented–their drummer is very Deitschy (which I like) and the bass player–who I hope comes in and does some tracks on a new album–was holding it down superbly. My only rub with them was that the songs were a bit obtuse–it was hard to hear when one started and one finished. They also tempo modulated so much that it would kill these really cool subtle grooves they would establish. If these guys stay together I assume their writing will mature–it’s already pretty good it could just use a producer. But I don’t want to throw shade on these guys…I liked them a lot and hope to see them again, potentially do a show with them.

And then the Polyrhythmics came on. From the get go their signature sound started flowing nicely. The cool thing about the Polyrhythmics is that the “polyrhythm” part is more than just a catchy name–it is the main undercurrent in the band, the songs and the players. These guys are very clever and adept with respect to the polyrhythms they create in each song. Some times it is contrasted between the drum, bass and guitar grooves, other times it is showcased as more of a call and response hook between guitar and keys and still there are the very catchy horn lines over the top that are quite melodic and fit nicely into the grooves underneath. The result is a comfortable vibe that subtly zigs and zags while moving forward with ease.

The other thing that is nice to hear sometimes is that there isn’t that one virtuoso guy going nuts all over the top of the music. I don’t want to cast aspersions here–all these guys are great. However, they keep the solos to a minimum and prefer to just run the grooves more which makes it easier to listen to and focus more on the rhythms. I like this aspect a lot and I think it is something to note for newer bands in this style. You don’t have to have that one guy (like a Michael Brecker) to shine over the back beat; you just need a group of players all intelligently vamping around each other, consciously so as not to step on each other’s toes. The music and groove will do the rest. And the audience will have an easier time connecting.

On to the show…the Polyrhythmics were promoting a new album, Life From Below. If I’m honest, I’m not very familiar with this one yet. I’m still stuck back in the days of their first few works, which I really like better (at this time) as it feels more like their original sound. But over time bands tend to grow and move into different areas, so all is good. I think the tunes I heard off the new album almost have a more Lettuce type of feel. I just don’t recall any of the song names.

Actually, the song choices were comical at one point. Their guitarist Ben Bloom asked the crowd what they wanted to hear and of course about 10 different joints could be heard from the audience. So they did a kind of request line thing. Polyrhythmics are one of those bands that have a deep catalog and I can really only remember a few of their song names. However, I did hear some that I recognized: “Chelada” and “Digital Cowboy” which go back to the Man From the Future album in 2020. Other than that they seemed to focus on the joints off the new work. Myself and a few others yelled out for “Moonroof” but sadly they didn’t get to it. I thought for sure they would play “Twice Baked” (we’ve been covering this one lately) but no. Honestly, they didn’t get to A LOT of tunes I wanted to hear.

And then, just like that the band closed the set. I couldn’t believe it was over. I was like–wait a second, I just got here! But duty calls. The tour just started and there are many more shows to go. Oh well. Hope to see them again soon. I did get an opportunity to rap with a few of the guys after the show, so that was nice. The cool thing about Motorco is that it is small enough of a venue where the band is accessible after the show. So I could chat with a few of the cats from Everything Yes and hang with the Polyrhymics keyobardist, Nathan Spicer, as if they were just regular dudes at the show. As a musician, the local vibe thing is very cool down here. Got to rap with Dan Davis–a great local drummer–as well.

Then the final act, Sam Greenberg got on stage. At this point in the show I just really wasn’t interested. Their music is funky and when I say that I mean that it is this strange retro combination of smooth jazz and funk that sounds like they lifted it from the 1980’s. It’s just weird to see such a young band go after this style of music. Not that there is anything too wrong with it–I mean there are some fantastic players in the smooth jazz world. But it just wasn’t something I wanted to listen to.

However, I will note that the sax player, Sam Greenberg, is very talented. You can tell by the way he plays that he has a great command of both alto and baritone. I’m sure he plays tenor too. I don’t want to smear over his chops because I didn’t like the band as much. He sounds like an extremely legit player and Karl Denson comes to mind a little bit when I think back to his playing. So I’ll keep an eye out for him, he can definitely play that horn!

One last note: I love Motorco…but I have a real issue with sound guys that don’t seem to understand the relationship between the kick drum and the bass and/or don’t know how to EQ both in the room. All goddamn night long I heard so much woofy, boomy kick drum in place of what should have been a nice tight kick that didn’t overshadow the bass player. When the kick EQ runs from 50-200hz, it completely masks the bass and the lines becomes difficult to make out. The bass sound gets muddied up and draws away from the groove. So Motorco sound people…pick a lane. Either put the bass on the bottom, or put the kick drum there, but don’t EQ the mix so they have to compete for the same frequency. It sounds like shit.

Other than that, great night. Can’t wait to see the Polyrhythmics again soon!