It’s always a great time seeing one of my favorite bands, Snarky Puppy. This time they brought some great new material from the new album Somni. I’ve been itching to hear these tunes live and in living color. While I would have loved to hear the Metropole Orkest as well, I was very curious to hear how the compositions would sound with just the core band. I was very satisfied with what I heard…

This was my first time at the Carolina Theater. It is a very old venue in downtown Durham and it has a great vintage vibe to it. Very much an “old school” theater. Perhaps an odd choice for such a new school band but I feel like Snarky is always doing things a little differently and paves their own road. The one drawback to these old theaters is that they generally don’t handle an abundance of sound very well. They were originally designed for plays, musicals and lower volume music concerts. Suffice to say, not a great place to see a heavy metal act. For Snarky, their acoustics and stage volume are pretty good as they are all jazz musicians and understand dynamics. However, the sound was an issue at times–more on that later.

Snarky brought most of the usual suspects. The core of the band rarely changes–Michael League on bass, Justin Stanton on Rhodes, Nate Wirth on percussion and the horn section–Mike Maher (Maz), Jay Jennings (both on trumpet and/or flugelhorn) and North Carolina native Chris Bullock on tenor saxophone. From there who’s playing the rest of the instruments generally depends on what other tours are going on and the instrumentation needed (or played) from the last album. In this case, both Bobby Sparx II (B3, Moog) and Zach Brock (violin) have become more regular players, while Jamison Ross is newer to the group on drums. On guitar, it seems like it’s always one of the usual three but I rarely see my fav, Mark Lettieri. Instead in this case they had Chris McQueen–who is talented, yes–but my least favorite of the bunch.

An interesting tidbit regarding Jamison Ross is that I first saw him drumming with Digable Planets quite a few years back when they did a reunion tour of sorts. My first thought was who is the incredible drummer? He really lit it up. He seemed much younger then too…it’s wild. However, nice to see him on such a marquee gig and I hope he has the fortune to continue playing with them. It’s really hard to pick a favorite Snarky drummer when you have Larnell Lewis, Robert Searight and JT in the mix but Jamison is great addition to that all star line up for sure. He played a couple great solos and was of course featured in the new Somni track, Recurrent.

Also of note, maybe just to me: Is Chris Bullock going through his Pharaoh Sanders phase? His playing is much more Sun Ra now and perhaps channeling a little Kamasi Washington in there. He’s such a great melodic player and has nice runs but lately he seems to be searching and that familiar sound eeks out every once in while–you know the one where it sounds like Coltrane is strangling his cat on the Impressions album. Of course, we’re all going to let him do his thing while he visits other planets but can the band ask him to return to earth soon? Just a thought…

On to the Somni album, I was pleasantly surprised to hear these compositions stand up very well without the Metropole Orkest behind them. Of course, I immediately listened to the album the next day to compare and yes, there’s quite a bit missing that the orchestra embellishes; however, the works themselves are strong and feature quite a bit of “Snarky-esque” composition to them, so they really pop on their own. I was really grooving to my favorite tracks.

I was expecting to hear the album played in the order of the DVD after hearing them open with Waves Upon Waves. Instead they went directly into Chimera (on of my favs!) with that killer bass line and slow, almost quarter time groove to it. In this case, I was close enough to the subs where I could feel the moog bass really melt the audience. While it didn’t have that dirty low brass element, the Moog really did it’s thing to make that line work very well. Bobby got his signature solo with that crazy whammy bar and really lit it up. Oddly enough he seemed a little transient during the show–almost as if he was a little tired or something. However he tore that thing up when it was time to solo and I ended up with some great video.

They then went into the other absolute favorite of mine, As You Are But Not As You Were. This track is killer–they way the syncopation and counterpoint in the lines compliment each other is so fantastic along with the way the song dynamically builds into the jam in the middle–and then goes into more of a latin horn cadenza at the end is quite incredible to watch live. There is so much going on in this song, it takes quite a few listens to hear it all and then appreciate how it works together. I’m always trying to tap or sing the various lines–even the syncopated side stick accents–and find myself missing occasionally as I have forgotten a beat or missed a variation somewhere. It’s really so well composed, my hat is always off for Michael League and that big music brain of his. Not to mention some super crafty bass playing.

As mentioned, Recurrent was done fairly well. I definitely would have liked to see Bill Laurance in the mix but like a few of the players (looking at you Mark!) sometimes the money maker calls and those guys have reached a level on their own where they can drive their own tours. So, make a note if you ever see these “special” players at the show–this is a rarity nowadays. Of course, Jamison put a killer drum solo over it just long enough to annoy my wife with that repeated conga line riff that waffles between sounding straight and swung. Haha…it always makes me laugh, even watching the DVD at home. (And a million generation Z’ers just said “what’s a DVD?”)

Drift was short but sweet. This is real throwback type of tune with a nod to old time jazz and brass sections. In this case, the orchestra was missed–especially as it really embellishes the chord extensions in the head via the horn sections instead of using the various instruments in the band that night. Still, very very pretty song and a nice place to take a breath during the show. Or get a beer.

They played Only Here And Nowhere Else next. This is the most marketable and catchy tune–from a radio standpoint–on the album. It starts with that familiar very cool bass line and then segues into a great chorus section. This tune seems the most audience friendly as it has less of the typical Snarky syncopation and business to it and just cooks along with a nice vibe. As I anticipated, with Mark not being at the show, Zach did a great job covering the solo section on violin. This type of stuff is nice because it gives the listener an alternate view of the tune (with a different flavor) that one might never hear performed in that way again.

In fact, Zach took a bunch of solos that might have normally gone to guitar. As much as I respect Chris on guitar, I really am not a huge fan of his playing. He seems to have a particular knack for songs that are slower, swingier and allow him to play more choppy guitar lines but his flow seems off when you want to hear that really pretty solo. I was happy to hear him not playing the lead in place of Mark because Mark really is the guy for that type of solo. Of course, with Mark not being there, Zach was the best next option.

They closed the Somni album with It Stays With You. This is probably my least favorite tune on the album but it is cool nonetheless. I would have preferred that they skipped this one and instead played Between Worlds–the odd time signature joint with a really nice feel. Oddly, this one was missing from the bunch…not sure why. For the show closer, they (strangely, imo) pulled out a very loose version of What About Me? If I’m honest–and it’s not like the band doesn’t know this tune or hadn’t prepared to play it–but this one sounded like it caught the entire band off guard. Compared to the Somni compositions (which were played fairly well) this one came off a bit sloppy. I noticed Michael looking around the stage as if to say, “Oh boy, that was a train wreck”….

Overall great show though. And btw, Nth Power was a nice opener! I only wish the sound would have been better. Most of what I heard was this ridiculously loud, boomy kick drum from drummer Nikki Glaspie. Note to the sound guys–who always seem to suck at old type “Theaters”–it’s not that fucking hard to mix a trio. In this case, drums, guitar (with vocals) and bass. Yet for most of their set the instrumentation was extremely muddy. That was disappointing as the Nth Power has some really great songs and grooves. I would have liked to hear them more clearly.

My only other notable observation was the entire band seemed a little sleepy. It’s kind of like when your hockey team plays two nights in a row and they’re a little sluggish the second night when the game opens. Let’s face, it’s hard to bring the fire each and every night–especially at the level of Snarky Puppy–so much respect to these guys for pulling off a great show, even if they were a little tired. They’re all pros and a great level of playing to model one’s own musical endeavors after.

I will be of course listening to the Somni album quite a bit before I put it away. And then await patiently the next work from these incredible musicians. In today’s market, these guys are such a gem compared to a lot of the normal, banal artists that free graze across the touring landscape. I wish them continued success on the Somni tour and hope that I can see them again soon. If the reader hasn’t yet checked out Snarky Puppy and/or Somni, what are you waiting for??