As the weather breaks and nicer temperatures start to become the norm, the residents of Buffalo begin to come out of their winter slumber and explore the city again. This past Friday night, Marco Benevento was in town and, with mother nature’s cooperation, Buffalo’s music community came out in droves and ascended upon Nietzsche’s for a night of great music. As 10pm came and went, the venue began filling up with all walks of life to catch the jazz experimentalist himself. Benevento has played Buffalo pretty consistently as of late and it seems as though the scene here is not only appreciative of his visits, but the crowd continues to grow every time he comes back.
The night started off with local favorites, Lazlo Hollyfeld. With a beer in hand, it was actually difficult to try to maneuver to the front of the venue as it was that densely packed for Lazlo. The group, in my eyes, was a perfect fit to open the night as their instrumental experimentation goes hand in hand with the type of crowd Benevento brings out. With over ten years under their belts, Lazlo knew exactly how to draw a crowd in and keep them entranced with their choice of songs for the set. Without any effort, your ears immediately gravitated towards Matt Felski who has the unique role of Vibraphonist in the band. For those unfamiliar, the instrument is similar to a xylophone and, as you can imagine, stuck out like a sore thumb. That might sound like a slight, but the way Felski utilized staccato and legato couldn’t have been more perfect. I can’t say I’ve ever heard this instrument outside of jazz, let alone in a small band, but these guys made it work and have a truly unique sound because of it. While I would’ve enjoyed seeing some more of them that night, their set was stellar and got the crowd in the perfect mindset for what was to come. Their jamming was dark and exploratory, having almost a heavy metal feel in terms of both tempo and tone. Guitarist Sonny Baker was the visual focal piece for the band as his energy swelled with peaks in the music and forced him to frantically pluck away in certain segments and attack his solos with a fierce tenacity. As they wrapped up their set, the crowd let out an exuberant cheer, letting the band know of their appreciation and enjoyment.
Marco Benevento took the stage around midnight, which was appropriate for Buffalo as the city is known for its late nights and 4am last call. Midnight is when things start to get interesting here and that would hold true on this night as well. Benevento started off the night sprinting out of the gate and showing everyone right away why he’s so talented. On one song, he held the strings inside of his piano, creating a similar effect to a muted guitar and adding a layer of texture to his deep overall tone. As he stated in our interview, he doesn’t go on stage with a setlist in mind; he completely plays to the crowd and feels out what they’re hoping to hear from him. Friday night was no different. Benevento was locked in from the get-go as every change in tempo and every blistering solo only electrified the crowd even more. A few songs in, he turned and looked out across the crowd, grinning, to let both the band and audience know he was having a good time.
As we got deeper into the set, you began to question how much his weathered piano could take. Even though it looked like it could’ve been lying around in the back of Nietzsche’s, the tone that was culled from its depths was beautiful. It was definitely an odd juxtaposition of visual ugliness, yet tonal beauty. The use of effect pedals with his historic rig only make his sound that much more unique. His tone and approach is literally out of this world. 
If you closed your eyes, it was almost as if you were strolling through Dalí’s “The Persistence of Memory” and he was playing the soundtrack.
While only a year has passed since I last saw these guys, they have grown tighter as an overall entity. Dave Dreiwitz (bass) and Andy Borger (drums) have learned how to compliment what Benevento does and now play much larger roles within the group. When they would collectively stop, it felt as though the pressure had finally let up. The three were so good at keeping an incessant pace that you felt the need to gasp for air on the short break in between songs.
Benevento himself is a madman behind the keys. You could see it in his face at various points throughout the show that he was really trying to push his musical boundaries. In and of itself, you can respect him for that, but he balances that seriousness with a jovial side that enjoys the dynamic between the band and crowd. As a clear example of his playful side, a large wolf mask somehow made its was to the stage and Marco was the first to embrace it, playing through the second half of a song while it was on his head. It was difficult to discern whether the whole thing was planned, but Marco’s eagerness and energized playing said otherwise.
The show went on until about 2am with Marco covering songs off of every album, including some new tunes off of his upcoming Fall release. It was an incredible night of music to say the least. As the crowd filed out, I overheard what I presumed to be a new fan talking about how they couldn’t wait for the next time he’s in town. Not surprised, I now understand why Marco is always smiling.
Pete Mason: When I attended The Hangout in 2012, Sunday had a great afternoon lineup at the Chevrolet Stage – Mavis Staples, Steve Winwood, then The Flaming Lips, who were set to perform Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. I stayed put at that end of the beach the entire day, and while the full day was awesome, it was the Lips’ set that made it one of the greatest festival experiences ever. During “Us & Them”, I looked on my phone and saw that an eclipse was taking place momentarily on the other side of the world. I saw images coming through as “Brain Damage” started and as they went into “Eclipse”. As if those lyrics weren’t already some of the best ever, hearing “All that is now and all that is gone and all that’s to come and everything under the sun is in tune but the sun is eclipsed by the moon” was one of the most awesome feelings ever. You know those chills you get despite sweating? I had a rush of those for a few minutes afterward, and any time I hear the song in the future. I can never disconnect the memory of that day at Gulf Shores. The song will never be the same again.
Amy Lieberman: My favorite festival moment had to have been back in 2010, at the Gathering of the Vibes, a lovely gathering on the beach at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This festival always seems to have an all-around positive vibe hanging over it the entire four days, probably due to the fact that this festival was created to provide a forum for music lovers and appreciators to channel the spirit of Jerry Garcia, which is really what attracted me to want to attend the event in the first place. On top of the obviously amazing shows put on by Furthur, Primus, Jimmy Cliff, and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, my absolute favorite moment of the festival was when Jackie Greene made a surprise guest appearance at the “Teen Scene” stage, where he joined the group of talented young musicians who happened to be playing on the stage after Jackie’s main stage act! I have to admit (and I’m sure I’m not the only one out there), I am a huge admirer of Jackie Greene, but I tend to get extremely starstruck. Well, I managed to work up the courage to tell him what I’ve always wanted to tell him, which was “Your voice makes my heart melt,” and got my photo snapped with him! That was definitely a major highlight of my festival-going years, not to mention my entire life!
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