4/25/09 - Five Peace Band @ Rose Theater, NYC

Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Christian McBride, Kenny Garrett & Brian Blade


Easily in my top 10 best shows of all time, this concert was nothing short of spectacular, proving to me yet again the duality of life and of music. The line-up alone would suggest an evening of virtuosic proportions but it went so far beyond that, shattering my expectations in the process. I know that a lot of times, when a "super-group" forms for a one-off show or tour, the results are often disappointing with musicians playing more as individuals rather than as a group. Polar opposite with this band. As a long-time McLaughlin fan, I was psyched to see him for the 2nd time...Corea, McBride and Garrett I already knew from reputation and recordings, but had never seen live before...and I'm embarrassed to say, drummer Brian Blade was a total unknown to me and in my mind, the designated "throw-away" member of the band heading into the performance that night.


Now...I'm not saying Corea wasn't brilliant, painting vast landscapes with a multitude of synth tones and his classic Rhodes-work...McLaughlin certainly played as blistering fast and as precise as I remembered him from a few years ago, perhaps an 1/8th step slower than his Mahavishnu days but certainly fiercely fluid enough to singe the eyebrows right off your face...McBride was a steady heartbeat on both electric and upright bass all night long…Garrett played with vigor, fearlessly coloring outside the lines when the situation called for it, making more than a few people in the audience visibly uncomfortable as he completely went for it on “Hymn for Andromeda” (i kept giggling)…both bassist and horn player living-up to their reputations and then some.

…but then there was Brian Blade…his pocket seemed so endlessly deep, I swore there was a magical factory at work in there manufacturing time. The next occasion that my watch breaks, I’m giving it to Blade as he seems to have some inert control over time itself and how to keep it. To say I became an instant fan would be a gross understatement.

This show tapped into that higher and bigger unknown, obtainable only in the rarest of instances, through methods of mystical, musical or chemical enhancement. As I exited the venue with my wife and best buddy in tow, walking into Columbus Circle Park to blow off some steam, an eerie and freakish silence had overcome us all. We were totally transfixed from the transportational performance, reeling from its effects much like the first wave of Hoffman’s bike ride. This is exactly what I’m looking for out of my live music experiences these days…to be moved – mentally, physically, spiritually…individually or all at once. No more nostalgia acts, souless arenas or overblown ticket prices to another show that refuses to show me something new, challanging or invigorating. To have been so musically underwhelmed and disappointed one night and then taken to unexpected interstellar plateaus the next seemed like good ol’ yin and yang havin’ fun with me yet again.