PHOTON at Dunedin Brewery 12.13.25
[At present, the recording is listed under Dopapod, because there are zero PHOTON recordings on archive.org. Now there is one!]
PHOTON were in the middle of their three-night run at Dunedin Brewery. This has become a habit for the Colorado trio/quartet, who travel to Florida several times a years to play a weekendâs worth of shows. The band has developed quite a following locally, not to mention the affinity that brewery proprietor Mike Bryant has for the members of the band.
Speaking of the members of the band, the trio features James Charles Dunstan Jr. (Jimmy D) (YAMN), keyboards, synths; Dan Africano (Thievery Corporation), bass; and Neal âFroâ Evans (Dopapod), drums. And they often have a guitar player with them, most recently Tim Wendel for this run and last April. For these three dates â December 12, 13 & 14 â Africano was not available; local bass master Vinny Svoboda filled in⌠admirably.
PHOTON played a titanic show Friday with two sets in the pub (read about that here). Saturday they moved to the adjacent Moon Tower for two more magnificent sets of⌠well, letâs see. PHOTON play dance music of all varieties: livetronica, fusion jazz, deep experimental, and soaring feel-good music. (They would play sets 5 and 6 on Sunday afternoon!)
Set one opened with beautiful, mellow âDark Corners,â and it was ON! âGun Damn Flingâ increased the tempo a bit, and Wendel showed us exactly why he is in the band with the first of many brilliant solos. They offered up a long version of dance gem âBubble Up,â Wendelâs guitar often in tandem with Dunstandâs synths. Svoboda, present on every track, really showed here with bass magic.
The dance party continued with âPenguins Pt. 1â (possibly short for âThe Mating Ritual of Penguins Pt. 1: The Journey), synths swirling (video above). Evans provided impeccable time throughout the amazing evening. Bass and drums introduced the fury that was âEye to Eye with the Dragon” (video below). So much of what the band does reminds of early Lotus and The New Deal. The set closed with a heartfelt tribute to Evans from Dunstan, always the consummate frontman. A repetitive bass figure over Evansâ intro led to yet another dance tune of the electro-funk variety. Amazing synth and then soaring guitar filled The Moon Tower, along with half of hint of Fleetwood Macâs âDreams.â Bass and drums took us home!
PHOTON came out swinging in the second set with the stress on Pt. 2 versions of songs played Friday night or in the first set. âGlass Light Districtâ was up first, with Wendel front and center. He was there as well on âStranger Woogs Pt. 2,â Evansâ propulsive drumming again steering the band through this fine danceable tune. The previous night, Mike Bryant grabbed his sampler to insert some⌠sounds into âPenguins Pt. 2.â He reprised his works, even better this time on a very spacey and fun tune. Dunstan let the trio plus Bryant play for a bit, coming down front to video the undertaking. Wendel and Evans crushed.
âWhatâs next? âChickens in Space 2.â Hope you like drums and bass.â and, with that the eveningâs highlight exploded everywhere. It was astral. When they finished, Phil Ross and I turned to each other at the same time. âThat was from outer space,â he observed. âNot from this planet,â I added. Evans was in locomotive mode, with everyone following suit. Wendel had a brilliant solo while Dunstan worked feverishly underneath on the Nord 3 (the other keyboard). He then romped on Nord 2 (synth) with a stunning run. Svoboda was huge throughout.
Dunstan gave props to Chris Fama, the breweryâs sound engineer extraordinaire (not to mention that he let me take notes in his notebook, having arrived empty-handed. âDay 2â was straight-up 1970s fusion, truly wonderful. It was a fine exploration, Dunstanâs synths so very squiggly.
âWeâre going to try a new song,â he said, and out poured âCliffs of More,â opening with beautiful piano chords and then melody. This was a lovely tune, Wendel again heard to great advantage. Home town star Svoboda again stamped his signature on the set.
They closed the evening with another shot at Fridayâs last tune, âStarlight.â Wendel began it as a soft guitar exploration, a mellow, soulful search. It was a gorgeous way to finish sets 3 and 4 of PHOTONâs extended weekend at Dunedin Brewery.
We are indebted to Marc Foster (St. Pete Taper) for his brilliant work capturing these amazing sounds. Great thanks also to Tim Mulaly for his videos! And to Phil Ross for his cover photo!
Enjoy Foster’s superb audio recording here.
[PHOTON 2: ONE: Dark Corners, Gun Damn Fling, Bubble Up, Penguins Pt. 1, Eye to Eye with the Dragon, Dance for Enn; TWO: Glass Light District, Stranger Woogs Pt. 2, Penguins Pt. 2, Chickens in Space Pt. 2, Day 2, Cliffs of More, Starlight]
