Unusual Noise? Unusually SPECTACULAR noise from Joe Marcinek, Jason Hann, Delvon Lamarr, MiniM & tiny.blips!
[Infinite thanks to Hunter Bryant for capturing the evening so perfectly!]
Mike Bryant’s Unusual Noise scored another touchdown hat trick homerun Saturday, January 10 at Bayboro Brewing in St. Petersburg with a sold-out crowd treated to nearly five hours of fabulous music.
tiny.blips kicked the night off with his excellent looping DJ show. You probably know him better as Jamie Newitt, drummer of The Heavy Pets, who just celebrated their 20th anniversary with shows in Miami Beach and St. Petersburg. His mix was engaging and entertaining, the perfect way to launch the show.
Hometown heroes MiniM came out roaring, matching the level they set when they opened for the Pets’ anniversary gig. Some scribbler once noted, “This is what a jam band should sound like.” CAN CONFIRM. Vocalist and guitar shredder Brendan Havens makes a righteous addition to the mix. The sextet were firing on all cylinders, especially bass beast Hunter Richey and drummer Billy Sanders.
Havens and keyboard master Dave Rakower were great vocally all set long, and Michael Hibler and Havens match up so well together on those guitars. They energized the entire room with their cover of “Run Like Hell,” and the excitement continued as Jason Hann (The String Cheese Incident, League of Sound Disciples) joined percussionist Shane Lavigne on congas and Delvon Lamarr (Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio) joined the boys for “Strollin’.”
[MINIM: All About Love > Ascend, Organzally > Run Like Hell, Strollin’*, Life in Light]
Then it was time for the main event, as MC Nook took the stage to remind us that we were, in fact, at a Road to Whippersnap Pre-party (Whippersnap Music & Arts Festival February 18_21). It began as an organ trio with the aforementioned Hann (drums) and Lamarr (Hammond B3 + keyboard) along with half-Hoosier, half-Floridian Joe Marcinek (Joe Marcinek Band, Dead Funk Summit, Brain Emoji). First up was Marcinek’s “Furry Teddy Bear,” followed by Lamarr’s “Close But No Cigar.” The latter tune was dedicated to Harvey Majeski, the man who donated the refurbished B3 and Leslie cabinet to Dunedin Brewery that Lamarr used. MJ’s “Rock with You” was a fun addition.
Marcinek then acknowledged it was time to pump up the jam with Vinny Svoboda (Anthill Cinema, Road to Nowhere, Brain Emoji) on bass and Jimmy Rector (Anthill Cinema) on percussion. In Svoboda and Richey from MiniM we heard two brilliant bass players. Marcinek’s signature tune “George Washington” blew sky high, first with Lamarr on B3 and synths, then Marcinek, Svoboda, and Rector. That was deep!
There was a shoutout to Casey Connor Minton for requesting Stevie’s “I Wish,” and with that remarkable chanteuse Songbird Shella (aka Rochelle Siddiq) joined in for the remainder of the set. Marcinek also called up Lavigne for some more percussion. Shella truly torched this one! Next was the bluesy “Fever Dream,” dripping with B3 vibes.
It got down and dirty when Marcinek and Svoboda introduced “Come Together,” which gyrated through synths, reggae grooves, trippy locomotive pulse, a hefty Svoboda/Hann duet, and “veirdness” and cheerleading from Mike Bryant.
And the mood shifted as Marcinek acknowledged, as most of us had heard, that Bob Weir had passed away at the age of 78. OF COURSE “Shakedown Street” poured out from the stage and over the entire crowd, a long jam augmented by Lavigne again on percussion and Rakower on electric piano opposite Lamarr’s B3. It was magical.
Done? Hell NO said MC Nook as he whipped up the Road to Whippersnap crowd for one more tune, a superb run through “Before I Go,” a composition by Marcinek and Siddiq. Start to finish, this was the best performance I’ve heard from her.
[JHL: Furry Teddy Bear, Close But No Cigar (DL), Rock with You, George Washington, I Wish, Fever Dream, Come Together, Shakedown Street; E: Before I Go]
Thanks to Unusual Noise, Bayboro Brewing, sound engineer Chris Fama of Dunedin Brewery, all the musicians and volunteers, and everyone who attended. We know Neighbor Nate of Music Festivals Podcast was in the house (balcony, actually) filming the entire proceedings. We look forward to seeing those!