Anemoia, Katara Treat St. Pete to Musical Magic
Two of Florida’s greatest groups exploring music along the edges joined up for a night of brilliant Friday, May 29, at Bayboro Brewing in St. Petersburg. Experimental jazz-rock trio from Miami Anemoia and the Bay area’s revered Katara were both in peak perform. These are two groups you should endeavor to see.
Natalie Depergola, drums, and Seth Adam Lynn, harp, keyboards, and synths, are collectively Katara. For this run of three shows they chose excellent bassist Sean Fote. The unexpected surprise of the evening was that Aaron Lebos, guitarist of Anemoia, would also join them. The magic began almost immediately. Fote’s bass work meshed perfectly with the innovative drum stylings of Depergola, and Lebos’ guitar tucked beautifully into the mix even though he had never heard Katara’s music before. Magic indeed!
Song after song, the master of all four musicians was further revealed. The fourth composition had a distinct Calypso beat, introduced by Lebos. The next was a lovely ballad. Then tenor saxophonist Nick Bredal stepped on stage, and the music soared. After a repetitive figure laid our by the band, Bredal blew a world of sax before Lebos ripped a legitimate solo, and Bredal returned for another bite. (We need to hear a lot more from Bredal!)
The all-too-short set closed with a jam. Lynn’s talent for playing harp with his right hand and handling keyboards, synths, and production with his left never ceases to amaze, and the multitalented Depergola was simply incredible.
After a very short stage change, Anemoia were on stage and ready to go. Anemoia is an instrumental group, and each of the members has a deep resume. Bass player Andres Ferret is involved with Nu Deco Ensemble and other groups there. Drummer Armando Lopez is a mainstay in the prog fusion band Electric Kif. Aaron Lebos on guitar and a wild assortment of pedals and loops also fronts superb band Abstract Citizen. They are all completely committed to the amazing Miami sound; there is definitely something special in the water there.
Their set featured four tracks from their 2020 eponymous debut, three from 2023 album A Muser!, and several other songs. They opened with the looping funk of “’spuma” from their debut, and the magic continued to flow. Lopez is a whirling dervish on kit, and Ferret was again jaw-dropping. Lebos brought two dimensions with his guitar wizardry, his pedal board, and his consummate looping skills, featured in most of their songs.
“Back Bones” absolutely roared, while “I’m Lost” began almost pop-ish before building strength. It was pure power trio dynamite during their cover of “Ffunny Ffriends” by Unknown Mortal Orchestra. “Innit” led to a very guitar-bendy “Kings.” They decided to drop in a new untitled composition, although Lopez noted they were “taking suggestions.”
“Ghost Town” put Lebos’ pedal board on complete display. Ferret, who was spokesman for the night, then introduced “The Leak,” “the song that started it all,” as he explained it. It was a great piece. For their final tune, Ferret noted that they were going to take a classical song and turn it on its side. “Gnossienne, No.1,” an Erik Satie gem, was indeed transformed into a rager to close off the evening, with a fine drum solo by Lopez opening the song.
[’spuma, Back Bones, I’m Lost, Ffunny Ffriends, Innit, Kings, new untitled soon, Ghost Town, The Leak, Gnossienne No.1]
That, ladies and gentlemen, was a magnificent magical night of music at Bayboro. Take the opportunity to step outside what you perceive as your comfort zone. There is amazing music everywhere.
Special thanks to photographer Jazmin Rice for her fine work here! This is the first time in at least ten performances by these bands where we’ve had something better than my phone shots. We have included large galleries of both bands, and you can finds hundreds more photos on the Jazmin Rice Facebook page.
KATARA
AMEMOIA
