New York, NY was treated to a fun night of dancing and covers by Pink Talking Fish last Friday night at the iconic Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood. The show went on late into the night, as the band played two high energy sets. Many dynamite covers were also contributed to the mix by supporting band and new comers, Residual Groove.
Emerging artist Residual Groove played their first show ever in New York, NY, and certainly made a lasting impression on this Brooklyn based, jam loving crowd. This Norwalk, CT squad included brothers Kiran Edwards on keys and Previn Edwards on guitar, along with drummer Henry Thomas, percussionist Garrett Halstead and bassist Miles Livolsi. Self described as a "funk fusion improv heavy dance band," this versatile quintet jammed through a myriad of genres, from jazz to rock and funk, along with everything in between.
Residual Groove kicked off the evening's festivities with the classic tune "Them Changes" by Buddy Miles, along with a stellar transition into "Goodbye Face," which is an original by Kiran Edwards other band KRIS. They nailed a stellar jazz tune by fellow Connecticut musician John Scofield, "Boozer," with notably delicious licks by Previn Edwards. "Cabana Beach," another KRIS tune, jumped into the line up. The band then changed gears by diving into a jam sandwich with Pat Metheny's "The Girls Next Door" and "Undermind" by Phish.
By this point, many folks were dancing hard and thoroughly enjoying this relatively unknown, albeit incredibly adept band. The heat turned up a notch as Cal Kehoe, the guitarist from Pink Talking Fish, joined Residual Groove for a raging version of the Talking Heads "Crosseyed and Painless." Residual Groove closed out their inaugural New York City set with disco tune "Night Fever" jammed into Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter." Kiran Edwards contributed his spot on vocals to this beloved classic rock cover. For those who are thirsty for more, this band has a weekly residency at Dunville's in West Port, CT on Tuesday nights, and has many exciting shows planned for the fall with details via this link.
The show rolled on, as Pink Talking Fish emerged from the Brooklyn Bowl's second floor green room, and donned matching t-shirts with different lunch foods. This group is known for raging covers from three well known rock bands: The Talking Heads, Pink Floyd and Phish. The line up for the evening, along with each member's lunch food shirt, consisted of bassist Eric Gould (pinwheel sandwich), keyboardist Richard James (salad), drummer Zack Burwich (mozzarella sticks), and guitarist Cal Kehoe (chicken parm).
The first set began with the elegantly melodic "This Must Be The Place," by the Talking Heads, which was sung by Kehoe. The band picked up the intensity with Phish's "Punch You In The Eye," which flowed nicely into "Happiest Days Of Our Lives" by Pink Floyd. The non-stop sequence continued with well known Pink Floyd tunes "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" > "Another Brick in the Wall Part 3," all sung by James, and "Cities" by the Talking Heads. The latter was played with the original, fast paced tempo from the Talking Heads, versus the slower version that Phish currently plays.
"Have a Cigar," another Pink Floyd original, built up to the fiery "What a Day That Was" by the Talking Heads. The crowd was fired up with arms in the air during this dance inducing jam. The quartet elevated the music into high gear to wrap up the first set, with more Pink Floyd goodness, "Pigs (3 Different Ones)" seguing into "Run Like An Antelope" by Phish.
The second set started around 11:30pm, and cleverly alternated tunes in groups of three by Pink Floyd, the Talking Heads and Phish without coming up for air. This began with "Time," and was followed by "Moon Rocks." The jams had more depth than the first set, and most notably during "David Bowie," where Gould and Burwich were in lock step. James dominated the vocals and elevated the funk on keyboards during "Sheep," as the intensity continued to build. The jam vivaciously slid into "Making Flippy Floppy," as the dance party equivalently heated up.
Kehoe signaled the change to move into the traditional tune by Richard Strauss "2001," though played in the jam rock fashion that Phish currently delivers. The audience was feeling the love as Kehoe slammed these well known chords. James took the helm on "Run Like Hell," before the band ended the set with a flaming hot "Burning Down The House." Anyone who was at the Brooklyn Bowl was on their feet and cheering for more as the band left the stage. They quickly returned, and interrupted the established second set song flow with the 90's punk tune by Green Day, "Basketcase." The show ended with vigor as the band returned to their second set cadence for "Suzy Greenburg."
Pink Talking Fish brought lovable covers and a lively dance party to the Brooklyn Bowl well into the early morning. They are currently on tour, and play next at the Warehouse at FTC in Fairfield, CT on September 30th. Hop on over to this link for tickets.
Check out more photos from the show!
Residual Groove Set
Them Changes1> Goodbye Face, Boozer2, Cabana Beach, The Girls Next Door3 > Undermind4>The Girls Next Door, Crosseyed and Painless5, Night Fever6> No Quarter7
Notes
1. Buddy Miles
2. Scofield
3. Pat Metheny
4. Phish
5. Talking Heads with Cal Kehoe
6. Bee Gees
7. Led Zeppelin
Pink Talking Fish
Set One
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)1, Punch You In The Eye2 > Happiest Days Of Our Lives3 > Another Brick In The Wall Part 23 > Another Brick In The Wall Part 33 > Cities1, Have A Cigar3 > What A Day That Was1, Pigs (3 Different Ones)3 > Run Like An Antelope2
Set Two
Time3 > Moon Rocks1 > David Bowie2, Sheep3 > Making Flippy Floppy1 > 20014, Run Like Hell3 > Burning Down The House1
Encore
Basket Case5 > Suzy Greenberg2
Notes
1. Talking Heads
2. Phish
3. Pink Floyd
4. Richard Strauss
5.Green Day
