Music Blizzard!

Hey campers,

I hope you’ve been keeping warm. It’s been a busy February for the Canopy Club. Gov’t Mule rocked the house last Thursday night and invited opener Jackie Greene to the stage to jam on the staple “Mule” into a “Jungle Boogie” cover back into “Mule.” This received national attention from the Relix Magazine affiliate website jambands.com. Warren Haynes on lead guitar commanded the attention of the audience as Gov’t Mule touched on elements of southern rock, heavy blues riffs, and the occasional splash of reggae.

The crowd was a nice mix of young and old, but what wasn’t nice was that people were shoved into the venue ankles to assholes. Gov’t Mule and Jackie Greene’s tour convoy rolled into Urbana with two RV’s (one for band, one for crew) and two semi trucks - man, did they have a ton of gear. Canopy’s stage was chock-full of equipment. Their soundboard wouldn’t even fit in the soundboard area - it took up some of the dance floor space behind the first ledge. This just made matters of crowding worse. But those that did find a comfy little nook with a beer and some good friends had a great time at a great concert.

Check out this video, taken from one of those nooks! Warren decides to do his best impression of Johnny Cash using his guitar instead of his voice. But all kidding aside, this is a really cool cover. It just goes to show that you don’t necessarily have to work on the vocal lines to a song if you can pull it off on your instrument. Take a look:

Set 1: Bad Little Doggie, Steppin’ Lightly, Broke Down On The Brazos > Tributary Jam, Rocking Horse > Banks Of The Deep End, Lively Up Yourself, Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home > Thorazine Shuffle

Set 2: Railroad Boy > When Doves Cry > Beautifully Broken > When Doves Cry > Beautifully Broken > Creep, Effigy > Folsom Prison Blues Jam > Drums > Effigy > Kings Highway > I’m A Ram > Mule > Jungle Boogie Jam > I’ve Been Working > Mule,

Encore: Sugaree *, After Midnight *

Comment: * with Jackie Greene.

Last Saturday, Zmick, who used to hold a residency on Mondays at Canopy Club from ‘07 to ‘09, was back to give a crowd of people a chance to get in out of the snow. They haven’t played many concerts at Canopy Club since, but when they do make the trip to their favorite venue, the four-piece progressive fusion band never disappoints. As of December, all of the members have graduated college, and three of the four are now U of I alums. Last Saturday night, on Bob Marley’s birthday, they made it clear that their maturity level has grown substantially since the addition of a thirty-something keyboardist, Don Rifkin of Northbrook, IL.

Don’s impact is paramount. He adds several original compositions, written for his former group, Garbage Mountain, to the Zmick catalogue. One of Rifkin’s songs was played Saturday night. “Turtleneck” fits right in with the Zmick motif - music with catchy vocal lines and extended instrumental jams, spiked with odd time signatures.

Rifkin looked really comfortable with his new bandmates, often standing up behind the keys and rocking back and forth to the heavier riffs, in sync with bassist Dan Wonsover and guitarist Brad Miller. His voice has a nice tone and a keen sense of pitch, which is a welcome addition to the group. While Zmick’s harmonies were occasionally shaky in the past, having a more experienced vocalist on board seems to have given the other members new found confidence in their own vocal lines.

One thing that hasn’t changed about these Illinois jam-rockers is their commitment to deliver fresh setlists each time out. The intro was a brief jam on Metallica’s “Sad But True” that led into drummer Kris Ahrens’ original, “Sexy, Crazy.” The unlikely pairing of metal and soul fed the anticipation of the friendly crowd in the early stages of the show. An extended jam from the song is embedded below:

An instrumental rendition of “Cob” came next, with a slow ebb-and-flow tempo to start. The breakdown of the song is a pure accelerando, which reached breakneck speed. Fingers were flying and the bass drum was thumping during the faster-than-usual run through the second half of the song. It was a different take on a fan favorite, that turned the area in front of the stage into a swarm of bodies.

Though “Cob” is a long composition, the final measures of the outro didn’t signal the end. After a tight segue in and out of the new “Nedwick Pocket,” written by Rifkin, the smooth reggae vibes of Miller’s “Stay” gave the audience a taste of the caribbean. The bridge of this song was executed brilliantly, as moderate-tempo 11/8 measures were handled by the four musicians with precision.

After about 30 minutes of music without a pause, the band took the time to formally introduce Don to the audience. This was followed by The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus,” sung nicely by Miller. The climax of the song features the often misinterpreted lyric “got one, got one, everybody’s got one” sung by Wonsover as the usually heard “smoke pot, smoke pot, everybody smoke pot.” Let’s just say the audience got a hit - I mean - kick out of that one.

Further musical shenanigans included a small “Bring It Back” sandwich, with headbanger “Options,” a Tupac tease, the heavy wah-wah of “Shakedown Street” and classic Zmick tune “The Interrogation” in the middle. The band left stage to raucous cheering. They would return after a Zmick chant broke out, to finish with “Apartment 54,” a sultry jazz tune in 5/4 time. This special version of the song featured Wonsover singing the original lyrics, which haven’t been sung in over a year, when the song was converted to an instrumental.

Even though it was after 1:30 am, those who stuck around Canopy Club after the show were treated to an impromptu dance party in the beer garden by a friend of the band who brought a boombox to the club. Much like the Pied Piper, the boombox led the small crowd to the after party for even more good times.

Now that the third iteration of Zmick has a couple of performances under their belts, it’s only a matter of time until this band starts to accomplish big things. The new lineup shows amazing potential, which can only add to the momentum that they’ve built up for the last three years here in Urbana.

Set 1: Sad But True@ > Sexy, Crazy, Cob > Nedwick Pocket > Stay, I Am The Walrus#, Turtleneck, Crad Rock > Metal Pocket > Crad Rock, Bring It Back > Options > California Love$ > Options, Shakedown Street%, The Interrogation > Bring It Back > The Interrogation,

Encore: Wookie Put Your Shoes On > Apartment 54

Comment: @Metallica tease #Beatles cover $Tupac tease %Grateful Dead cover