TELEPATHY PRESENTS A MAMMOTH OF MUSIC

If you're into live music and you live in this hopeless hole we call L.A., you might've heard of Telepathy. A few random asides overheard during setbreaks outside the Temple Bar or wafting out of the smoking lounge at Vinyl. On a crystal clear Thursday night, you might've caught the euphoria of their music cascading down the hills of Westwood from the Brewing Company. But, I can almost guarantee that you've never seen Telepathy. At the risk of sounding poetic, you've never experienced Telepathy. I am here to say that this constitutes a grave musical dilemma.

With the cool mountain air going right to their heads, the boys returned to the High Sierra Rock N' Grill in Mammoth Lakes, CA for a three night run from September 13th through the 15th. Determined not to repeat a song for all three nights, they tore through almost their entire repertoire with a vengeance. Singer/guitarist Todd Lieberman brought a new acoustic and myriad of brand spanking new songs to the stage alongside Isaac Slapes's gargantuan, self-constructed bass pedal board, Robert Branch's one-two punch of epic, Coltrane-esque guitar mastery and infectious keyboard groovability, and Kevin Dooley's relentless shredding of drum sticks in search of the almighty Beat. And the game was on from the first notes of Branch's Flecktonian instrumental, "Discontinuous Continuity."

On a Thursday night when the bar was virtually empty until the third set, Telepathy (as always) put everything aside and played their hearts out when most other bands would turn a show into a rehearsal. The mammoth (no pun intended) funk of a first set "Dionysus" bled twenty-plus minutes later into the jazzy guitar fusion of Pat Metheny's "Bright Size Life," forming a beautiful suite of danceable bliss. The second set featured the insanity of a keyboard-driven jam out of the "inspector Gadget" theme segueing brilliantly into Dylan's "Hurricane," a showcase for Lieberman's impassioned vocals. But people arriving late to the Rock n' Grill hadn't missed everything as in the third set, the band gave performances of "Struttin'" and "Robert's Blues" that are surely amongst the best ever for these rippin' originals.

The second night began with a (relatively) mellow set for the tourists and vacationing families doing some late-night dining. The set showpiece was a thoroughly cleansing segue from "Authority" into "I'm Free Now," the first an older original reworked for acoustic and keys, and the second a cover of cult favorites Morphine. Exemplifying Telepathy's convictions of eclecticism, the second set was anchored by a raging, speed-funk cover jam that literally took off out of "Come Together" and didn't land until it had sailed through "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver," "Black Magic Woman," and finally a bluegrass rendition of "Johnny B. Goode." If people weren't listening before, they sure were after that monster. With the crowd all riled up and ready to go, the boys worked through their longest set of the weekend (to that point). Burning buildings were forgotten for just a little while during a jam from the debut of new groove machine "You Move With Grace" into the fastest version of "I Shot The Sheriff" I think I'm ever gonna hear.

With the rest of the band returning late from a mountain hike, Lieberman took to the stage on Saturday to perform a couple solo acoustic tunes, dedicating the first, a new original called "Cold And Dry," to the victims of the events on the 11th. But once everyone was in the house, the band wasted no time in jumping into the deep end of the pool, opening with the jam vehicle "No Destination." The smooth pulse of this unassuming epic crooned for quite a while before melting into alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett's "Sing A Song Of Song." After some shaky spots, the band pulled together to finish the tune and instantly won the rather sizable audience back with the ferocity of Dooley Drumz on the "Beverly Hills 90210" theme. The fusion of "No Strings Attached" and a Todd Lieberman instructional dance session during a very funky rendition of "Cissy Strut" closed the set.

As the second set ensued, Telepathy gave a crowd intoxicated with alcohol and altitude a taste of their flare for theatrics. Dooley took to his drum kit as Renaissance soundman Brandon Operchuck sat at a percussion setup on the floor in front of the stage. These old comrades from USC's Trojan Marching Band broke into double drum cadence as the rest of the band entered the bar though the back with instruments already strapped on and proceeded to march through the entire venue, weaving a roundabout path to the stage. Once there, they instantly broke into a terrifyingly intense, typically speedy cover of Tull's "Locomotive Breath." As a counterpoint, they then performed the Chili's baby-back ribs theme (you know you know it) as a four-part harmony, accompanied only by a ride cymbal. Next up, a pairing of arguably the band's most difficult songs: Branch's "Braid Of Solace," the opening movement of a 15-minute composed piece as yet unheard in full, and "Ashley's Fighting Space Veggies," an instrumental about which nothing can be said except that when it's on, it's hot. And boy, was it on. Following the debut of a new Lieberman ballad called "Shades of Green," the band closed their most amusing set of the weekend with a cover of Afroman's modern classic, "Because I Got High," featuring guest vocals.

The final set of the weekend was a massive, hour-forty-five trip that also began with drum cadence; this time leading into the band's most jamable tune, "Do Yourself A Favor." The music didn't stop for another twenty-five minutes. When it started again with the Super Mario Brothers theme (noticing a theme here?), the Rock n' Grill was...rockn'. The underground funk of Mario led to an always welcome cover of the Chili Peppers' "Aeroplane," which in turn led into the odd time and ethereal guitar harmonies of the "D Instrumental," preceded, as always, by Slape's wicked rap on the universal language of music. By the end of another signature Branch solo of destruction, the dance floor was a collage of bodies in motion. A brief Mario reprise was followed by the only request of the night, "La Bamba," played for some rather disgruntled fellows who came to hear Santana but missed him by one night. But they saved the best for last, closing with the debut of "Paranoid Android," from OK Computer (which the band plans to cover in full on Halloween). It was only slightly sloppy, but hey, a couple of them hadn't even heard the tune before the previous weekend.

A four-song encore ended the run. Taking advantage of the hospitality of bartenders who were raking it in hand over fist, the band dropped an extra-long version of Miles Davis' "Solar," including a funky outro jam with a "Cissy" tease and Branch solos that saw him caressing the keys like a lover's skin. As a treat for Allen, who'd run out of tape the previous night, "Lucky," another Computer track, was given a reprise (the only song to appear twice). After Lieberman's solo take on Seal's "Crazy," the adventure came to an end with the newest addition to the playlist, a self-reflexive ditty fittingly called "Telepathic." And then it was time for inebriation.

I now realize that this has become one of those gushing, "Ohmigod! My friends' band rocks so hard!" kind of diatribes. But people who know me know I hate lies more than anything else. I wouldn't go off like this if I didn't think they were worth checking out. So I call upon you, the music lovers of L.A., to take notice, leave your preconceptions at the door, and prepare yourselves for something you've never experienced before. Come down to the Temple Bar on October 3rd to help Telepathy celebrate the release of their long-awaited, self-produced, self-released studio debut, The Better After, with what is sure to be a night of transcendent musical beauty. Those of you with true grit might find yourselves yearning for more of these very young, very talented boys after this landmark show. If so, you can experience them in the Alterknit Lounge at the Knitting Factory on the 13th of October, playing 2 full sets. Be sure to check www.telepathymusic.com for all the details.

Are you ready, Los Angeles? Telepathy is here.

Pete Allen
JamBase Telepathic Reviewer
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