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I had been hearing a buzz recently about a band from Tempe called The Lymbyc Systym. I was informed that this band only had two members. This made me curious as I had also heard that they raged and were very funky. I wondered how a two piece could pull this off, so when I saw flyers for The Lymbyc Systym's Sail Inn debut, I was sure to be there.
When I arrived on Thursday night I was warmly greeted by Michael (drums, percussion) and Jared (keys) Bell, the two brothers who are The Lymbyc Systym. I noticed right away that Jared, who is only eighteen years old and still in high school, had an impressive setup, including an old clavinet and Rhodes. I had a good feeling about this kid from the beginning, and boy was I right.
They started the night off right with a cover of "jan jan," a tune that Grant Green used to play. Next they made their way through some upbeat funky originals, one of which was dedicated by Michael to Robert Walter, keyboardist from The 20th Congress and Greyboy Allstars. I remember that Jared especially ripped on this tune. They closed the first set off with "Mountainair," an original that starts very mellow in kind of a bitter sweet way and builds into an intense jam, which in the end returns to where it came from with a very heartfelt ending.
The second set kicked off with a guest appearance by their friend Steve on guitar. Steve nicely wove mellow jazzy lines and chords in between the house beats and Jared got everyone going when he lifted the lid up on his clavinet and started scratching on the strings like a DJ!
Another highlight from the second set was the closer "Solemate." This song reminded me of a mix between The Slip, Sector 9, and the String Cheese Incident woven together into a happy trancey get down extravaganza!
All in all, I would highly recommend checking these guys out, especially for all the local kids in Tempe and Phoenix. I know that they will be playing Sail Inn again on March 27th, opening up for the OM Trio. I have also heard that they will be possibly hitting up California in May, so be on the look out!
Dave Merenda
JamBase | Zona
Go See Live Music!
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