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PARTICLE
Gothic Theatre | Englewood, CO | 06.28.02 & 06.29.02
What to expect from a band that a) you have never seen; b) has no album out; c) is playing two late night post-WSP shows; and d) has been around for less than 18 months? Perhaps expectations for a show like this would be low, but Particle made sure to erase any doubts anyone had by playing the two highest-energy shows I have ever seen. Their impromptu set at Bonnaroo from 4:30 to 8:00am left them as the talk of the festival and it seems as though this band is primed to take over the world! That early morning set has left an enormous buzz around this band; perhaps the 58 minute performance of “Metropolis” at that Cinema Tent with five guests (Stanton Moore included) has played a part. The band is in great position to make a lot of noise on the scene and continue to grow exponentially.
I arrived at the beautiful Gothic Theatre at midnight and immediately noticed the insane video setup the band has, run by their projections guru, Scott MacKinnon. The Gothic can hold 1,000 people, and this was the best video set-up the theatre had ever seen and the best of any band I have ever seen. The screen featured some extremely trippy computer images, video of the band, movie clips and a ton of other things, all being intertwined with the music and each other. The video made the trip worthwhile, and then there was the music!
Particle is Eric Gould on bass, Steven Molitz on keys, Darren Pujalet on drums and Charlie Hitchcock on guitar. The L.A.-based group came on stage at 12:30 on Saturday morning, and kicked things off with “Cyclops,” a spacey psychedelic song that brought Steve to his feet to play keys. “Roads Abreeze” provided the first insight into the bands self proclaimed “space-porn funk” style. The highlight of the first night was “Golden Gator,” a slow funk jam that slowly increases in speed, and eventually erupts into a techno-style crazy jam. The song registered at just under an hour and had the crowd grooving all the way through it. The band destroyed the audience into a rave-like frenzy and continued to do so until 3:45am. The show left people wondering what the heck had just happened and extremely tired from dancing all night long.
The second night featured more of the same, but there was one major difference. The first night brought in just under 300 people. The word spread at the WSP show and by the second night the crowd had doubled. What a privilege to see a band take over Denver in one night! Everyone that saw them the first night, told their friends and the buzz increased until finally 600 people came the second night. This word-of-mouth is one of the beauties of the jamband scene. Particle realizes the importance of the scene and tries to be aware of who is where whenever they are touring. This allowed them to schedule the post-WSP shows and use their large crowds to help spread the word.
The second night's performance featured more of the same ridiculously high energy. It was great to watch Steven dance while playing keys, and then really dance when he is off and there's a guitar jam. He treats the show as a party that we are invited too, but it is always nice to see the musicians getting off, which in turn helps the crowd clown around. Another interesting Particle factoid is the way in which Charlie will be absolutely tearing a jam and it looks effortless as he displays little emotion. Even when the crowd is screaming and cheering it is hard to tell if he is playing a rhythm part or absolutely tearing off a ridiculous jam. The highlight of the first set second night was “Knee Knocker” which proved to be absolute disco shit! The second set featured Cecil “P-nut” Daniels on his crazy midi-horn. Peanut could play horn, piano or keys out of his synthesizer-like horn. The old-school funkster combined with the future of funk provided an awesome combination that lasted until 4:30 in the morning.
Overall the shows were a major eye-opening experience for me as well as several hundred music lovers. I have never seen a band abuse its audience the way that this band does. Their high-energy shows will allow this band to be one of the great late-night bands on the scene. Their extremely long songs feature some of the tenacity of a moe. jam, fused with the energy of a Karl Denson show. It is unexplainable and must be seen to believed. The band will continue to tour the U.S. and they are a must-see. Catch this band while you can, they will continue to tour smaller clubs and venues around the nation, but that will not last long!
Greg Berman
JamBase | Denver Summer Correspondent
Go See Live Music!
Morning 1, Set 1: Cyclops, Roads Abreeze, Shankbone, Makal & Real, Pipe Dream
Set 2: 7 Minutes Til Radio Darkness, Golden Gator, Ed n’ Baldy, ShoeGoo
E: Gator Reprise
Morning 2, Set 1: Wind Jammer, Banker, Knee Knocker, Ready Made Gangster, ghost Highway Jam, Girth of a Nation
Set 2: Launchpad*, Metropolis*, The Elevator, Maya’s Waltz, 7th Gear
E: Sunmar 11
* w/ Cecil “P-nut” Daniels on midi-horn
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