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OM Trio and Spüf | 03.24.04 | Stella Blue | Asheville, NC
OM Trio descended on the jam-friendly mountains of Asheville, North Carolina March 24, testing the waters for a tour-opening stint at Stella Blue, the finest grassroots venue in these old mountains. The show coincided with drummer Ilya Stemkovsky's birthday (after midnight arrived, on the 25th), and marked the San Francisco-based trio's first gig with one of Asheville's finest groups, a wee-little monster quartet named Spüf.
Ilya Stemkovsky by Susan J. Weiand
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On this particular night, however, things didn't seem to flow for OM Trio like they did for Spüf in their opening set—-not one bit. Maybe the men of OM Trio were feeling a bit jetlagged after their long haul from Northern California; maybe the planets were out of alignment; or maybe the rust that haunts so many good bands at the beginning of a new tour was still corroding the nuts and bolts of this bass/drums/keys trio. Whatever the problem was, the verdict on their performance in Asheville lays somewhere around "amateur quality."
Their instrumental groove did little or nothing to distinguish OM in the face of the increasingly competitive and flooded market of the proverbial "jam band" scene. Mr. Stemkovsky's rippling and textured drumming, along with the impressive keys-work of Brian Felix (both of whom exhibited quality hints of a jazz-based training) gave OM their only strength on this night. But that strength was effectively dismantled by the mediocre play and obnoxious stage presence of bassist Pete Novembre.
In all fairness to OM Trio (and this was my first glimpse of their band), there was hardly anyone at the show. And that's got to be a shitty welcome after driving thousands of miles to play a tour opener for the supposedly hip and happening folks of Asheville. The same thing apparently happened to OM last year, visiting Stella Blue during a hurricane-induced downpour that again kept Stella from drawing any sizeable crowd for the performance.
Pete Novembre by Susan J. Weiand
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Judging by what went down March 24, OM Trio won't be back here anytime soon either—-perhaps, if not definitely, because of their disappointment with the turnout. Rather than embracing a situation that could have converted the faithful few in attendance, OM Trio meandered through an uninspired set that sounded more like a so-so practice session than a professional performance. They flirted with unoriginal grooves, movements with hints of an early Medeski Martin & Wood. But the overall delivery fell mostly flat on its face, and the core sound seemed both hollow and shallow at any given moment. It was almost as if the threesome were playing without their usual singer, guitar player, and horn section—-additions that would've rounded out their weakish sound for the better.
The masterful intensity of the opening Spüf served as the evening's only real highlight. Their own unique brand of instrumental exploration rolls like a frightening and intense sci-fi soundtrack. Spüf combines the best of face-peeling progressive licks with funk, electronica, and Zappa-esque composition, all wrapped up in a humble yet fiery delivery that turns any heads giving it a fair shake.
OM Trio got the same fair shake on this night in Asheville, and came up short. But I believe in second chances, and maybe they should come back and try again sometime. If so, they better return with their wheels on a little tighter, oiled up, and ready to run a good bit faster than before.
Stuart Gaines
JamBase | North Carolina
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