BREAKFAST SERVED IN PHILADELPHIA

Words & Images by: Jake Krolick

The Breakfast :: 01.12.07 :: North Star :: Philadelphia, PA

The Breakfast :: 01.12 :: Philly

Today’s Breakfast is a half-stack lighter then it once was. The East Haven, CT outfit dropped the “Psychedelic” from their name and parted ways with keyboardist Jordan Giangreco, but the changes have brought out a tangible excitement. The tiny North Star, located in North Philadelphia, was just the venue to showcase the trio’s live show. The Breakfast breezed over the one-set show, digging through four of their last five albums of material and giving everyone a hearty taste of what brought them to this point.

It was noticeably crowded upstairs as a smoke machine quickly filled the split-level box containing the stage. Tim Palmieri, The Breakfast’s barefooted frontman, was the last to file on, grinning as he surveyed his packed surroundings. The Breakfast jumped to life as the stocky drummer, Adrian Tramontano, pounded his kit with a heavy hand. His back was jammed up against the aged brick wall as he pounded on the skins hard enough to shake loose a fine reddish-brown powder that collected on his back and shoulders. This was a good sign as the opening jam faded into “Gravity.”

Palmieri – The Breakfast :: 01.12

Taking a page out of the Keller Williams book, Palmieri juggled the double duty of playing both guitar and laying down ethereal tones from a triple stack of keyboards and synths. Palmieri batted out melodies on the keys with his right hand as he shredded across the neck of his Fender with his left. The fancy balancing act did not go unnoticed as the crowd applauded his melodious feats. Though he hasn’t quite perfected the fluidity of these moves, his talent is undeniable.

Moxie Epoxy was The Breakfast’s last release with Giangreco, and although a man short, this latest incarnation seemed to manage just fine. Bassist Ron Spears frequently looked to Palmieri for bearings as he thwacked away on his apparatus. The two ventured into some fearless, harder-edged jamming between “Wake Up In A Coma” and “Dig” as the proficiency of Palmieri on guitar really started to shine. Palmieri’s wonderfully free style of playing is unlike other guitar players. Palmieri actually relaxed as the jam kicked into high gear where other musicians like Trey Anastasio or Charlie Hitchcock would have locked their bodies in spasms of sound. Palmieri maintained a loose bounce as he devastated the guitar song after song. His arms, hands and fingers ran rapidly around the neck of his guitar in a gymnastic-like routine. His fingers acrobatically leapt and dove across the frets, as each finger touched a string it would quiver with emphasis.

The Breakfast :: 01.12 :: Philly

If the electric guitar had a good son and a bad son, then tonight Tim Palmieri was the guitar’s good son. His sweat soaked Fender Phoenix tee clung to him as he smoldered away on Zappa flavored riffs during “Honey Butter.” Orchestral hints of “The Flight of the Bumblebee” leaked into the music before a sweet little cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” ruptured the evening.

As the show wore on I wished that the guitar and keyboards could have kept Palmieri a bit more occupied so perhaps he would have sung less. I found his voice to be a clear weakness, but to his credit some moments were pleasant enough to avoid the cringe reflex. The guitar yanked me back from the edge of vocal disdain as the highly talented Palmieri burst through during “Rufus” into “Taboo.” He connected with Adrian Tramontano in a show of timing that was jaw-dropping and we were whisked away once again in sound. The Jammy award winning band put on a respectable show in Philadelphia, not grand by any means, but the crowd’s ultra high-energy and the stellar light show helped. The set finished off with a double encore of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s “Helter Skelter” and The Breakfast original, “Tricky Way.”

01.12.07 :: North Star Bar :: Philadelphia, PA
Set I: Jam > Gravity, Wake Up In A Coma > Dig, Honey Butter > Fire, What The Funk, Fairy, Love Lake, Rufus > Taboo, The Chase
E1: Helter Skelter
E2: Tricky Way

JamBase | Philadelphia
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Download the show here.

Check out The Breakfast doing “Fire” below.