Marco Benevento Trio With Andrew Barr & Reed Mathis To Play 1st Show Since 2011 At As Summer Into Autumn Slips

While still active as a member of The Duo with drummer Joe Russo, Marco Benevento formed a trio with Reed Mathis and Andrew Barr in 2007 for a spring tour of sold-out shows on both coasts of the United States (drummer Matt Chamberlain was behind the kit for the West Coast shows). The same set of musicians recorded Benevento’s 2008 album, Invisible Baby, which in 2019 was named by JamBase as one of the Top 20 Standout Debut Albums By Jam Acts.

Consisting of eight Benevento originals, Invisible Baby featured Mathis and Barr on several tracks, including “The Real Morning Party,” which remains part of Benevento’s repertoire and has been performed by him with moe. on multiple occasions. Press materials from the Invisibile Baby release detailed the recording of “The Real Morning Party,” with Benevento explaining:

“I wrote this in the van on a Duo tour. It started in Lawrence, KS. and ended in……who knows where. It was a total joke, stuck in my head, laughin’ out loud, smilin’, thinking how fun and crazy it is to be on the road sooooooo much… I actually erased the tracks, but kept the Mp3 version just cause it was so ridiculous. Well it turns out that EVERYONE of my family members, and most of my friends, loved the tune, so tracking it that day was a BLAST! Andrew uses silver salad bowls on his hi-hat and at the end he uses car parts (brakes) to make that loud drum sound. Of course, the double-drum/Keith Moon-esque solo at the end freaks me out every time!”

Above, watch Benevento, Mathis and Barr performing “Real Morning Party” at the 2009 High Sierra Music Festival in California.

Another song from Invisible Baby recorded by Benevento, Barr and Mathis was “Bus Ride.” According to Benevento’s track-by-track breakdown, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio was responsible for writing the melody line while on the tour bus for the 2006 G.R.A.B. Tour with Russo and Phish bassist Mike Gordon. Watch Benevento, Barr and Mathis taking “Bus Ride” for a spin in an officially shared video created by Shine A Light Productions and recorded live at Sullivan Hall in New York City on January 31, 2008.

Additional pro-shot footage of the Sullivan Hall show captured Benevento, Mathis and Barr performing the Invisible Baby track “Are You The Favorite Person of Anybody?” According to the video’s description:

This version of Marco’s original song “Are You The Favorite Person of Anybody?” shows the amazing depth of the song, as well as the particular talents of the trio. Barr here displays his singular knack for simultaneous precision and unpredictability throughout the changing time signatures of one of Benevento’s most ambitious songs. Mathis provides a gritty bass that swells with the urgency cascading from the piano as Benevento’s fingers madly map out the parameters of this song. Midway through the song, the energy very nearly propels Benevento right off his piano bench, before he signals to Barr to break it down and take the song through another detour, before culminating in an emotional yet tightly orchestrated flourish that has become typical of this trio.

Watch the above-described performance of “Are You The Favorite Person of Anybody?”

Further examples of the Benevento/Mathis/Barr lineup performing songs off Invisible Baby can be seen in videos of their February 19, 2008 show at The Mug at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York (“You Must Be A Lion”) and the next night at Revolution Hall in Troy, New York (“Atari”). Watch the clips above and below:

Along with Benevento originals, the Marco Benevento Trio appearing at As Summer Into Autumn Slips also worked in choice covers into their sets. While it remains to be seen what will make the trio’s setlist when they reunite on October 7 at Soundcheck Studios, what is clear is that they bring a rich history of various separate and collective backgrounds that will surely lead to another evening of incredible improvisation and musicianship. Heading back to the Revolution Hall show featured above, watch that talent on display as they put their collective stamp on Pink Floyd’s classic “Fearless.”