Spafford Kicks Off Summer Tour Featuring Guitarist Mike Gantzer In Rochester

Spafford began their summer tour last night with a concert at Water Street Music Hall in Rochester, New York. The show was the band’s first with Aqueous‘ Mike Gantzer subbing for Spafford guitarist Brian Moss.

The tour was supposed to start last week but four shows were canceled as Moss recovers from a car accident that took place in March while Spafford was in route to shows in Columbus. As reported, Mike Gantzer will fill in for Moss over the remainder of June.

Spafford bassist Jordan Fairless addressed the audience at the start of the show. “We’re Spafford, even though we might look a little bit different tonight,” Fairless said. He thanked the crowd for their support and Gantzer for helping them “make it through” as they “figure out our lives since the accident.” Fairless, Gantzer, drummer Nick Tkachyk and keyboardist Cory Schechtman uncorked an adventurous 18-minute jam to get last night’s concert underway.

The show-opening jam bled into an equally substantial “Giants In The Light.” Spafford then covered Tears For Fears’ “Mad World” before closing the first set with a wild “Plans.” The jam vehicle spanned 23 minutes and saw the band mix untz, rock and funk.

Spafford opened the second set with the rollicking original “Home (One Place I’ll Never Be).” Gantzer’s handiwork was showcased during the exploratory jam that developed. The four musicians continued to let the improvisation flow through a “Bee Jam” dance party. Cory Schechtman and Mike Gantzer then displayed impressive interplay on the groovy Schechtman-penned instrumental “Machine Elves.”

The anthemic “Lonely” punctuated last night’s closing stanza after Spafford put an inventive spin on the Herbie Hancock classic “Watermelon Man.” Jordan Fairless took the stage by himself for the “Passing Time” encore.

Watch video and stream audio of the full Spafford show in Rochester below:

Setlist (via Setlist.FM)

Set One: Jam > Giants In The Light > Mad World > Plans

Set Two: Home (One Place I’ll Never Be) > Bee Jam > Machine Elves, Watermelon Man > Lonely

Encore: Passing Time (Jordan Solo)