Twiddle Welcomes Carl Gerhard In Providence & Makes Flynn Debut In Burlington Ahead Of Indefinite Hiatus

Twiddle played their final shows in New England over the weekend ahead of an indefinite hiatus that begins at the end of next month. The Burlington, Vermont-based quartet sold out all three nights including a show on Thursday in Providence featuring a guest appearance from Giant Country Horns trumpeter Carl Gerhard, a concert on Friday in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire and their debut performance at hometown venue Flynn Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday.

The band — frontman/guitarist Mihali, bassist Zdenek Gubb, keyboardist Ryan Dempsey and drummer Adrian Tramontano — played a makeup show at The Strand in Providence on Thursday to get the New England swing underway. Originally, Twiddle was supposed to perform at The Strand in January. The show was postponed due to illness.

Twiddle bookended the first set of the run with a lengthy “Polluted Beauty” opener and well-received “Every Soul” to close the five-song frame in Providence. After kicking off the second set at the Strand by treating the capacity crowd to fan-favorites “Stroganoff” and “Syncopated Healing,” the quartet played the more rare “Moments” for just the third time this year. Carl Gerhard came out a few songs later to add trumpet to a cover of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House” that ended the second set. “Doinkinbonk!!!” was tacked on as the evening’s encore.

On Friday, Twiddle settled in at the Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire by performing another five-song first set. Adventurous versions of “Nicodemus Portulay,” “Daydream Farmer” and “Subconscious Prelude” were followed with “Lost In The Cold” and “Earth Mama.” The band used “Enter” to herald an “Orlando’s” sandwich featuring a “Mamunes The Faun” filling. The Hampton Beach “Mamunes” incorporated teases of Phish songs “First Tube” and “Stash” along with hints of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall” and “Hedwig’s Theme” (Harry Potter).

After the ensuing “Life Back Now,” Twiddle dropped a “Latin Tang” showcasing Tramontano and Gubb. Then, “Zazu’s Flight” took off to close the second set in New Hampshire ahead of a “Slippin’ In The Kitchen” encore.

Stream an audience recording of Twiddle’s Hampton Beach show taped by Ted Gakidis:

The weekend concluded with Twiddle’s final Vermont performance for now. Founded nearly two decades prior at Vermont’s Castleton State College, the band took the stage for the first time at historic Burlington venue The Flynn on Saturday night. Mihali, Gubb, Dempsey and Tramontano delivered a marathon set and lengthy encore for the hometown/home-state fans. A wild +30-minute “Gatsby The Great” opener was followed by “River Drift” before Twiddle linked “Jamflowman” and “Frankenfoote” to the delight of the Vermont faithful.

Twiddle’s memorable Flynn debut rolled on with an “Apples” that encapsulated the Mason Williams-penned instrumental “Classical Gas.” Next up was the 2022-debuted “The Mission” fronted by Zdenek Gubb. “Wasabi Eruption” bled into an expansive “The Box” to close the set.

The five-song encore in Burlington was bookended with cuts from the 2022 Twiddle studio album Every Last Leaf as the aptly-titled “Beautiful” started the sequence later ended by “Every Last Leaf II.” In between came staples “Hattie’s Jam” and “When It Rains It Pours” as well as Dempsey’s pretty solo piano version of “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie. The latter was a Twiddle debut and emerged out of the keyboardist’s “When It Rains It Pours” solo.

Only four Twiddle shows remain before the band goes on an indefinite hiatus. First comes their Colorado farewell at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on November 11. Then, the quartet plays their final shows ahead of the break with a Frendsgiving run at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York over Thanksgiving Weekend November 24 – 26.

Hear an audience recording of Twiddle in Burlington taped by Phil Fernandez below:

Setlists (via Twiddle)

10/5/2023: Providence, RI @ The Strand

Set One: Polluted Beauty, Fighting For, Brown Chicken Brown Cow, Be There, Every Soul

Set Two: Stroganoff, Syncopated Healing, Moments, Collective Pulse, Mushrooms of the Sea -> Burning Down The House*

Encore: Doinkinbonk!!!

* – with Carl Gerhard (Giant Country Horns) on Trumpet

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10/6/2023: Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

Set One: Nicodemus Portulay, Daydream Farmer, Subconscious Prelude, Lost in the Cold, Earth Mama

Set Two: Enter, Orlando’s -> Mamunes the Faun * -> Orlando’s, Life Back Now, Latin Tang, Zazu’s Flight

Encore: Slippin in the Kitchen

* – with First Tube, Stash (Phish), Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd) and Hedwig’s Theme teases

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10/7/2023: Burlington, VT @ The Flynn

One Set: Gatsby the Great, River Drift, Jamflowman -> Frankenfoote, Apples -> Classical Gas -> Apples, The Mission, Wasabi Eruption -> The Box

Encore: Beautiful -> Hattie’s Jam -> When it Rains it Poors -> Rainbow Connection -> Every Last Leaf II