a special night with Games : Art Hirahara, Todd Sickafoose &
Scott Amendola"What a band! With three hard-working innovators, this is truly a
force to be reckoned with...The group is as much about texture as
melody, and the interplay is deep, very deep. They rise, crest, and
fall in waves, turning even simple vamps into sweeping statements, and
carrying the audience along like driftwood to distant shores. A
perfect example, and one which converted even some skeptical
old-timers in the audience, was Sickafoose's original tune 'Workshop'.
Starting with a cool, happy bass-riff strut, the group slowly and
lovingly built it up into a huge, confident affirmation. Hirahara's
approach seemed to change from minute to minute in a wonderfully
complex m‚lange. Sickafoose's sound was low and intense, as he worked
his whole body into the performance. And wrapped around it all was
Amendola's drumming, a constant rumble of activity that felt like
musical burlap: rough but secure, and somehow not at all abrasive.
This band deserves a top spot in the Bay Area scene; I hope to hear a
lot more from them in the coming months." - Forrest Bryant,
allaboutjazz.com
sets at 8pm and 10pm
Cost: $10