A Live One • Concert Review

Live at Chelsea’s Café

March 13,2015 • Baton Rouge, LA

Catch them Live in DC @ Tropicalia on Wednesday March 18th

By Katherine Sartain

Performing for the second time at Chelsea’s Café this past Friday was A Live One, a Phish tribute band. The boys from Austin, Texas, brought the heat. The river town was sleepy this Friday night, probably because everyone was pacing themselves for the hoards of St. Patrick’s Day festivities the following morning. But the dedicated Phish phans who came out for the show were in their own world.

The show started around 10:30 p.m. after dinner was finished being served at the café. Opening with “Gotta Jibboo,” the crowd was up and on their feet in about 2.5 seconds. The light show was subtle yet captivating, not taking away from the crowd’s rhythmic attempts at backup singing, myself included. Next up, keyboardist Wesley Haynes shined through the light show during “Birds of a Feather.” But that could have also been his disco ball party hat I saw shimmering through, who knows. Once the crowd caught on to the feather’s bird, “NICU” was ringing in our ears, here to save the day from tomorrow’s thirst. Josh Pearson on lead guitar, focusing hard as if his life depended on it, nailed his Trey-esque licks, much to the pleasure of those in the front row. This ballad led us to a crown-unifying “Yamar,” resurrecting the dwindling crowd from the outside patio back to the dance floor. Nick Chambers and his drum set are largely to thank for that, along with Wesley’s funky keyboard interjections. Next we stepped into the freezer with “Tweezer,” and it was cold, dark and nasty in all the right ways. Keyboards, drums, bass, guitar, vocals, everybody was right on point, bouncing and nodding their heads in unison. Andy Harn took full advantage of this bass-heavy jam, destroying the crowd’s expectations of his skyscraping Mike Gordon embodiment. The crowd was once again driven to their feet with “Funky Bitch,” which posed a perfect segue into “Bouncing Around the Room,” giving everyone a moment to come back down to Earth. The sweet sound bouncing around the room at Chelsea’s was almost ethereal. Nobody looked back after “Back on the Train,” thanks to Josh’s destructive guitar solo. The next jam crept up on us in the audience, but Andy’s bottomless bass gave way perfectly for “Harry Hood.” Wesley’s keyboard took us on what seemed like a 4-octave roller coaster ride, with Nick’s drums keeping the audience going in the same direction. Mr. Minor then took us to “Theme From the Bottom,” eliciting smiles from all over the stage. Even the lights, meant to give off nocturnal vibes during this deep jam, made me feel like I was on top of the world. Next up we had “Prince Caspian,” continuing the somber mood from “The Bottom.” The guys’ harmonized voices lifted the entire audience off of our feet and onto a field of waves, just like Caspian himself. It was the epitome of solidarity amongst a group of Phish-loving, joy-seeking cats on the dance floor. This segued into “Possum,” the perfect remedy to keep the audience up and jiving, although I think I was watching Josh and Andy’s hands fly across the guitar strings the entire time, trying to keep up. “Heavy Things” then began flippantly bouncing around the room, and the crowd went wild. Wesley’s disco ball hat had everyone hopping and skipping around with its keyboard segments, and again Josh’s guitar riffs wonderfully lost me. Next, these Texas boys would have made both Phish and The Stones eternally proud with their “Loving Cup” rendition, full of Trey’s smooth soul and Mick and Friends’ funky, jazzy spirit. “Farmhouse” then boldly held up the caboose, a wisely selected cool down for the end of the show.

Still having something left to give, the guys came back with a “Divided Sky” encore, heavy on the glimmering lights yet so light on the soul. It was a perfect nightcap. I had the chance to speak with the band before the show, and watching their laid back camaraderie centered on their shared love for all things Phish made me that much more excited to see them play. “Music is the one common language of the world,” said bassist Andy Harn, and Phish is definitely these guys’ dialect. Every time an audience member’s attention would slip, the group’s incredibly constructed cohesiveness was like a yo-yo, snagging their attention back almost immediately. It also could have been Nick’s nasty drum solos whipping their necks back around, who’s to know? I asked some of the audience members coolly hanging around near the back what they thought of the show, out of personal curiosity. “Aw man, I had a great time!” one of them said, “I would tell [Josh] to loosen up a bit maybe, it seems like he’s overthinking it.” He quickly followed up with “but if I were in his position playing Trey, I probably would too,” then we quickly agreed on the beauty of A Live One’s covers of the night. After three hours, the lights were dimmed and the tight-knit crowd took a deep breath of satisfaction.

Check out A Live One’s tour schedule on their Facebook page. Next stop: SOL Bar New Mountain AVL in Asheville, North Carolina tonight, 03/16. Then, onto Washington, D.C. on 03/18 at Tropicalia.

2015.03.13 Chelsea’s Café Baton Rouge

Gotta Jibboo

Birds Of A Feather

NICU

Yamar

Tweezer

Funky Bitch

Bouncing Around The Room

Back On The Train

Harry Hood

Theme From The Bottom

Prince Caspian >