Twiddle
The Independent in SF, CA
October 27, 2017
Jamflowman part 1
Jamflowman part 2
Lost in the Cold
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

Hallelujah Twiddle Live at the Independent in SF. October 27, 2017 Vid Cap by Ted Silverman via Sony RX100ii Song by Leondard Cohen

Show Review by Ted
October 27, 2017Friday I ventured forth to the Independent Club in SF for the band’s debut San Francisco performance.

The crowd was young, energetic and many were in costume for this jam party.

Having no previous exposure to the band other than positive hearsay I opened my ears and mind and was generally rewarded with furious jamming excellence, a great light show and powerful band in their element. The only quibbles I could summon that might take away from the experience were issues like a very cluttered – mid-range heavy mix which detracted from the lead singer, & guitarist Mihali Savoulidis’s capacity to be vocally understood. Even when he did sing his voice referenced Dave Matthews and Nahko (of Medicine for the People) another, probably not well known but very good singer, guitarist and entertainer.

I like the direction this band took with its jamming – lead guitar was key but essentially, it’s poly-melodic – everyone jams the fuck out which to a certain extent works but after a while the sonic fabric became fatiguing. I knew none of the band’s repertoire and cannot provide my usual song-by-song recap. But I can state with confidence that these youngsters are solid and skillful on their instruments and while references to Phish are obvious, due the same instrumentation – I found them rendering scents of a dozen other bands from King Crimson to Zappa to Michael Franti and more…. I did not feel on the outside of an inside joke (yet) because I think this band’s mythos is being developed in their infancy.

Their nod to Leonard Cohen as an encore (Hallelujah) provided a view of what this band could be – with more listening; a stripped-down approach and a sense of song-supporting purpose that wasn’t all chaos and cacophony. Regardless of this statement, I left very happy with the experience (and a feeling that I was an old mother-f’er in this room full of 20 somethings.