Funk is a funny music in that, the identical chords and beats can be played by two different musicians (or sets thereof) and in the hands of one, the patterns fall flat while in the hands of the other, the progressions will spring to life and charge the atmosphere around the players.
The latter phenomenon occurred upstairs at Club Metronome last Friday when George Porter, Jr, Brian Stoltz and Russell Batiste Jr. appeared. With the public announcement of Page McConnell to sit in, the tiny club was full and the street outside packed with prospective patrons anxious to see the former Phish keyboardist join the fun.
But McConnell was participant/contributor only part of the time and you could argue he wasn’t exactly essential. PBS, their musical alliance forged as members of the Funky Meters, know their own way around the funk: Porter’s bass, mountainous but clear; Stolz’ guitar as insinuating as the instrument should be in this genre; Batiste plays like a set of pistons at high torque.
Coming on a half-hour into the two-set show, McConnell’s old school keyboards added different textures to the thunderous but sparse sound of the trio and supplied that change of pace, that even an extended set break can’t achieve for the attendees anxious to refresh themselves.
But even the syncopated sound of clavinet wasn’t so much a contrast or an addition to the fiery rhythms that had the joint jumping as an expedition into Pink Floyd land early in the second set. PBS’ dreamy ”Us and Them” from Dark Side of the Moon conjured almost all the ghostly air of the original version and the near-dub like reggae interlude into which the trio segued seemed ripe for exploration, not to mention an ideal complement.
Instead, Porter, Batiste and Stoltz launched back into their funk attack, which is what the increasingly animated crowd came to experience anyway: to dance not to trance. The spirit of New Orleans is really a state of mind, residing collectively, at least for one chilly late autumn evening, upstairs in Club Metronome.
