Review: Benevento/Mathis/Fishman @ Drom

Having Fishman there for the celebrity factor was exciting—and the big guy undoubtedly delivered, looking as comfortable behind the kit as always and with Mathis adding plenty of supple undercurrent. Frequent Benevento collaborators Dave Dreiwitz and Scott Metzger were also along for brief turns–the former for a tender take on Ween’s Baby Bitch and the latter on an eerie, portentous-sounding dissection of Combustible Edison’s Carnival of Souls. There was, too, a projectionist who did trippy things with video cameras and often filmed the beatific expressions of the onstage personnel, matching them with zany colors, artsy collages and other visual enhancements.

But it was clear for all 80 minutes exactly who was in charge. Whether they’re his or by people he admires, Marco clearly loves these songs—loves how they sound, feel and taste—and has turned exploring every nook ‘n’ crannie of ’em into something vocational. Whether in such originals as Atari, Bus Ride and The Real Morning Party or in any of the night’s chosen covers—My Morning Jacket’s Golden, Deerhoof’s Twin Killers and the Zombies’ She’s Not There among them—Benevento seized the melody and explored with it as he saw fit, creating different moods and textures that all seemed both logical and adventurous. A lesser artist would attach flights of nutter piano and tricky rhythms to a melody for the sake of “jamming it out,” divorcing the melodic head from the improvisation and using choruses as mere bridges to the next freak-out. Benevento’s just a little bit more sophisticated that that; his approach in this type of scenario necessitates a sturdy melody—and thrives on finding out just how sturdy it is.

Marco Benevento Trio
November 8, 2008
Drom
New York, NY

Set: Golden (My Morning Jacket), You Must Be A Lion, Atari, Twin Killers (Deerhoof), Record Book, Bus Ride, She’s Not There (The Zombies), Baby Bitch # (Ween), Carnival of Souls * (Combustible Edison), The Real Morning Party

Marco Benevento – piano/keys/toys
Reed Mathis – bass
Jon Fishman – drumkit

# with Dave Dreiwitz on bass
* with Scott Metzger on guitar