Zoogma, Papadosio - The Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI (10.20.2010)

Shows have been few and far between for me lately so when I found out that Papadosio was going to be conveniently playing The Intersection in Grand Rapids, MI (right down the street from my place of work), I was definitely pumped. I met up with a buddy of mine and we grabbed a few beers before heading over to the venue. When we got there it was pretty empty, granted we were also pretty early. The first band on the billing, whose name I somehow never caught, seemed to be jamming with quite a bit of enthusiasm. There was a guy in the middle of the stage playing a mandolin, which I found to be a little out of place for the type of Jamtronic music that was being produced.

After being somewhat under-whelmed by the first band, it was Zoogma’s turn to take the stage. I’m not so sure that The Intersection was entirely prepared for the musical machine that is Zoogma. With seemingly never-ending instrumental sections, these guys took the term Jamtronica to a whole new level. Waves of sonic fusion bombarded my ears and penetrated my head with a heavy, rhythmic foundation and a highly infectious and danceable blend of synth, guitar, and bass lines. It was difficult to determine where these “songs” started and finished but I am pretty confident that offering their listeners some sort of structured “song” was not the focus of these 5 musicians. The aim of this music was to send you deep into a hypnotic, mesmerizing trance that was impossible to pull yourself out of. Aiding in these efforts was an absolutely mind-blowing light show. Shades of every color in the rainbow came spinning out of these perfectly placed light sources that seemed to transition incredibly with the sounds of the band. It really set the tone for both the intensity as well as the energy level of the music that was playing at any given moment. Armed with a plethora of digital tools and computers, each one of these Zoogmites were highly skilled musicians in their own right. Noticeable standouts in my mind were guitarists Justin Hastings, who seemed to be in charge of a good portion of the improvisational guitar work, as well as Brock Bowling who only served to compliment the flighty sound of his incredibly talented band mate. Preston Boutot was another key player who offered an incredible span of keyboard and synth textures that really seemed to control the mood of this jam-infused sound. Abound with highs and lows, Zoogma delivered a roller-coaster ride of electronically oriented jam music that flooded my body with a range of different feelings. One minute I would be lost in a heavy trance and the next, my head spinning out of control with some spaced out, psychedelic improvisation. When it was all said and done, I was thoroughly exhausted. These guys absolutely tore it up and although it often seemed as if they were about to overheat, they always gravitated back down to a comfortable and acoustically pleasing level.

When Papadosio finally hit the stage around 12:30am, the majority of the crowd seemed to have filtered in. My only prior exposure to this Asheville based band was this past summer at the Summer Camp Festival. It was the middle of the day on the worst stage at the festival and I remember thinking how stellar of a night show this band would have delivered on one of the bigger stages. Well The Intersection definitely had bigger stage accommodations, a bigger crowd, and a suitable environment for a quality light show. I was somewhat annoyed with how late this headlining band was taking the stage. Listening to music like this can sometimes be a bit overwhelming and I could already sense that I didn’t have the endurance to ride this one out to the end. Sporting his signature dreads and facial hair, guitarists/keyboardist/mad scientist Anthony Thogmartin began pumping out the jams that seemed to send this googoly-eyed crowd into a dance frenzy. At times, this band had a bit of a more textured and ambient sound than Zoogma and I was able to pick up on the subtle differences that separated these two groups, even though each of them were both obviously adhering to a very specific brand of music. For the next hour or so that we choose to remain at The Intersection, Papadosio brought the heat. Sometimes it was dialed down to a simmer, only to be cranked up to the highest possible setting so that the coils were glowing a furious red. I was thoroughly enjoying this music… this jam style of electronic music that was just pulsating with these deep, vibratory waves of sound. Had I stuck this show out until the end, I might feel differently about this next statement, but I honestly think Zoogma was on a heat-seeking mission to upstage the headliner on this particular night. Both impressed the hell out of me, but the Zoogma machine and its assault of high-powered improvisational guitar work had me hooked. When it was all said and done, I walked away from The Intersection with a minor headache, a tired mind, and a more than satisfactory live music fix. I for one, loved it. But these bands, this genre... they are for pure, open-minded music fans only. Not for the faint of heart.