Textiles Live at The Highland Tap 3.21.12

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Highland Tap & Burger
Denver, CO

Words By J-man
Photos By Carly Marthis
Audio Recording By Ed Simon
Video By Ryan Garrett

Textiles Live at Highland Tap & Burger on March 21, 2012.



Set One: Spearhead à Jam à Spearhead, Grapplejack, Mindbank à Startin Somethin, Decepticon

Set Two: National Anthem, Sloppy Secondline > Baccarat à Sloppy Secondline, Aesthetic Hypnosis, Roads (Portishead), Twin Peaks Theme, Signed Sealed Delivered, Suga Lumps, Outro

The Highland Tap & Burger has become the home of free music on Wednesdays in Denver. Occupying most of those nights is typically The Garrett Sayers Trio, but when the GST is out if town, a house-sitter of sorts is brought in to watch over and captivate the consistent/loyal fans. Last Wednesday Pete Wall's Textiles made their debut at the Tap, bringing with them a four piece, a live painter and a plethora of gear. Excitement built as the magnitude of their production became evident. Not only was Textiles there to contribute to the session, but a whole team of videographers, photographers and audio tapers turned out to capture and hone their technical skills. On the soundboard matrix recording was Ed Simon. Filming the whole show would be Ryan Garrett and contributing multi-camera edited footage and photos were BiggerGuyProduction's Jhonette Perdue and Brian Rempel. The Tap quickly became a live studio.

The set began with a slow beat that seemed to drag on as the layers were added to the mix. Though slow talking off, when it did the music was intriguing. On the left side of the room was D-minus on what can only be describe as the control panel of a space ship. They call it "Colossus" and it's primary function is to drop phat beats. On Keys was Doug Tapia. Though never completely taking over or destroying solos, Doug's playing is extremely tasteful and bright. On the bass for the evening (possibly permanently) was John Grigsby. That evening would be my first and absolutely not the last, time I see Grigsby, as I was blown away. His command of both the electric and upright bass had my jaw on the floor. Then there was "Pistol" Pete Wall. It was enjoyable to see Pete outside of a horn section and a guest gig. That night he displayed his range and intense abilities, shredding on multiple saxes.


In the background, painter "Skaadi," composed a psychedelically fitting image of a being. The combination of the music, the lighting provided by Paul Brown and the live painting created an unique experience. The music progressed and venture though several genres including jazz, electronica, funk, psychedelic and more. Song by song the band built interesting and danceable compositions, also creating a fantastic mood.

The first set was fairly mellow outside of Pete's raging solos and a Michael Jackson sample. The set felt very chill and hip with the ambiance being featured. The second set began with an airy "National Anthem," honoring the great Radiohead. The song quickly progressed into some pretty nasty electric organ work from Doug. As the set progressed D-minus utilized some pretty obscure samples to fuel some intense jams. Pete ripped through some ridiculous melodies and solos with Grigsby attacking the bass and encouraging the other to bring it. The Highland Tap boomed with vibey goodness and sonic destruction. Towards the end, the set resolved to Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours."

Through two sets Textiles featured their range, technical abilities and elevated energy level. When featured in his own project, Pete Wall reflects the overall musical capacity of a well-trained powerhouse. The addition of John Grigsby to the mix was without a doubt essential. It is my hope that he will join the band and fuel the fire that is Textiles.

Carly Marthis' Photo Gallery

www.textilesmusic.com

www.facebook.com/Textiles



www.highlandtapdenver.com

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