A taste of the south in New York: Perpetual Groove plays Funk n’ Waffles 4/17 in Rochester If you haven’t heard the sweet melodic flavors of Perpetual Groove then I suggest you give them a listen. The Athens Georgia based group is back on tour again, with their biggest string of consecutive shows in recent years. Their music a mix of the stylings you’d expect from a southern rock band, a lyrical dash of Tom Petty, heavy on the effects pedals and improvisation to the max. The sweet undertow of the guitar brings you in, vocals by front man/guitarist Brock Butler keep you hooked through the heady improv sessions, bassist Adam Perry thumps along. The tasty loops created by Brock’s many effects pedals are a perfect match like Skynard and whiskey with keyboardist Matthew McDonald’s funky jams. Keeping this progressive southern rock machine to time drummer Albert Suttle drives the jam sessions. ‘PGroove’ as they are known by their fans delivered a choice mix of their more recent offerings, tracks from Honeycutt, Live Love Die with only a couple tracks most notably ‘Sun Dog’ from their debut album Sweet Oblivious Antidote. Having seen PGroove 5 times over the years. I can say the venue of Funk n’ Waffles provided an intimate showcase for the tightly packed 200 fans in attendance. I’d rate the concert 4 out of 5 stars, this 4/17 was the first of a series of eight shows the band is playing so expect some 5 star concerts from PGroove this summer. Before the show, I had the chance to interview frontman Brock Butler about touring, the next studio album and creative influences. Check out the link for that interview. https://soundcloud.com/mike-wisotzke/sets/new-private-playlist
Much thanks to Perpetual Groove for the good times and thanks to Funk n’ Waffles for their hospitality. Be sure to follow check perpetualgroove.com for tour dates and information on album releases.