One of ’s top music festivals of last summer, Equifunk: The All-Inclusive Music Festival, brought a great two night run of official late night Phish after-parties. The first night saw soon to breakout band The Main Squeeze play an all-night set, while the second night saw The New Mastersounds bring the English funk to New York City with some help from Bobby Paltauf.
After leaving Phish at Madison Square Garden, there were multiple after-shows to go to each night. Many made their way to The Cutting Room to take in the funk and soul that oozes out of The Main Squeeze. The band was unable to take the stage until 1:30 A.M. and the sold-out crowd was getting restless, but once the lights went down it felt like the beginning of the evening again. Corey Frye’s vocals continuously soared over the combination of Max Newman’s guitar work and Ben “Smiley” Silverstein’s beautiful work on the keys. Jeremiah Hunt and Reuben Gingrich held down the rhythm section on bass and drums respectively. A range of covers and originals kept the crowd grooving until 3:30 in the morning.
A night later many made their way to Stage 48 to take in English band The New Mastersounds. The group started a little after 12:30 in the morning, much to the crowd’s delight. Pete Shand and Simon Allen immediately dropped into a James Brown-esque rhythm on bass and drums. Eddie Roberts’s guitar and Joe Tatton’s organ battled back and forth making everyone smile and dance throughout the set. Several songs into the set, Eddie welcomed out Bobby Paltauf, the 13 year old guitar wiz who had made the rounds at festivals and shows in New England throughout the summer. Bobby stood toe to toe with Eddie for a few songs, showing why many bands invite him to play, knowing that he will come out and wail on his guitar. The rest of the set saw the band continue their funk onslaught into the wee hours of the morning.
Both of these shows showed why Equifunk was one of the best festivals last summer and is sure to be a great one again this year. Both The Main Squeeze and The New Mastersounds are bands not to be missed if they come around to your area of the country. If you like to dance to funk, soul, and rock, look no further than these two bands and three days of music next August.
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