On the heels of their first full length studio release, Omnisquid, lespecial brought some serious “death-funk” to Brooklyn Bowl on Sunday, November 29th. The trio, consisting of Luke Bemand (bass), Rory Dolan (drums) and Jonathan Grusauskas (guitar/vocals), have a unique, danceable sound that had fans and patrons getting down amidst the sound of crashing pins. Their style is a genre-bending ride through auditory landscapes of heavy bass lines, pummeling drum patterns, and soaring guitar pieces backed by notable electronic synth samples.
No strangers to the venue, lespecial commanded the stage and their instruments with the prowess you’d expect from a band that’s been playing together since grade school. Their setlist was stacked with tracks new and old, namely, “Ransacked” (created with frequent collaborator and friend, Space Jesus) “Yellow Medicine Dancing Boy”, “Squid Rising”, “Absolutely Stunning” and “Fruit Wolf Dance”, a track where their multi-genre method is exemplary.
A highlight of their set occurred when Mike Dillon (Les Claypool’s Fancy Band, Primus ) came out and played percussion on a cover of Primus’ “Duchess” performing a gnarly drum/percussion battle with Dolan and staying on to support for the rest of the set. Closing out their appearance with “New Fish”, the trio showcased their expertise with precision playing in numerous time signatures. lespecial has quickly become one of my favorite bands as they’ve come to exemplify the “something different” many live music enthusiasts are looking for.
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