Garcia Peoples @ Colectivo Backroom [MKE] - 1/17/20
Garcia Peoples performing at The Backroom in Milwaukee, WI (photo/Kevin Hill)
Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow – a LOT of snow – could keep the Garcia Peoples faithful from receiving their latest sermon Friday night in Milwaukee. Fresh of a residency at Nublu in New York City and a WILD triple bill to close out the decade, the sextet from New Jersey (along with a little help from opener/Milwaukee resident Kendra Amalie) braved the storm to deliver a tight and ferocious 90-minute set that highlighted their songwriting chops as much as it made room for the jams that their fans crave.
And about those jams.
A lot has been said about this band’s music and its connection to another band known for their jamming — it’s right there in the name. But less has been said about another legendary band they seem to share DNA with: Pearl Jam. Interlocking guitars, psychedelic flights of fancy, and deconstructed song structures are all certainly highlights of the “good ol’ Grateful Dead,” but have you dropped the needle on Vitalogy lately? Garcia People’s “rock mode” can get out there. WAY out there. But contained within is a focus that the Dead rarely achieved, if not outright rejected.
Haven’t been able to catch Garcia People’s live to test this theory? Today is your lucky day because Taper Kevin Foss was onsite to record the set, and you can hear it in the embed below or download it in your format of choice over at Archive.org.
