Review: Perpetual Groove @ The Variety

The first set saw the band debut three of the seven songs that were played that night. Guitarist and vocalist Brock Butler commandeered the band and crowd with an excellent pedal-steel display in Cabulo and then stepped to the mic to deliver soulful vocals in Suburban Speedball. The band displayed its collective chops through an extensive workout on Three Weeks.

Roughly 16 minutes into the track, I found myself looking around and noting the considerable age difference between myself and my fellow attendees, wondering how many of them were sharing the planet with me when I was in high school in the early ’90s. It’s not a bad thing to have a young fan base, it can work to the band’s advantage as they themselves grow; however, I did note that the crowd was almost over eager to ravenously celebrate every minor and major change and peak the band maneuvered through. Sometimes it’s just better to make the band work for it a little, but I digress…

Brock and crew have evolved into an incredibly adept unit, mixing their brand of electro-funk, groove-oriented jam rock with elements of sheer guitar virtuosity and first-rate song craftsmanship. With four songs hovering at the 20-minute mark, the band has an ample stage to showcase their considerable improvisational skills. Their tension and release jams worked the crowd into a sweaty frenzy, leaving the crowd breathless at times. I would say that roughly 90% of the time the jams were driven and focused, the remaining 10% meandered a little and lacked general direction.

The set continued with swirling, other worldly guitar screeches, squeals mixed with truly blissful and incendiary fret work. John Hruby’s keyboard work is extraordinarily rhythmic and complements the funky, rib-rattling low end work of Pittsburgh Steelers jersey wearing bassist Adam Perry and the Bonham-esque drumming of Albert Suttle.

The set concluded with the premieres of their take on The Raconteurs Level and Downside, two tracks that were both catchy and more pop-oriented. The former a crunch groove rave-up in the vein of The Band’s Don’t Do It, the latter sounding reminiscent of The Ominous Seapods. The band thanked us for our attendance and left the stage.

The second set began much as the first set with a 15-minute take on Deceptive Structure and moved into the Peter Gabriel song Digging In The Dirt. Personally, I felt their take on this classic rock staple was one of the highlights of the evening. With angry vocals and drumming, P-Groove’s take was every bit as good and gritty as Gabriel’s, perhaps better.

The next three songs, Robot Waltz, Two Shores and Sundog, alternated between dark and heavy and light and airy. Brock was every bit the mad scientist as he contorted and manipulated his guitar leads through the band’s extensive workouts with color and panache. Two Shores contained some stop and go jamming with symphonic flourishes. Sundog was punctuated with a boot stomping hoe down of sorts and Hruby’s boogie-woogie piano fills were extremely gratifying and closed the second set.

The band took the stage once again for the encore of Walking In Place and a 20 minute Teakwood Betz. Walking In Place featured a heartfelt texture that had yet to be unveiled this evening and Brock displayed some behind-the-head guitar god showmanship. Teakwood Betz, thrilled the late night revelers with its trance and techno elements and threatened to rip the roof off of the Variety.

It’s obvious that much care, love and thought went into developing the band’s sound and light show. Their presentation is top-notch and evidence that their intent is to entertain and stimulate their fans. This band seems ready, willing and able to take it to the next level.