God Street Wednesday: A Long & Weird Song

I could go on and on about what an amazing night this was – every tune played could be considered a “perfect” or “best” version – and this version of Mantoloking is the best one I have seen or heard on tape. And it has since become one of my favorite songs by any band and the Greenwich version really stands out from the rest. If there is a better one – and I am open to that idea – I would love to hear it. All are good, but this is the best of the best.

In case you haven’t heard Mantoloking Town before, it basically starts off with a slow intro, which leads into a theme that is reprised at the end of the tune. The initial playing of the theme – with lyrics – leads into a nice melodic scat solo by Aaron. The Greenwich version has Aaron playing a particularly long and extended solo that leads to the “weird” part that Lo refers to. Think dissonant, atonal, complicated, technically challenging fugue-type stuff ala Phish’s Fluffhead.

I don’t want to get too much into comparing Phish and GSW, but while Lo has admitted being influenced by Phish, I’ve always felt that most of the similarities in their music – and in this song – are a result of their shared influences. After all, Trey and Lo are close to the same age and they are both from the same town: Princeton, NJ.

After the dissonance, the music leads into a relatively basic chord progression which builds and builds while Lo rips one of the nastiest solos I’ve ever heard anyone play before or since. Not everyone can appreciate the tension & release that comes with a multi-part extended anthem like Mantoloking, so I have to confess to sometimes playing the uninitiated just the jam from this night’s Mantoloking and later helping them pick their jaws up off the floor afterwards. What also amazes me so much about this solo, and this song, is just how ambitious it is. Let’s face it, even at their peak, GSW just wasn’t that big of a draw.

Simply put, on any given night, GSW was just (I use the term lightly) a “bar band,” but their complex songs, insightful lyrics and their musical professionalism always transcended their standing in the music industry. Lo and company didn’t let the size of the crowd stifle their musical ambitions – it’s not every “bar band” that can play 15 minute long tunes like Mantoloking without losing their audience.

Even on this night, there couldn’t have been more than a few hundred people there, but this music was big enough to have filled Madison Square Garden, if only GSW had the fans to fill the seats. But they didn’t and that was just fine. It was nice when you could see your favorite band without having to worry about getting tickets, or traffic, or parking, or convenience fees. When you could just go see great music on a whim, outside on a warm summer night, with the sea breeze coming over the sound.

I’m not sure how long it was, but soon afterwards GSW shelved this tune for at least a couple of years, probably due to its demanding nature to play. They did bring it back though in ’96 or ’97 and it stayed in the repertoire more or less until the end. I really do consider this evening’s Mantoloking an epic version of an epic song. You can find it here on the archive.