Those in the know around these parts have probably seen Garcia Peoples a handful of times or more by now — they’ve maintained a hyperkinetic schedule of local and tour shows that would be the envy of any hungry young band.
Listen to this set from Trans-Pecos a couple Sundays ago and you can understand why no promoter ever says no to these guys . This band is absolutely on fire right now, its players dialed in to a level that normally takes years. Being a private event, this was a “play what you want” set for the band, and they took that to heart, leading off with an extended improv that transitioned into their cover of “Laila Pt 2” by Agitation Free (which we first heard at Union Pool) followed by “High Noon Violence” from their brand-new breakout album, Natural Facts. After a spot-on “Total Yang,” the band were joined by Ryley Walker for an extended 16-minute improv that found Walker joining Tom Malach and Danny Arakaki as a third guitarist. Adding to the special nature of the proceedings, the band was joined by semi-regular member Pat Gubler (aka P.G. Six) on keys.
As the writer Jesse Jarnow memorably puts it, Garcia Peoples are “your heady, friendly reminder that it’s alright to let the sunshine in”. Arakaki, Malach, Derek Spaldo (bass) and Cesar Arakaki (drums) are after something here that’s so much more than being a Grateful Dead-referencing tribute band. In fact, their principal resemblance to a musician named Garcia is that each of these guys are skilled musicians with a hot improvisational streak, rarely playing a song the same way twice. Their sound lives in a zone all its own, and seems sure to cast a wide net far beyond the GD/Phish crowd. It’s no accident that they cover the likes of Agitation Free and Relatively Clean Rivers more frequently than, say, this alchemical rendition of “The Other One” with Chris Forsyth.
So yes, New York-based heads will probably end up seeing Garcia Peoples whether they specifically plan to or not. But really, you ought to plan to. A band this good should be top of mind for anyone who cares about how the best live music should sound.
I recorded this set with a soundboard feed and Schoeps MK5 cardiod microphones onstage. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!
Download the complete show from its Live Music Archive page.
Garcia Peoples
2019-03-24
Trans-Pecos
Queens, NY USA
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Schoeps MK5c (onstage, XY)>KC5>CMC6 + Soundboard>>Sound Devices MixPre6>24/48 polyWAV>Adobe Audition CC>Izotope Ozone 5>Audacity 2.3.0>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks
01 Jam>
02 Laila Pt. 2 [Agitation Free]>
03 High Noon Violence
04 [banter]
05 Total Yang
06 Pecos jam*
* w/ Ryley Walker
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