Cosmosis Jones, Live at Nectar's, Burlington, VT July 13th, 2019

       Hello everyone. Hope things are well. Summer has arrived in Burlington. Phish tour is over but there is so much music going on in Vermont. JRAD at the Waterfront in July, Greensky at Jay’s Peak in Aug, and a friend’s Dick’s party with like 3 bands or something. But today my focus is on the music I saw last Saturday night at Nectar’s…the Reunion of Cosmosis Jones. They played a lot in the past but went on hiatus right before I moved here in 2017. I know they did something of a reunion at Finnegan’s last holiday season but it was not like this. They showed up with the full force of an electronica hurricane and destroyed Nectar’s. Kempepedia is proud to present Cosmosis Jones, Live at Nectar’s, July 13^th, 2019.

     Cosmosis Jones is Paddy Donnelly Bass, Sam Blakely Keys, Dan Usnkow Drums, and Evan Guerra Guitar. Their music is best described as jamtronica. I went in knowing nothing of their tunes. Hadn’t listened to any of their music at all. Here we go!

Gravity, Colors, I Can Change, Liminal, Fume, Boogie On Reggae Woman$, Outer Flowers, Rock Candy, First Snow, Jaws Of Omnipotence>Skew&

$ With Paddy on Synth Bass

& Without 2^nd verse, chorus, and Jam segment due to time restrictions

Here is a vid from 2016

     The First song started off with a sample of a man speaking…and about 20 min later the same sample was played signaling the end of the song. They covered a lot of ground in between. It had a few composed sections and sections where they took off. The speed with which they played was amazing. Paddy’s hand looked like a 4 legged tarantula dancing up and down his fretboard. I have seen him play funk and a lot of Dead tunes but this was something else entirely.

This one is from 2017

     Dan the drummer was an absolute machine. Crazy time patterns and a whole lot of untz. His kit looked so small but the sound and power he pummeled out of it was great. He also had an electric pad that he used to great effect in Rock Candy. Sam looked like he was having the time of his life. He had three different keyboards. It was awesome to watch his body move with the swells of the music. Evan added to the wall of sound they produced and really shone on the Boogie On cover.

     It was all high energy and Paddy really put his soul into singing I Can Change. I haven’t seen a lot of electronica live although I do cast a webcast of the Biscuits now and then. But these guys have IT. Really impressed with their vision of that danced fueled madness that the Biscuits created and then perfected. I also have to give a shout out to Nick Koski. He ran the lights and it was super psychedelic. Definitely forced me to dance a good chunk of it with my eyes open. He had these cool light panels on stage in addition to Nectar’s own lights.

     This whole reunion was just the opening act for Dr. Fameous, aka Allen Aucoin. While I have seen the Biscuits 3 times, I never really followed the music down the electronica rabbit hole. His act was him and his laptop while he pounded out beats on a kit. He didn’t even bring his own, just used Dan’s; who was geeked to say the least. But it was not my thing and I was exhausted from dancing my ass off. The crowd for the Doctor was noticeably smaller.

     Really glad I have the schedule I have now to finally soak up some of the original music that is being made in Burlington.   Furthur!

Dave Kemp

BA American Studies

PhD Rock and Roll

Jagg Off: A Mick Jagger Birthday Spectacular feat. Josh Panda, July 12th, 2019

     Hello people. Been quite a while since I have written anything. No particular reason. I have seen a bunch of shows since I moved downtown and have a more normal Monday through Friday schedule.  July will make 2 years of being up here and a few annual events I have attended twice now. This post is about the annual Jagg Off :A Birthday Celebration for Mick Jagger. Last year had Seth Yacavone and Dave Grippo tearing it up. But because Burlington has such an amazing music scene, Joshua Panda and his buddies got the honor this year. Kempepedia is proud to present Jagg Off. Live at Nectar’s July 12^th, 2019.

    I fucking love the Rolling Stones. I have seen them twice, 1994 and 2005. I feel that their run of Beggar’s Banquet through Exile on Main Street is the best 4 album run any band has ever had. I once upon a time had over 10 live show from their 1972 tour. To be honest, the sound quality on some of the audience recordings was horrible, which is why they are gone now. I also dropped 30 bucks back in the late 90’s to get a black and white VHS copy of the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus……which they then released officially on DVD in color the next year. So I really like the Stones.

Joshua Panda and his band present Some Girls  7/12/19 Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1

Bitch, Under My Thumb, Dead Flowers, All Over Now, Tumblin’ Dice, Wild Horses, Carol, Sweet Virginia, Get Off of My Cloud, Sway, Sympathy for the Devil, Jumping Jack Flash

Set 2

Honky Tonk Women, Monkeyman, Street Fighting Man, Rocks Off, Live With Me, 19^th Nervous Breakdown, Let’s Spend the Night Together,  Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’, Loving Cup, Midnight Rambler, You Can’t Always Get What You Want

 No encore

     Joshua Panda has a vocal range that is out of this world. 2 guitarists for most of show. Sax player who did a lot of the seasoning, shakers, maracas, the cowbell etc. Didn’t know any of the other musicians but they were all amazing. Loved they did Carol, a Chuck Berry tune the Stones covered early in their career but was a staple of their live show for years after. They knew the most important thing when covering Sympathy is ….don’t overdo the Woo’s. They had just the right amount. They also had another guitarist join them for Sympathy and Sway.

  If its a birthday party for Mick Jagger, you know there will be cake. This is a replica of the cover of Let It Bleed. They did give out pieces later. 

They had a Mick Jagger Dance Off at set break. I am old school when it comes to my Jagger moves. During the 1969 tour, he took his belt off and whipped the stage during Midnight Rambler. His early moves were great too.

      Monkeyman, one of my favorite Stone songs, killed it. I have seen Monkeyman performed by The Stones, Phish, and Devolver. At Superball I recognized right away and flipped the fuck out. I was screaming, jumping around, acting like a fool. My friend overheard 2 people talking:

Guy 1: What song is this?
Guy 2: I don’t know but it must be a big deal. That guy is going crazy

The jam at the end of Knockin’ was super dialed in. All high energy blasts, one after another. They didn’t do an encore which means I got to leave a little bit earlier and get some shuteye because I had the highly anticipated Cosmosis Jones reunion show at Nectar’s along with Dr. Fameous at Nectar’s the following night.

Dave Kemp

BA American Studies

PhD Rock and Roll