by Michael LelloWeekender Editor
STROUDSBURG — Nearly 1,000 music fans made their way into the Sherman Theater Wednesday night with Derek Trucks on their minds. And while Trucks did not disappoint, they walked out of the show with another name on their minds, too: Miz. The local band, led by guitarist and vocalist Mike Mizwinski, delivered a message that it has the chops and the songs to hang with anyone —including a musician who might be the best guitarist alive — during a standout one-hour set that touched on jamming pop rock, bluegrass and acoustic soul and earned several standing ovations.
Miz — Mizwinski, Alan Hanczyc (bass) and A.J. Jump (drums) — was fortunate to land such a gig as well as the generous one-hour slot, and it made the best of the opportunity. The group, which displayed a keen ability to jam without wearing out its welcome, opened with “Dopesick,” a gently rollicking reggae-esque tune. Mizwinski, whose tone closely resembles Trey Anastasio’s, took a tasteful solo. “Slow You Go” was sunny and funkier, with Jump throwing in some subtle cymbal work during the bridge. Mizwinski switched to an acoustic guitar for the pretty “Wink,” the delicate and moody “Casket,” which had a Medieval-ish introduction and some nifty tempo shifts, and “Was a Time.”
Mizwinksi, back on electric, stretched out with some Eric Clapton-inspired blues-rock licks on “Red House.” Hanczyc, as he did throughout the set, held down the bottom end with authority. “New Morning Sky,” which has some serious pop appeal, and the jazzy “Time for Time” wrapped things up.
The table was set for Trucks, whose raw talent is jaw-dropping. His songs, however, which fall into the blues and world music/jazz categories, are not for everyone. In fact, on Wednesday night it seemed that Miz’s style was more in tune with the crowd, which is quite remarkable considering most people in the nearly sold-out crowd of 834 had never heard of the band before. If you took the time to listen intently, though, the DTB, and Trucks specifically, are a dynamic force that can go from a whisper to a scream in the course of a song.
Trucks’ Latin-tinged “Kam-ma-lay” was an early set highlight, and the guitarist, who tends to stand in one spot during his Allman Brothers Band shows, was quite animated throughout. The 30-year-old positively tore into the John Coltrane arrangement of the jazz standard “Afro Blue,” and on “Joyful Noise,” from the band’s 2002 album of the same name, he played scratchy rhythms while Kofi Burbridge took organ leads.
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