Often times, people are drawn to a band for the connections they may have to certain lyrics. For those people, well-crafted lyrics can form the bridge between the band and their fans.
But last Thursday, the bridge was not made of deep lyrics. As a matter of fact, if the bridge’s construction relied on lyrics, it would have crumbled. Instead it was crafted out of funky disco beats, glow sticks, and last but not least, a sea of dancing people when immensely popular Philadelphia experimental act Lotus made its triumphant return to the River Street Jazz Cafe;.
Before the headlining act, the crowd experienced a brief opening set by C-Mon and Kypski, a four-piece techno-electronic-DJ-scratch-dance outfit from Holland. While the set consisted mostly of offbeat, sometimes scattered chord changes and abrupt endings, the group’s stage show could be likened to a three-ring circus. Drummer Thomas Elbers running across amps, and front man Simon Akkermans unique command of the stage and crowd — demanding they “exercise!” during the opening chords of one song — made it easy to liken the live show to those of The Flaming Lips, Beck and even The Bloodhound Gang.
Kicking off the headlining show with some hip-hop improvisation which perfectly segued into “Sift,” Lotus — guitarist Mike Rempel; guitarist/keyboardist Luke Miller; percussionist Chuck Morris; bassist/sampler Jesse Miller; and drummer Steve Clemens — wasted very little time enticing the crowd into a rave atmosphere with a creative blending of funk, disco, electronica, dance and world beats.
After an extended “When H binds to O,” the perennial favorites pulled out the upbeat track “In the Flock,” which, according to several enthusiastic attendees, was a band debut. In one of only a small amount of segues during the night, the band ended the first set with the two-shot pairing of “It’s All Clear to Me Now” and “Shimmer.” Although the songs segue provided the first onstage “lyric” of the night — Jesse Miller proclaiming “now” — they marked the high point of the first set, with Stevens showcasing some of the best funk drumming of the night and Luke Miller and Rempel taking their guitars on some very trippy yet perfectly fitting explorations.
Following a brief break, Lotus returned for a second extended set, kicking off with the funk-laden “Expired Slang.” Kicking off the fan favorite “Wooly Mammoth,” the band reached the peak of its live performance somewhere in the middle of the song, when, much like the rest of the night, the band’s intense jamming made the Jazz Caf�’s floor look more reminiscent of Studio 54 than of a club used to hosting the likes of Tim Reynolds, The Zen Tricksters and New Riders of the Purple Sage.
Not a band to let momentum drop, Lotus managed to keep its fans’ energy level, and dancing level, sky high with a triple-shot ending of “Tip of the Tongue,” “Contagion” and “Lucid Awaking.” In the second segue of the night, the band returned for a two-song encore in the form of meshing the track “Zelda” in between the always lively “Greet the Mind.” A perfect ending to a perfect show.
Whether or not you like the band, one thing is for sure: every time Lotus comes to the Jazz Caf�, not only does the music get better, but the crowd consistently grows due to the band’s unique meshing of almost every genre imaginable.
Just don’t go to a Lotus show expecting lyrics; go expecting to have a great time with great people and a great band. And don’t plan on sitting.
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