Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The Heavy Pets Phish Post Party Atlantic City



by Kevin Anderson


After Phish’s “Little Feat” Halloween costume stomped all over the Boardwalk Hall on Halloween, The Heavy Pets laid down a powerhouse set of original music at Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City. The Pets took the stage about 2:15 am in the wild west themed casino where over 400 people gathered to enjoy the band's blend of funky grooves and dance music. Setting the vibe for the rest of the evening, The Heavy Pets played a fun version of “Hedi Sigismondi” followed by a crowd pleaser, “No More Time,” off their recently released self titled album. The energy in the crowd was extremely high with Alice in Wonderland, Kenny Powers, a double rainbow, and a very authentic looking Blues Brother grooving to the music. Perhaps becoming their trademark jam vehicle, “So Thank You Music,” guitar players Mike Garulli and Jeff Lloyd dueled it out for 30+ minutes. Getting back to the funk, Jim Wuest struck the opening synth line to “Dewpoint,” a song which features his vocals and masterful ability to solo on keys.

Playing well past their allotted time slot of 4am, The Heavy Pets showed no signs of stopping and played another song off of the new album with “Jackie Bones”. Although the song is about Lloyd’s dog, it showcases the absolutely ridiculous skills Justin Carney has to offer on bass. Wuest asked Dr. James Dunstan to join the band on keys for the song “Bibbles”. He ripped a serious jazz influenced groove and was eventually joined by Wuest to finish the song out together. After taking a quick five minute break the band came back on to play a few more songs including a new original from drummer Jamie Newitt who truly served as the backbone driving force of the band throughout the entire show. They wrapped things up about 5:15am and were incredibly grateful for the fans that had danced all the way into the morning.


Check out Justin's review of the Marco Benevento and Friends post show at the Trump Plaza