Marco Benevento
$12 Advance/ $15 Day of Show
For more than a decade pianist/sound-sculptor/songwriter Marco Benevento has been amassing an extensive resume of composition and collaboration. His studio albums have set forth a vision that connects the dots between Explosions In The Sky and Tortoise on one side, Brian Eno and Brad Mehldau on the other, while in the live setting his performances reverberate with pulsating dance rock energy. The 34-year old artist takes the next step forward in this evolution with his latest album, TigerFace, on which he paints his songs in a myriad of sonic colors, shimmering with acoustic piano, synths and analog keyboards. The tunes themselves seemingly conceptualized from every wisp of melody, hook and cadence that's ever tickled his ear. Recorded and mixed by Tom Biller (Silversun Pickups, Fiona Apple) and Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Akron/Family), TigerFace features a stellar cast of musicians recruited to help capture his ideas, including drummers Matt Chamberlain (Bill Frisell, Pearl Jam), John McEntire (Tortoise, The Sea & The Cake) and Andrew Barr (The Barr Brothers), bassists Dave Dreiwitz (Ween), Reed Mathis (Tea Leaf Green) and Mike Gordon (Phish), violinist Ali Helnwein (Traction Avenue Chamber Orchestra) and saxophonist Stuart Bogie (Antibalas, Superhuman Happiness). For the first time, Benevento adds vocals, inviting Kalmia Traver (Rubblebucket) to sing on the infectious dance rock rave-up "Limbs Of A Pine" and the pastoral psych rock meditation "This Is How It Goes." Other standouts include the angelic Arcade Fire meets The Flaming Lips anthem "Eagle Rock," the soaring garage psychedelia of "Going West," the piano riff rock jaunt "Escape Horse," and the lilting "Fireworks." As anybody who's seen Benevento perform live can attest, the pianist is a satellite to the muse with eyes closed, smile wide across his face and fingers free-flowing across the keys. Indeed, TigerFace, is the commitment to this pursuit; a record that rides the yes wave and in the process becomes a soundtrack for fellow travelers with their eyes set on the horizon.
"Benevento jams with a concentration on the textures and colors available in his keyboards and arsenal of manipulated pedals and effects. His songs feature deceptively rich, catchy melodies and straight-ahead grooves that expand with subtle mounting gestures." - Rolling Stone
"...a musician so original that he can ultimately only be judged against his own standard." - All Music Guide
"It's safe to say that no one sees the keyboard quite like Marco Benevento's genre-blind mashup of indie rock, jazz and skewed improvisation." - Los Angeles Times
"Marco Benevento is one of the most talented keys players of our time." - CBS Radio
"Benevento's colorful, improvisational, piano-based compositions stretch so wide and cover so much sonic ground that the idea of genre seems quaint. Very quietly, he has been evolving into one of the most vital figures in jazz or rock or post-jazz or post-rock or, all of music." - Kansas City Pitch
"Imaginative at heart, Benevento demands you to be too when engaging with his work. Otherwise, you probably are missing out on something special. Driven to experiment with chords and melodies with the intention of getting a little dirty along the way, Benevento’s collisional approach is refreshing and absolutely delightful." - Consequence of Sound
The Royal Room is All Ages until 10pm.
