Snarky Puppy

The PowerStation concert was amazing! Each and every song was rearranged beautifully and unexpectedly; a soloist could take the direction elsewhere and then a totally different story is told. For example, "What About Me?" started much faster than the album recording, but only during the intro; in section A ("verse") the tempo was suddenly slowed down to sluggish, but with a laid back tempo and it threw everyone in the venue off, but also sent some people laughing for getting "trolled" in a funny way (I know I LOL'ed). And then there is a period of silence, with odd players playing "random" notes, before guest percussionist Keita Ogawa broke the ice with a long beautiful solo - which eventually ends up with the band playing "Tio Macaco"; again totally unexpected development.

Last but not least, Shaun Martin (keyboardist) is really good at crowd rousing. His stage antics are "weird" at times, but funny. Martin (and along with the rest of the band) has a great sense of musical humour; for example, playing the Mario theme song during a crucial moment in the final section of "Shofukan"; or playing a "Flight of the Bumblebee" lick during his solo.

Snarky Puppy's shows, in my honest opinion, is on my must-watch list. Because when people go to listen to concerts, most of those concerts end up playing material that actually sound not much different to studio recordings or might even have lesser quality. But with Snarky Puppy - you never watch the same show twice. So to any avid music listeners, I highly recommend Snarky Puppy.

Snarky Puppy are a band based in Brooklyn, New York. They aren’t the typical band as they are made from almost 30 musicians, all studying at the same college. Individually they have played alongside world famous musicians such as Justin Timberlake, Marcus Miller and Snoop Dogg. Guitars, woodwinds, pianos, keyboard, percussion, brass and strings are just a few of the various instruments that the band play on. With their vast range of instruments, they cover genres such as jazz-fusion, jazz funk, nu jazz, instrumental rock and progressive rock. Their career kick-started in 2006 with their debut album ‘The Only Constant’ whilst still in college, and with their infectious sense of jazz they carried on to release seven more albums with labels Sitmom and Ropeadope, their most recent being ‘We Like It Here’ in 2014. ‘Amkeni’, released in 2013, is a unique collaboration album featuring Bukuru Celestin contains traditional Central African vibes mixed with their own personal take. Unlike most other bands, Snarky Puppy’s live DVD was filmed behind the scenes in the studio. When asked why they simply replied ‘people kept bugging us to make a live album’, which exploded with positive feedback from their audience! So, if you want to hear and see some new faces of Modern Jazz, check them out.

Starting off....The concert was great ...very polished performance and definitely can be scored as high as 9 out of 10....the reason why I say this is that it was very refreshing to see a concert by musicians for musicians as opposed to a solo artist being backed by a band or similarly a band being led by a front man.....saying that...the bass player in the band was the spokesman and obviously the leader, however , you never got the feeling he was hogging the limelight...There was definitely a collective chemistry between all the band members...... there were a couple of cameo appearances ...one by Laura Mvula, which was quite brilliant and Jacob Collier ( mercury award nominated ) performed a piano skit solo performance which can only be described as truly mesmerising ....to watch his hands on the screen playing and then what you heard....wow! ....that's the only way to describe it....However....The stand out performance for me , was a solo by the drummer.....the likes of which I've never heard before....it was definitely an experience just watching and listening.....wow! ....to top it off...he threw the drum sticks into the crowd...a very nice touch as them things are not cheap unless there from KFC.....so all in all....it was just a great experience , definitely worth every penny..........

I had pretty high expectations for this show and they were met. Extremely entertaining. Challenging in some parts, but their musicality and melodic sensibilities make their brand of fusion cool and accessible. You could bring any musically inclined person to see Snarky Puppy and they’d find something to love about it.

As a guitar player, I was a little bummed that Mark Lettieri was missing, but I guess I just need Fearless Flyers to come through Pittsburgh... Chris McQueen was a pleasure to watch, though. Would have loved to see Larnell, too, but the percussion was awesome. I’m pretty sure whatever lineup you see, you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t get attached to the idea of seeing a particular musician like I did. I will say the one member I really needed to see was Shaun Martin. He was there. I am happy.

Brush up on your metronome before you go. Mike League had the crowd clapping 4:3 which went surprisingly well (from where I was sitting, at least) but it coulda been tighter, and that’s coming from a guitar player. =P

Led by the Grammy award winning musician Michael League, the multi-instrumental fusion band Snarky Puppy have gained a huge reputation Stateside since their formation back in 2004. Often frequent live collaborators with huge names including Erykah Badu and Justin Timberlake, there are no guest appearances at tonight's performance yet this does not seem to bother the audience.

It is impressive with all their exterior commitments and recording obligations that the group still regularly have time to take to the stage evening after evening in order to meet the demand of the fans. They really are a phenomenally talented act who gel together brilliantly even though there are so many different musical components to the actual performance making it incredibly tricky at times. The audience watches on in hushed amazement before making themselves heard with rapturous applause and cheers as the group take a very well earned final bow and wave the final goodbyes to a reluctant crowd who would have listened all evening.

Snarky Puppy was outstanding! They played a bunch of their new stuff but mixed in plenty of their favorites such as Lingus and What About Me? They were at the top of their game for the entire show.

The Granada Theater, on the other hand, was terrible. There wasn't any place to sit and it was so crowded it was difficult to see. My wife and her best friend had to leave the show twice to be able to sit down and rest their feet. My back was screaming in pain by the end of the night from standing so long in a cramped space. Many others around me complained about their discomfort as well.

The people in the back didn't even seem to care about the show and were talking very loudly the whole time. And people were visibly smoking pot right in front of the bar and no one tried to stop them so we had to deal with the stench.

I will never set foot in the Granada again for any band. The staff was rude and "we don't give a crap" in their attitudes about everything.

This was probably one of the most perfect shows I've ever been to. I've been going to live shows since I was 5 ... My first was Ella Fitzgerald and the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1957. I've got high standards.

Band, Orchestra and, most important, the audience were in perfect harmony. It showcased the Pups album 'Sylva' with some earlier Puppy songs at the end.

These guys are virtuoso musicians with soul ... and funk ... and groove. How they're not feted as the 'greatest band in the world' is beyond me. I've seen them play several times, but this night was really special.

If any of you ever see that this band are playing near to you ... grab a ticket or two. You will not be disappointed, with or without an orchestra.

A simply stunning live band.

One of the best concerts I have ever been to! They build it up to a perfect peak and I was so happy that I went! I loved the warm up act and I felt like I got my money worth for sure! And I am excited to see them again! I was sad I didn't see all of the snarky puppy crew but they still killed all the songs and it was a journey. I love this group so much and they inspired me and My friends and keep push and keep going with our passion.

My friend who was visiting from Central Mexico told me about a band who’d performed in his area. I noticed that they were playing in Dallas the next week and immediately bought tickets for him and I. I’m flabbergasted at their performance. Amazing Jazz fusion, memorable solos, interesting ideas and superb performers. The money I spent pales in comparison to the awesome time I had. Thank you so much Snarky Puppy!

The show was awesome!

This was a perfect combination of the light, location, sound, audience, and the content.
The organization and support band were perfect. This was a hight quality conversation between the music elite. It was amazing to be a part of it. The content of the concert was amazingly overwhelming with thoughts and emotions.

Thank you!