For fans of funk in Denver, CO, this weekend Cervantes was the place to be. Joey Porter, keyboardist extraordinaire, assembled his all-star ensemble, Joey Porter’s Shady Business, for a two-night run at the Other Side. Joined by fellow Motet members Lyle Divinsky on vocals and Garrett Sayers on bass, Joey Porter rounded out the supergroup with Robert “Sput” Searight of Snarky Puppy on drums, Nick Cassarino of the Nth Power on guitar, Dom Lalli of Big Gigantic on saxophone, and Natalie Cressman and Jen Hartswick of the Trey Anastasio Band on vocals and the trombone and trumpet, respectively.
If this was not enough, Dave Watts, Ryan Jalbert , Drew Sayers, and Gabe Mervine sat-in as special guests on Saturday night, and together with Joey, Garrett, and Lyle threw a surprise performance with the full Motet line-up to open up the second set. The two songs they busted out marked the first time the Motet has ever played the Other Side, much to the delight of members of the audience who are unlikely to see the Motet perform such an intimate venue again in the near future.
The dual-venue event also featured Moon Taxi, the popular indie-prog rock band from Tennessee, headlining the Masterpiece Ballroom both nights. Saturday night was supported by Colorado funk band, Analog Son, who threw down to a packed house and primed the audience for the rest of the evening with their high-energy performance. Guitarist Jordan Linit was frequently featured throughout, engaging the audience with his masterful and shreddy guitar solos. Of the band’s set, standout songs included “Black Diamond” and “Stomp and Shout,” two crowd favorites that got the ballroom grooving and getting down.
From the start of the few songs kicking off Friday night, Joey Porter’s Shady Business established that they were ready to throw down for the weekend. “Everything Is Everything” kicked off a high-energy funk groove led by Joey that afforded the horns and Garrett Sayers each the space to show off a little and tease what could be expected from them for the rest of the weekend. The ladies of the Trey Anastasio Band took centerstage for the next two songs, with Jen Hartswick stepping into the role of Chaka Khan for a cover of “You Got The Love,” showing off her unreal vocal abilities followed by Natalie Cressman leading the vocals for “If I Ever Lose This Heaven,” a beautiful and sultry cover of the Average White Band.
Lyle Divinsky, singer of the Motet, emerged toward the end of Friday’s first set, proving himself as not only a great hype man when fronting the Motet but, rather, whenever he steps foot on stage. The vocals he laid down in “Kissing My Love” and “What Is Hip?” to close out the first set were impressive to say the least, and his energy contagious as always. He also made sure to show love to the other players on stage, looking just as visibly stoked on others’ playing throughout the night.
For the second set of Friday, Joey Porter, who had been primarily hanging back and letting others take the spotlight for the first set, truly shined. Leading the vocals on the talk box for “Love Having You Around,” Joey also took extended solos on the keys throughout the second set, bringing the entire night to a climax with his percussive culminating solo in “Blame It On The Boogie” to close out the night.
While on Friday, the horns were stand-outs of the evening, on Saturday, Joey, Garrett, and Nick Cassarino were given more of a focus with extensive solos, particularly in the case of Nick Cassarino. Nick regularly stepped out from behind the horns to quite literally take center stage, often showing off his shreddy guitar stylings during “Footsteps in the Dark” and “You Haven’t Done Nothin’” as well as often taking the lead on vocals in tunes such as “Jupiter,” “Serpentine Fire,” and “Spanish Joint.”
However, of the notable moments that occurred on Saturday, perhaps most exciting was the second set open because of its surprise factor as all the members of the Motet walked out post-set break. In addition to Garrett, and Lyle who were already established on the line-up, Joey welcomed Dave Watts on drums, Drew Sayers on sax, Ryan Jalbert on guitar, and Gabe Mervine on trumpet to join him, and the band then proceeded to bust out “Getting To Know You” and “Just Around the Corner,” two classic Motet tracks which were both played during the first night of the band’s Hometown Hustle at the Ogden Theatre last month. While the various members of the Motet have made appearances at Cervantes regularly, the band itself has not played the Masterpiece Ballroom in years nor the smaller stage on the Other Side ever, which made it a truly special, albeit brief, performance.
Throughout the weekend, Grammy-Award winning artist Robert “Sput” Searight of Snarky Puppy kept it locked down on drums. His extensive features during Herbie Hancock’s “Actual Proof” on Friday and Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “Yearnin’ Learnin’” on Saturday were pristine. However, perhaps his greatest moments were during the weekend’s final encore, as he playfully accompanied Nick’s and Garrett’s final solos with technical expertise and grace.
Joey Porter was able to assemble an unreal group of artists of the highest caliber musicianship this weekend in Denver. While initially established under the moniker “Shady Business,” assumingly as a reference to the first iteration of the group which featured Lettuce and Soullive’s Shady Horns, Porter’s group has taken on a life of its own, bringing together hyper-talented musicians from Colorado and beyond.
Upcoming dates for the Motet can be found on their website. More information about and future shows of Robert “Sput” Searight can be found on the Snarky Puppy website. For more information about Nick Cassarino, check out the website for the Nth Power. Information about future Big Gigantic shows with Dom Lalli can be found here. Both Natalie Cressman and Jen Hartswick have their own websites which can be found here and here. To find out more about Analog Son, information can be found here.
Setlist: Joey Porter’s Shady Business | Cervantes’ Other Side | Denver, CO | 12/2/16
Set I: Everything is Everything, You Got The Love, If I Ever Lose This Heaven, Love the Life You Live, Across 110th Street, Kissing My Love, What Is Hip?
Set II: Yearnin’ Learnin’, I Feel For You, Actual Proof, Love Having You Around, Slippin’ Into Darkness, That’s the Way of the World, Blame It on the Boogie
Setlist: Joey Porter’s Shady Business | Cervantes’ Other Side | Denver, CO | 12/3/16
Set I: Steppin’ In It, Jupiter, Love Will Bring Us Back, Higher Ground, Blame It On the Boogie, Footsteps In the Dark, Hang Up Your Hang Ups
Set II: Getting To Know You, Just Around the Corner, Remember the Time, Spanish Joint, Knock Yourself Out, Time Is On Your Side, Don’t Leave Me, You Haven’t Done Nothin, Serpentine Fire