Last weekend, Perpetual Groove made a triumphant return to their favorite South Florida venue, the Culture Room. The 2-night run was filled with heartfelt covers, exploratory jams, earth-shattering energy, and endless joy. 

The venue literally shook when the band took the stage on Friday as they instantly ignited into a scorching force of transcending bliss. The highlight of the first set was an incredible cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, which morphed into “Speed Queen”, followed by a gnarly debut of Bowie’s “Scary Monsters,” which transitioned swiftly back into “Speed Queen.”

Watch the Bowie tribute below, courtesy of CHeeSeHeaDPRoDuCTioNS:

The second set featured supreme artistic exploration from the band, with the highlight being a monstrous rendition of “Green Tea” in which the band welcomed Jim Wuest (the Heavy Pets) to join Matt McDonald on keyboards. McDonalds’ atmospheric psychedelia paired perfectly with Wuest’s high-energy bouncy funk. The upbeat jazzy jam vehicle opened the door for improvisation fusing jazz and funk with psychedelic progressive rock.

The evening closed out with one last Bowie cover; fan favorite “I’m Afraid of Americans.” 

The second night was yet another barnburner with the band showing no sign of slowing down. The highlights of the first set included a rip-roaring rendition of “Robot Waltz” as well as a scorching “Sun Dog.” The band was firing on all cylinders as they began the second set. Their cover of “Ain’t No rest for the Wicked” (Cage the Elephant cover) gave way for a dark, nasty jam that segued perfectly into “Teakwood Betz.”

Without missing a beat, the band jumped right into “TTFPJ” into “Three Weeks.” By the end of the set, the crowd was steaming and everyone was cheering for more. The band encored with a beautiful rendition of “Only Always” but one encore wasn’t enough; the crowd demanded more. They took the stage for the final time and closed out the run with an astonishing cover Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls On Parade.” 

 

Setlist: Perpetual Groove at Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale, FL – 1/22/16

Set One: Gorilla Monsoon> Space Oddity> Speed Queen> Scary Monsters*> Speed Queen, Paper Dolls, TSM2, Mr. Transistor

Set Two: Mayday> Out Here, Green Tea#, It Starts Where it Ends> Space Paranoids, Two Shores

Encore: I’m Afraid of Americans

* = First Time Played

Setlist: Perpetual Groove at Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale, FL – 1/23/16

Set One: Crockett & Tubbs> MOTA, Cairo, AIM, So Much> Robot Waltz> As Goodbye, Sun Dog

Set Two: The March of Gibbles Army> Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked> Teakwood Betz, TTFPJ> Three Weeks Stealy Man

Encore 1: Only Always

Encore 2: Bulls on Parade

[All photos by Jonny Scoblionko/videos by CHeeSeHeaDPRoDuCTioNS]