TAUK + Big Something @ The Hamilton, DC, 8/2

Walking down the lit-up glass stairs and seated by a gentleman in a tuxedo, it occurred to me that the Hamilton is a beautiful, classy venue. I’ve seen TAUK work their magic before, but in a very different setting – the rolling hills and wild crowds of Domefest, out in the mountains of West Virginia. I couldn’t help but wonder how their sound would translate in a dim, sparkling jazz lounge. Over the course of the night, TAUK changed the atmosphere of The Hamilton’s from that of an upscale bar to that of a secret club in the heart of the city, where those in the know came to witness futuristic musical wizardry.

The first act, North Carolina’s Big Something, crushed a saxophone-driven opening set with selections from their new, eponymous album and from their debut Stories From The Middle of Nowhere. Casey Cranford blew minds with his virtuosic skill on alto sax and EWI, and TAUK guitarist Matt Jalbert sat in on “UFOs Are Real” for a whirlwind of styles that shook the dancefloor at high velocity. After closing their set with The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly,” they had set the bar high and the mood higher, ready for TAUK to converge and destroy.

When TAUK took the stage, the energy in the room was electric. All eyes were on the quartet, and they wasted no time diving into maximum grooviness. Over their nearly 2-hour set, they covered a massive stretch of emotional musical territory. One highlight was when Big Something’s Casey Cranford contributed electrifying EWI sounds to “Friction”, the opener from their new album Collisions. They’ve honed their sound to tight, dynamic interplay between the four instruments, embracing the communication of improvised jazz with the heavy riffs of jam bands of old. If anything, they evoke some of the stronger moments of Umphrey’s McGee, especially in lead-driven pieces like “Mokuba” that stand head and shoulders above the need for vocals, with lyrical melodies paving the way over ever-shifting rhythms. “Tumbler” was an insane voyage through memorable riff-town passages of dark ‘verses’ into the instrumental refrain led by immaculate lead melodies by Jalbert and keyboardist A.C. Carter.

If there was one observation made by the crowd, if they had any time for observations in between getting way down, it was that Isaac Teel is a fearsome drummer. He is a true powerhouse, generating irresistible dance beats and summoning raw power all at once. The members of TAUK play together in a way that shows they must have spent many hours honing their sound, because they have truly brought it to another level.

 “I’ve been hearing a lot about this band,” the doorman told me during setbreak. “I want to see how they do it. They don’t sing, they just play. That’s got to be real good for people to listen.” He nailed it. It was awesome – and it proved that TAUK stands alone as instrumental magic-makers in an age dominated by vocal-centric music. When I interviewed Matt a couple weeks ago, he told me that he wanted people to walk away thinking, “When’s the next show?” If my thoughts were anything to go by, they achieved that and more. Look out for these guys.

—Asher Meerovich (@Bummertime)