After several years of limited activity, Particle is back in full swing, and re-emerging as one of the elite bands in the jam scene. With a solid Winter tour under their belts, and a brief break, Particle began their Spring tour at Garcia’s in Port Chester, NY this past Thursday night. Keyboardist Steve Molitz, bassist Clay Parnell, and guitarist Ben Combe brought along Turbo Suit drummer Jeff Peterson for the evening’s festivities at the Capitol Theatre’s sister venue.

The group never let up from start to finish, infusing several movie theme songs, covers, and originals into their setlist. The show kicked off with the theme song from Kill Bill “The Battle Without Honor or Humanity”, and the energy was at peak level throughout the show. “Launchpad” the title track from the band’s only studio album (2004) never gets old and always showcases the band’s natural ability to meld the electronic and funk genres, especially with Molitz at the helm; he is one of the most talented keys players in the game today. A cover of Peter Gabriel‘s “Digging in the Dirt” was a pleasant surprise, and seemed a perfect fit into the set, as Particle gave it the space to breathe and allowed guitarist Ben Combe to prove his vocal prowess. Combe has been a great addition to Particle, as his vocal ability brings an extra weapon to the band’s arsenal.

The second set continued much in the same fashion as the first….with a funktronic dance party. Relying on material from the Transformations Live for the People album, Particle went off on “Eye of the Storm”, “Below Radar”, and a set closer of “Sun Mar 11”, but not before a sing-along cover of Beck‘s “E-Pro.” For the encore, the group decided to complete the bookend by playing “Axel F”, better known as the Beverly Hills Cop theme song.

While Molitz is clearly the leader of the band, as well as its only original member, the musicians that he has surrounded himself with of late has led to this “Particle 2.0” lineup being dangerous and making a clear-cut statement that the group is back and ready to play and create some music at an highly-elevated level.

– Chris Meyer

[Photos courtesy of Scott Harris]

Set 1:
The Battle Without Honor Or Humanity (Theme from Kill Bill), London Forces, Launchpad, Digging In The Dirt (Peter Gabriel), Triple Threat > Ctrl/Esc > Triple Threat
 
Set 2:
Eye of the Storm, Below Radar, Kneeknocker, Lie To Me, E-Pro (Beck), Sun Mar 11

Encore:
Axel F (Theme from Beverly Hills Cop)

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