In my opinion: Twiddle is on FIRE. It's exciting to see their confidence quickly blossom since I last saw them 9 months ago. Between their uplifting lyrics for living a grateful life, to sending bolts of energy to my dancing bones, Twiddle is poised to be one of the best jam bands in the next few years.
Setlist: February 27, 2016
Set 1: Amydst The Myst, Beehop, Indigo Trigger, Hatti's Jam > When It Rains, It Poors, Hattibagen McRat
Set 2: Syncopated Healing, Lost In The Cold, Wasabi Eruption > The Box, Tiberius
Encore: Collective Pulse
The Band - Twiddle
You've probably never heard of Twiddle. Two years ago they were news to me, and on a random whim many months later I searched for them on YouTube. I was immediately hooked and clicking for more.
The twangy sound of lead singer Mihali Savoulidis's unique voice stands out, coupled with the long-form poetic style of his lyrics, it's hard to not fall for their tropical sounds and upbeat melodic jams (jump to 2:25 and 4:35 in "Beethoven and Greene," you'll know what I mean).
Joined by a keyboardist, bassist, and drummer, Twiddle performed well beyond the studio tracks from their recently new album PLUMP: Volume I. I'm pretty sure they jammed on X for 15 minutes, and it was epic. I loved how bassist Zdenek Gubb was front and center with Mihali - I have a deep love for the soul-wrenching sounds from the bass, and too often s/he is standing farther back and it's hard to distinguish from the collective sound (at least for me).
Source: Bahram Foroughi
The Venue: Irving Plaza (New York, NY)
Located in downtown Manhattan a few blocks from Union Square, Irving Plaza is one of the smaller venues I've been to in a long time, and it reminded me of a smaller Terminal 5. This show was completely sold out, and you could tell the narrow venue was packed with the overflow crowd hanging in the hallway.
After walking in on the first floor, you take a steep staircase upstairs to the second floor for the stage, beers, and merch, or keep going to the third floor for VIP seating. We got there right as Twiddle came on stage, so by the second set we made our way from the overflow sidestage to the back left corner. This venue is great for bands with smaller followings, but I definitely think Twiddle will move on to the Playstation Theatre or Terminal 5 next time they're in New York.
This is my FAVORITE Twiddle song. Please hit play while you continue reading. I promise it's worth 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
The Crowd: Alive and Well
I did love the smaller venue for bringing in the true Twiddle fans. This band isn't big enough to attract the "oh I'm here to get really wasted tonight!" concert-goer. So when they dropped "Lost in the Cold," one of (if not) the best songs on PLUMP, the crowd was ALIVE with energy!
Singing the emotional words of someone who's tired of "struggling for way way too long, it's time for a change, i'm ready to move on, and yes I'm scared to right all my wrongs, but I'll be okay, I'm stronger than I thought." Twiddle's lyrics are essentially long-form poetry and they really resonate with me, and everyone who was there. I was also grooving with a stellar crew, so that always makes for a great night.
The most hilarious part of the show: The gender ratio. What happens when there's 97% men and 3% women at a public event? NO LINE FOR THE WOMEN'S BATHROOM AT INTERMISSION. We were frolicking with joy past the long, long line for the men's room, simply relishing in this rare, but wonderful, moment at a concert!