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Snarky Puppy is my favorite band and for me the most innovative and unique sounding over the last 25 years.  I got hip to them ‘late’, back in 2013 when they were already barnstorming around the U.S.  I had a chance to see them at Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival back in 2010, but somehow didn’t make it.  But back on September 12, 2013, I got pulled hard into the Snarky Puppy vortex at a show at Terminal West in Atlanta. After I left that show not quite sure what I had just witnessed and became fully ‘puppified,’ IContinue Reading

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This show took place at the beautiful Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan. This particular room is very lively and more suited towards hosting acoustic and orchestral performances; however, this mix sounds great, and the band is still as high energy as ever. This show features mostly new music and lots of these versions sound quite different from the album versions. Something I thought was cool and didn’t notice until writing this, was that every song was grouped together alphabetically! I wonder if this was intentional. Track-By-Track Even Us – McQueen starts this one off like usual with aContinue Reading

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Sixteen years ago – at the time of the Immigrance tour in 2019 – Michael League and his friends founded Snarky Puppy at the University of North Texas.  On October 5, 2019, the Pups ended the final North American leg of the Immigrance tour at the Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas, so it all came full circle.  For this show, longtime SP stalwarts Mark Lettieri and Shaun Martin sat in with the band.  And if that wasn’t enough, Jason “JT” Thomas and Robert “Sput” Searight hopped onstage to play with Jamison Ross & Keita Ogawa on “Tio Macaco.”  JT isContinue Reading

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Snarky Puppy always gets a positive reception in Florida, and this audience at the Plaza in Orlando is truly dynamite! Maybe it’s the scores of musicians and music lovers based in Florida…or maybe it’s the fact that Bob Reynolds and Jamison Ross are both from Jacksonville.  Who knows? This show also has TWO special guest musicians that are polar opposites, but amazingly gifted in their own ways.  Every single band member kills it in this show, but one of my favorite solos of the night belongs to one of the guest musicians.  Read on to find out more! House ofContinue Reading

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While this Snarky Puppy concert clocks in at under 90 minutes, the quality of the band’s performance is exceptional.  This was the band’s first time in Charleston, and they were ready to deliver a killer show at the Music Farm.  This was also Jamison Ross’s first night as the touring drummer since May…with the exception of the Tokyo Jazz Festival in early September! Having Bob Reynolds on tenor saxophone really boosts the horn section, and the percussive duo of Keita Ogawa & Jamison Ross is second to none.  As usual, Michael League does a stellar job of holding everything together. Continue Reading

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Earth to Bobby Sparks…earth to Bill Laurance…earth to Shaun Martin! Where are these dudes? Well, this is going to be a very different Snarky Puppy show.  I watched the video of the full concert (thanks again to Jake!) and was amazed by how well the eight-man ensemble handled the absence of their keyboardists.  The horns take on more responsibilities in this show, and so does Justin Stanton, who is the lone keyboardist tonight.  And if anybody needs proof of Justin’s badassery, watch him switch between five different keyboards for ninety minutes without breaking a sweat.  You’ll thank me later.  TheContinue Reading

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If you’re a fan of the Immigrance album, this is the show for you! In this setlist, seven of the nine tunes are from that album…only two are from earlier records.  Even with all of the new music, the audience is loud and the atmosphere is electric.  Interestingly, half of the band members onstage at the Tabernacle had just arrived in Atlanta, GA for the final U.S. leg of the Immigrance tour.  Jay Jennings, Chris McQueen, Zach Brock, Nate Werth, and Shaun Martin had all departed; and Bob Lanzetti, Bob Reynolds, Keita Ogawa, and Mike “Maz” Maher came on board. Continue Reading

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Back in late 2019, I discovered a few Snarky Puppy concert videos on YouTube from our very own Jake Funkmayor.  This was one of the first 2019 shows that I heard, and it is a very unique and entertaining show! As far as I know, “Big Ugly” was only performed once during the Immigrance tour…and it happened at the NODA Brewing Company in Charlotte, North Carolina! Chris Bullock’s “Bling Bling” also makes its second-ever live appearance.  Longtime trumpeter Mike “Maz” Maher was unavailable, so Jay Jennings played trumpet and flugelhorn with the Pups for about two weeks.  Three keyboardists wereContinue Reading

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This show in Montreal is one of my absolute favorites. Firstly, the mix is extremely clear and balanced. Secondly, the setlist is magnificent.  This show consists of some of my favorites from Immigrance like Even Us, While We’re Young and Xavi as well as my favorite old tune, Flood, which was a lovely surprise considering they played it the previous night. This show also features Montreal’s own Malika Tirolien from Bokanté killing it on Xavi with a vocal solo and playing in unison with an extremely challenging horn melody. Very cool. Track-By-Track Even Us – McQueen starts this one off likeContinue Reading

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This is the early show at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada – aka Larnell Lewis’s hometown! The first thing that caught my attention was that three Snarky Puppy stalwarts are not in the lineup for this show.  In addition to the absence of Mike “Maz” Maher (who would join the tour two weeks later), Bobby Sparks and Justin Stanton are absent even though they had performed in Montreal the night before.  The void is filled with violinist Zach Brock, trumpeter Jay Jennings, and Bob “The Savior of Toronto” Lanzetti on guitar.  But more on that later…  Track-By-TrackContinue Reading