Pink Talking Fish Starts Making Sense October 19 – 21, 2017 Syracuse, NY Jim Thorpe, PA New York, NY
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The first night is in the books: The Westcott Theater in Syracuse NY hosted Pink Talking Fish and Start Making Sense for the first night of the run that will take them to Penn’s Peak and New York City later in the weekend. The results: October 19th, 2017 The Westcott Theater Syracuse NY Pink Talking Fish Starts Making Sense: Intertwining Sets with Pink Talking Fish & Start Making Sense
Start Making Sense – Set 1: “We are here to play you Talking Heads songs and then there is going to be a lot of other things..” Psycho Killer Slippery People Making Flippy Floppy And She Was Born Under Punches Stay Up Late Pull Up The Roots Wild Wild Life The Great Curve*%> Pink Talking Fish – Set 1:
The Great Curve*> AC/DC Bag Money> Thank You For Sending Me An Angel+ Timber> Have A Cigar> Love – Building On Fire> Tube*> Start Making Sense – Set 2: Tube*> Slippery People Nothing But Flowers This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) Cities Once in a Lifetime Girlfriend is Better Take me to The River Burning Down the House Life During Wartime*++> Pink Talking Fish – Set 2: Life During Wartime*> Tube Fearless+++> Halley’s Comet> What A Day That Was%% Pigs (3 Different Ones)> Cavern E: Crosseyed And Painless** *Full band transition **Both bands onstage together %w/ Eric Gould on bass %%w/ Jon Braun and Jenny Founds on vocals +w/ Runaway Jim tease ++w/ In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed teases +++w/ Prince Caspian tease Audio recording by Keith Litzenberger:
Night Two: Penny’s Peak Jim Thorpe PA October 20 2017 Review by Ryan O’Malley While both are among the best tribute bands going, Pink Talking Fish and Start Making Sense recently joined forces for three intertwining shows which showcased the two bands unique musical prowess and mutual understanding of each others’ passionate work. This past Friday, both bands made their debuts at Penn’s Peak, a pristine solid wood venue set atop the picturesque mountains of Jim Thorpe, Pa. New England’s Pink Talking Fish took to the stage first and kicked off the night with the trippy intro to “Colonel Forbin’s Ascent,” a progressive jazz cut from Trey Anastasio’s concept piece “Gamehenge.”
Diving into the Pink Floyd catalogue, guitarist Dave Brunyak led the quartet into the familiar opening of a tight “Run Like Hell,” before giving way to one of the more interesting choices of the night – a mashup of the Grateful Dead’s “Tennessee Jed” and Phish’s “Ocelot.” While the Dead, as their name implies, aren’t normally a part of a Pink Talk Fish show, the way the band has worked out a unique arrangement for both songs is nothing short of fantastic, with keyboardist Richard James and Brunyak trading off verses before the ending of “Ocelot” brought on an explorative jam to cap the song. James’ keyboards were prominent during a tight “Sheep” by Pink Floyd which morphed into a spacey take on Phish’s “Fly Famous Mockingbird” before going back into the ending of “Sheep.”
The familiar opening to Phish’s version of The Talking Heads “Cities” brought on some of the best dancing of the evening and saw drummer Zack Burwick add some of the funkiest percussion of the night. During the middle jam of the song, the members of Start Making Sense made their way on stage and joined in before the members of Pink Talking Fish eventually left while SMS wrapped the song up in the vein of The Talking Heads. It was a changeover that was not only flawless, but ridiculously tight as both bands shared the stage for over a minute and gave the song a new life. Hailing from the Lehigh Valley which, as vocalist Jonathan Braun pointed out, is just down the road from Penn’s Peak, Start Making Sense has been garnering rave reviews for its spot on tribute to the genius of The Talking Heads.
The band has been a frequent visitor to the Northeast Pa. region, so many of the people knew what kind of show to expect, and the band did not let down. The upbeat ending of “Cities” bled into the bass heavy “Slippery People” which enticed a nice sing along from the crowd. A dead on run through the radio friendly “And She Was” showcased the drumming of Jesse Braun, while the faster “The Great Curve” proved to be one of Jonathan Braun’s better stage performances, as he has David Byrne’s mannerisms and vocals down pat. The always fun “Psycho Killer” led into the darker “Born Under Punches” which saw some funky guitar riffs courtesy of Jon Fadem. A standard take on “Wild Wild Life” gave way to the vocal intro to the rhythmic “Road to Nowhere” before “Nothing But Flowers” served as yet another pristine changeover between both bands.
Following their conclusion of “Nothing But Flowers,” Brunyak kicked off the always enjoyable Phish gem “Tweezer” which once again brought about dancing from the appreciative crowd. As was the case for the duration of both of their sets, bassist Eric Gould offered some thunderous backend to the song which gives the music a signature low-end rhythm. After an extended walk through Pink Floyd’s “Shine on You Crazy Diamond,” the biggest surprise of the night occurred with the familiar opening to the late Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me” took over. The band gave the song a slight reworking as the middle jam was sped up and featured some fiery keyboards from James.
The best description would be to picture Phish covering the tune, which is a compliment to PTF and Brunyak who led the song to new heights. Sticking with the sound of Phish, an enjoyable version of the fan favorite “Run Like an Antelope” followed, complete with Brunyak leading the band seamlessly through the funky opening. Pink Floyd’s “Young Lust” transitioned into the final intertwining moment of the night and saw Start Making Sense return to cap the night off. The keyboard led “Houses in Motion” gave birth to the harmony-heavy “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” which served as the perfect catalyst for the energy of the rest of the set, as the radio-friendly hits “Life During Wartime” and “Once in a Lifetime” had the entire crowd moving and singing along with every lyric.
A driving “Girlfriend is Better” led into The Talking Heads famous cover of the Al Green jewel “Take Me to the River” before whipping the crowd into a frenzy with the song The Talking Heads used to end many of their concerts with, the rambunctious “Cross-eyed and Painless.” Joining forces for the encore, both bands kicked into the instantly recognizable riff to The Talking Heads classic “Burning Down the House” with Jonathan Braun bringing a slew of energy to the performance including mimicking David Byrne’s famous stage antics. Towards the ending of the song, PTF interjected the vocal ending to Phish’s “Tweezer Reprise” as Braun chanted the ending to “Burning Down the House.” It was an inventive ending to an already inventive night which saw two of the most respected tribute bands in the northeast come together for a wildly entertaining night of music from three of the most influential bands of the last fifty years. Much like the bands they pay homage to, Pink Talking Fish and Start Making Sense utilize their music to push boundaries and create a symbiotic energy for everyone in the room. With how much fun was had during these three shows, here’s hoping both bands schedules can match up for another joint tour. Pink Talking Fish Starts Making Sense: Intertwining Sets with Pink Talking Fish & Start Making Sense Pink Talking Fish – Set 1:
Colonel Forbin’s Ascent> Run Like Hell Tennessee Jed/Ocelot Mashup> Sheep> Famous Mockingbird> Sheep> Cities*> Start Making Sense – Set 1: Cities Slippery People And She Was The Great Curve Psycho Killer Born Under Punches Wild Wild Life Road To Nowhere Nothing But Flowers*> Pink Talking Fish – Set 2: Nothing But Flowers> Tweezer> Shine On You Crazy Diamond> You Wreck Me Run Like An Antelope> Young Lust*> Start Making Sense – Set 2: Houses In Motion Stay Up Late This Must Be The Place Life During Wartime Once In A Lifetime Girlfriend Is Better Take Me To The River Cross Eyed and Painless E: Burning Down The House/Tweezer Reprise Mashup** *Full band transition **Both bands onstage together Richard James who supplies keys and vocals for Pink Talking Fish had this to say about Friday night’s show, “Last night was incredible! Penn’s Peak is one of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever had the chance to perform in!” Audio by
Keith Litzenberger Irving Plaza NY NY October 21 2017 October 21st, 2017 Irving Plaza New York, NY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTze3EzCqas&feature=youtu.be SMS Set 1: Psycho Killer, Making Flippy Floppy, Slippery People, And She Was, The Great Curve, Cities, Life During Wartime, Moon Rocks*% > PTF Set 1: Moon Rocks > Punch You In The Eye > Astronomy Domine > Fame, You Enjoy Myself > Great Gig In The Sky+ > You Enjoy Myself** > SMS Set 2: You Enjoy Myself%% > Road to Nowhere, What A Day That Was, This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), Once In A Lifetime, Girlfriend Is Better, Take Me To The River, Crosseyed And Painless, Nothing But Flowers*++ > PTF Set 2: Nothinig But Flowers > Dogs > Harry Hood, Have A Cigar+++ > Found A Job+++ > Dogs > Frankenstein E: Burning Down The House/Tweezer Reprise Mashup%% *Full band transition **Full band vocal jam transition +w Jenny Founds on vocals ++w/ Dave Brunyak on guitar +++w/ Jon Braun on vocals %w/ Little Drummer Boy tease %%Both bands onstage together Audio by Keith
Litzenberger VIDEO LINK OF GRAND FINALE – BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE/TWEEZER REPRISE MASHUP:
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