Asbury Hall in Buffalo, NY hosted a night of funky & jazzy jam music last Tuesday with Lettuce. The Boston-based Lettuce has roots going back to 1992 where they all were enrolled at the Berklee College of music. The band members had a common interest in the music of Herbie Hancock, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Tower of Power that led them to form a group and make records of original music. Asbury Hall is fast becoming a staple in the city of Buffalo. To give a little history on the venue, Asbury Hall was a church that was rescued and remodeled by Buffalo born musician Ani DeFranco. For this show, the floor was open for and full of dancers and fans of funky dance music.
As Lettuce took the stage, the warmed-up crowd was ready for some good time funky music. From the first notes of “Lobbiest,” the band had a hold on the crowd. Heads were bopping and feet were tapping. Full-on dancing funk took over and Lettuce was in command. “Purple Cabbage” and “Yakatori” turned into long funk jams. A highlight was a cover of “Footsteps” by the Isley Brothers. The funk continued on for a full three hour show. Led by bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes, guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff, keyboardist Nigel Hall, drummer Adam Deitch, and horn players Eric ‘Benny” Bloom, and Ryan Zoidis, Lettuce is an act worth seeing.
Setlist:
Lobbiest
Outta Here
Krewe
Purple Cabbage
Yakitori
Intimate Friends
Footsteps (Isley Brothers cover)
Blast Off
Black Satin
Pocket Change
Mini Rips Hard
Madison Square
Do It Like You Do
Funky Drummer
Encore:
Palm Grease
We would like to thank Bari Liberman from Press Here for the credentials to review the show.
