I had no idea what to expect from this show.  

I had checked out some YouTube clips and figured this wasn’t really my type of music. 

Seeing as though I’ve seen all kinds of bands this year that I wouldn’t have normally attended in years past, I decided to catch their show on my way home from Santa Monica.   It turns out that these guys really jam.   I was totally impressed.  It was happy music with a good groove.   I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.    I took pictures from the ultra-comfy couch in the back and rocked out for almost an hour and half before I realized that I was about to fall asleep for the evening.  It was a long day and the couch was way too inviting.   Had I not been so tired, I would have stayed for the rest of their show and will definitely try to catch them the next time they roll through town. 

This is a great venue in Santa Monica.  It’s very beautiful and has really good acoustics.  

The show started a little after 4PM with Perla Batalla singing some incredible tunes, including “Bird on a Wire” by Leonard Cohen.  She also did a tribute to Lou Reed.   IT was a fitting way to start the show.

ACS came out around 5:00 and played an hour and a half of great jazz.  The interplay between the bass, drums and piano was magnificent and the musicianship was fantastic.  They played a few Wayne Shorter tunes early in the set.   Geri Allen kept it all together with her phenomenal piano playing.   Terri Lyne Carrington was great on the drums.    Esperanza Spalding played incredible bass lines and sang a song by Geri Allen later in the set.   She has an incredibly musical voice.  It was quite the musical excursion.

Geri Allen
Terri Lyne Carrington
Esperanza Spalding
Perla Batalla, opener

William Shatner – Narration/ Poetry/ MC

CIRCA
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Members    
Tony Kaye – keys
Billy Sherwood – guitar vocals
Ricky Tierney – bass
Scott Connor – drums