The air on Saturday night, September 22 was thick with Patchouli as a sellout crowd of post-Jerry Deadheads in long dreads and tie-dyes got primed for Twiddle at the Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Following a danceable and resin soaked opening set from St. Petersburg natives Resinated that could have easily been a headlining set, Twiddle took the stage to thunderous applause.
With Yoda watching over the stage from in front of the drum kit, the funkiness began. Twiddle is not easy to categorize musically. Are they a Jam band, a funk band or a reggae band? The short answer is yes. This was on full display on this Saturday night as the Vermont natives jammed their way through a set was reggae jam funk filled, much to the delight of the ecstatic crowd. Twiddle, fronted by Mihali Savoulidis, played with an excitement and clarity that would carry them through an evening of extended riffs and jams. Laying down the groove behind Mr. Savoulidis and his lead guitar was Zdenek Gubb on bass while the tempo was kept flowing by Brook Jordan on drums and Ryan Dempsey on the keys.
The Vermont rockers rolled through a setlist of their most recognizable jams as well as some of the more obscure tracks that were familiar to the more hardcore fans. The improvisation throughout the night was made even more special by Mr. Savoulidis and Mr. Gubb seemingly playing off each other as they challenged the other to follow along and keep the jam alive.
For the post-Garcia Deadheads as well as everyone else, the evening was a success as Twiddle pulled out all the stops for a rollicking and jam filled show that fans of rock, reggae and extended jams loved.