Displace | Yeoman’s Road Pub 12.14.13

Those of you who have suffered through my past missives know I like words, lots of words, especially adjectives. And superlatives.

So the word for the day is exceptional. “Exceptional” is my view of Displace, “an eclectic four-piece that plays space-fink dance-disco jams.” Well, that is a quote from their website. I would say it is entirely accurate.

We first saw Displace open for the Malah at the Crowbar in November. They came out throwing down hard, mindful of their tight time limit and feeding off the energy of the boisterous Crowbar-ites. It was a superb performance. At the center of the maelstrom was Chris Sgammato, a triple-threat on alto sax, guitar and vocals. The music was strong, raucous and delicious! Linda and I definitely wanted more.

So we headed to Yeoman’s Road Pub on Davis Island last night for round two. As we arrived, Displace was jamming on a lanky, bouncy take on “Cissy Strut,” which then segued several times through really funky jams. In the intimate setting at Yeoman’s, the first thing that emerged for me was how talented each member of the quartet is. Drummer Tucker Sody drives the jams relentlessly with his funky beats, and then it was Vinny Svoboda’s bass that stood out.

Sgammatto was moving effortlessly back and forth from alto to guitar and back. More than anything this night, however, I was blown out by Sam Dobkin’s fabulous guitar solos and chunky, funky chords. These boys can jam!

Much of the second set struck me as very Zappa-esque, and I say that as the greatest compliment I can offer. Dobkin on guitar and Sgammato on alto sax wrangled and parried, and then Sgammato would switch to guitar, and they would launch out in another direction. It was one fabulous night. Exceptional. That’s the word.

Check out their music on: http://www.reverbnation.com/displacemusic

And, if you like what you hear, vote for them to go to AURA.  [They DID win and nailed their AURA set!]