On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

Medeski, Martin And Wood
October 30, 1999
The Guvernment, Toronto

The evening began much like I'd envision the scene outside a Phish show or the last Dead show. Lost souls in search of one, just one singular ticket to be free and so they can open their mind to the stellar performance of the collective known as Medeski, Martin And Wood.

Ninties flower power was alive and well this night as tie-dyed strangers converged in search of that elusive entry pass. Demonstrating the need was the stoic walker with one lonesome finger aimed at the sky, crying out "Hey brother got a spare." Conspicuous in their absence were those intrusive vermin known as scalpers. It was beautiful; finally a show where those who wanted to see the band bought all the tickets — a completely sold out 1544 jazz enthusiasts were at the Guvernment.

Playing two sets on the night, the first started at 6:30 pm.m and lasted one hour and was the perfect warm up to a splendid organic evening. The second set started right on time at 8 p.m. and lasted an hour-and-a-half. Watching MMW, it was clear they know each other better than most husbands know their wives. On many occasions either John Medeski, Chris Wood or Billy Martin would spontaneously initiate a change and the others would be right there. Led by drummer Billy Martin, clearly the conductor in the group, the guys grooved through all their non-hits to the delight of the crow by blending every form of percussion and harmony unknown to mankind. I kind of felt like a guinea pig of sorts listening to Billy Martin create sounds on the sides of his drums. It worked, it all worked, every note was perfect.

The selections from the album Shakman drew the most hollers. But the most intriguing part of the show was the power the band had on the crowd, they were in complete control, dictating in a way. They captivated the audience with words, song and instrumentation. My god these guys are good.