By David Schultz

When is the best time to play in the City that never sleeps? The answer is simple: in the dead of night. Making good use of New York City's seemingly unlimited nocturnal energy, Particle invaded Irving Plaza for a late night show in conjunction with the closing festivities of this weekend's CMJ Marathon. Hitting the stage well after 1 in the morning, Particle refused to let their fans grow weary, keeping them grooving with their exceptional high powered, techno-based jams. Perhaps owing to the late hour, Particle played to a half-full auditorium. No worries though, the audience gamely filled the space, dancing and twirling until the wee hours of the morning.

This night, Particle derived its energy from hirsute keyboardist Steve Molitz. Throughout the evening, Molitz, who has expertly cultivated the Godspell-era Jesus Christ look and easily could be mistaken for a less anorexic Chris Robinson, alternated between setting the mood for the band, providing synthesized soundscapes for them to play over, and setting the place on fire with his unassuming keyboard solos. Completely owning the crowd, Molitz often took over the show, getting the crowd to spasmodically bend and contort with him while he literally draped himself around his synthesizers. To a lesser extent, guitarist Charlie Hitchcock captured the crowd with his steamrolling techno-rock guitar work, offering a nice contrast to Molitz' more mellifluous keyboards.

Following their own muse, Particle included only two songs from their debut release Launchpad, while storming through a furious set of instrumental jams. Anchored by the stellar rhythm section of drummer Darren Pujalet and bassist Eric Gould, who swayed metronomically throughout the show, Particle joyously and tirelessly stretched each song to its musical limit. Opening with a roaring cover of Beck's E-Pro, the band reveled in their California roots, later including a rendition of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Suck My Kiss with Gould expertly emulating Flea's gut-rumbling bass line and the audience gleefully singing the chorus.

In a refreshing move, the band appeared to forego the farce of the traditionally staged encore break, finishing their set with Sun Mar 11. The quartet added significant muscle to Launchpad's laid-back closing track, building to a false finish before finally winding up the show after a furious 2+ hours. After spending a couple minutes glad-handing with their fans, the band returned to their instruments and gave the crowd an encore of Harold Faltermeyer's Beverly Hills Cop theme Axel F.

Early arrivals caught a glimpse of the eclectic Gabby La La. Decked out with a shocking pink wig and oversized ski goggles, Ms. La (or is it Ms. La La?) played a short, perfunctory set. Accompanying herself on the electric sitar, accordion and Theremin, Gabby riffled through covers of Technotronic's Pump Up The Jams and Roy Orbison's In Dreams before finishing with a call-and-response sing-along of her own Boogie Woogie Man. La La, a winsome performer with a pixyish voice, engaged the audience but the limitations of being an opening act weighed heavily on her performance. Given just a short period of time, the sweetly off-kilter La La seemed like a children's performer who had been sent to the wrong party instead of Les Claypool's latest protégé.

Particle does not simply play their songs, they make commitments to them. A typical tune customarily clocks in somewhere around fifteen minutes and leaves no musical stone unturned. However, these California rockers should not be confused with their jangly, laid-back, blues-rock jamband brethren. Calmly but relentlessly tackling every song from start to finish, Particle wastes no time driving their audience into a frenzy. Counting on the band to deliver, Particle's fans hold up their end of the bargain, bringing an upbeat excitement and oftentimes loony energy into the mix. The hybrid works and the ravelike atmosphere of a Particle show could shortly turn their tours into must-catch events.

Photo Credit: ParticlePeople.com

Labels: Particle