By: David Schultz

In awarding Wetlands Preserve founder Larry Bloch the Industry Insider Award at this year's Jammys, former Wetlands booker Jake Szufnarowski deviated (hopefully) from his prepared remarks to announce, "I think it's a crime that The Benevento Russo Duo didn't win a single award. If Joe (Russo) and Marco (Benevento) had been here, they would tear this fucking place down." While not inspiring presenters to go into unprovoked apoplectic fits, Marco Benevento and Joe Russo are gearing up for the most important summer of the Duo's young career. Since winning the 2005 New Groove of the Year Jammy award, the Duo have tirelessly been on the road, supporting their debut release Best Reason To Buy The Sun, growing their reputation as an innovative live act and preparing material for a new album to be released later this year.

At the Bowery Ballroom this past Friday night, Benevento and Russo presented some newer songs from their upcoming album, tentatively entitled Play, Pause Stop, while reworking some familiar tunes. Russo and Benevento face one another while playing, each occupying half the stage, making their setup an interesting logistical oddity. This allows Benevento to occasionally face the audience but Russo remains in profile for the entire evening. In the past, Benevento seemed a little uncomfortable on stage, appearing to hide behind his long mane of hair while churning out electrifying melodies from his multitude of keyboards. This past Friday, Benevento appeared extraordinarily comfortable and his keyboard work came across as increasingly more focused. When not rolling his arms in ways that would tear the rotator cuffs of mere mortals, the apparently double-jointed Russo seemed to amuse himself by inventing different ways to play the drums. Seemingly bored with traditional drum work, Russo's a marvel to watch, poking, prodding and acrobatically striking the set from a variety of seemingly impossible angles. Benevento performed less impressive gymnastics, stretching his lanky frame between his usual keyboard menagerie.

The Duo played their newer material early in the show, opening with the longtime live staple "Play Pause Stop." The keyboard/drum formula doesn't seem like it would lend itself to a wide variety of music, but Benevento and Russo explode that belief in nuclear proportions. Their newer material, which this night included "Echo Park," "Something For Rockets" and "Soba," sounded remarkably different from their prior efforts, showing a promising creative bent. The show built to a powerful close. Benevento and Russo worked a bossa nova intro into funky percussive "Becky," an avant-garde interlude into "Scratchitti" and slammed into a bone-shaking version of "Best Reason To Buy The Sun," which isn't on the album that bears its name. If it appears on the new album, it will cause the most song-to-album confusion since "Houses Of The Holy" appeared on Physical Graffiti.

As they did on their last visit to the Bowery Ballroom, the Duo closed the set with a Radiohead cover. During "Paranoid Android," the pair imaginatively interpreted the intricate Radiohead song into a keyboard/drum masterpiece. Near the close of the song, Russo left the stage allowing Benevento a lengthy opportunity to solo before a hushed crowd. In contrast to their last Bowery appearance, the audience remained respectfully quiet for the softer interludes and readings of "Mephisto" and "Memphis," featuring Russo on acoustic guitar, weren't drowned out this time by crowd chatter.

Halfway through the show, Benevento confirmed the rumor that they would be joining Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon on tour this summer. His excitement apparent, Benevento took delight in tweaking his future tour mates, noting that he and Russo used to listen to Phish when they were growing up. The present plans seem to have the foursome, who became acquainted with each other while recording Anastasio's new album, playing three weeks of dates with Phil Lesh & Friends. Two former Phishmates playing with a keyboard player and drummer for which they have an affinity will surely have jamband fanatics salivating. While Benevento and Russo could and never will replace McConnell and Fishman, a Benevento/Russo/Anastasio/Gordon quartet gives rise to some extremely intriguing possibilities.

The Duo's summer will entail more than some high-profile shows with their famous friends. After a couple early May shows in New Jersey, the Duo will appear at the Jam On The River at Penn's Landing, Warren Haynes' Mountain Jam at Hunter Mountain, Wakarusa Music Festival in Lawrence, KS, the 10,000 Lakes Festival with Mike Gordon in Detroit Lakes, MN, Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park and the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. Benevento and Russo's predilection for sitting in with other musicians make them custom made for camaraderie bred by the festival atmosphere. If 2005 was the Benevento Russo Duo's year to be the new groove, 2006 is shaping up as their year to be the dominant groove.

Labels: Benevento/Russo Duo, Joe Russo, Marco Benevento