Licorice Recreates Some Old Magic At Coda

By: David Schultz

On a weekend where Licorice's keyboardist, Chad Dinzes, became swept up in one of the many late May graduation ceremonies taking place across the country, the remaining three members of Licorice, guitarist David Lott, bassist Matt Epstein and drummer Josh Bloom, amply made do at their Saturday evening show at New York City's Coda. Hearkening back to a time before Dinzes joined the band, Licorice went "Old Skool," taking the stage as a trio, solicited the help of an old and long-time friend and played a show designed to delight their long time fans. While Licorice can always be counted on to provide entertaining improvisational jams, with everyone constantly moving the music forward, this night showed that they can also play within the conventional structure of the power trio. On their opener "Name" and the following instrumental number, Epstein and Bloom provided an additional kick to their always stellar rhythm section, giving the songs a nice weighty pacing. On "What's Your Status In London," a song customarily punctuated by Dinzes' sharp keyboard work, Lott showed extraordinarily dexterous skill in remarkably transforming the song's keyboard intro into a startling guitar solo.

After their opening trio of originals, the band brought on newly engaged, 5th of July singer Sabriena Stone, reforming one of Licorice's original lineups. As the band went through a number of genres, Stone showed off a wonderful range and ability to adapt to styles as diverse as reggae, blues, pop and even some late-era, howling-Sting Police. With only her voice to match the finely-tuned musicians of Licorice, she ably held her own.

Taking advantage of the gifted vocalist Stone, Licorice pretty much abandoned their traditional catalog of instrumental heavy jams, offering instead a number of eclectic covers. Over the course of their set, Licorice and Stone touched on The Police's "Synchronicity II," T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" and a wonderful medley of Eric Clapton's "Get Ready" and The Pointer Sisters' "How Long," Playing straight covers seemed to constrain Licorice, their creativity unable to flourish when offering another's songs. In contrast, when they interpret, rather than cover, they create something memorable. Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" has long been a number covered instrumentally; with Stone adding her powerful voice, Licorice offered a version that was part cover/part hip transformation as Lott incorporated Santana's signature riffs from "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" over Epstein and Bloom's deliciously tribal beat. Lott also offered another attention-grabbing bluesy solo during their cover of "Stormy Monday." While their run through "Mystery Train" was enjoyable, their ventures into reggae fell into the same disappointing realm as most non-reggae bands' foray into the genre.

Near the close of the set, originals moved back to the forefront of the set; a fantastic duet between Stone and Lott on Licorice's "Freeze" being followed by a set-closing rendition of the witty "Say It (Your Mom Is A Vegetarian)," their inventive reworking of Blink 182's "All The Small Things." For the encore, Lott and Stone, who often play together as The Seven Eleven Project, offered a nice rendition of a Lott original while Epstein and Bloom subtly made their way towards the bathroom. The rhythm section did return in time for an evening closing romp through Men At Work's "Down Under."

Licorice and Stone's true effect on the audience came as their set proceeded apace. At the commencement of the show, the majority of the crowd dispersed themselves around Coda's perimeter, which includes some relatively comfortable seats. Drawing everyone into their circle, Licorice and Stone had practically everyone on their feet by the end of their set, decamped at the front of stage and calling for encores.