By: David Schultz

At last year's Brooklyn, New York edition of the Big Summer Classic touring festival, New Monsoon introduced themselves to good number of New Yorkers who knew enough to show up for their early afternoon opening set. Mixing bluegrass style strumming with Middle Eastern percussion, New Monsoon have crafted a distinctly singular sound. Just recently, the San Francisco rockers returned to the Big Apple as part of their co-headlining tour with their California counterparts Hot Buttered Rum for two shows at the Lower East Side's Mercury Lounge. For the Friday night show, New Monsoon took the stage close to midnight, energizing the crowd for close to two hours.

In the absence of percussionist Rajiv Parikh, New Monsoon didn't venture deep into their Middle Eastern tinged repertoire. Instead, the New Monsoon 6 focused their set around Jeff Miller's classic rock guitar, Bo Carper's banjo and lap steel guitar and a smattering of guest appearances. The middle of show saw nicely compatible visits from Animal Liberation Orchestra's Dan Lebowitz on "Greenhouse" and Steve Adams on "Trippy Keys." Bassist Ben Bernstein tagged out to Ron Johnson of Karl Denson's Tiny Universe for "Another Day (In Purgatory)" and returned for a double-bass cover of The Who's "Eminence Front." The Who cover didn't seem incredibly tied in to the rest of the San Francisco band's set, especially in light of the set closing cover of the Allman Brothers' "Jessica." Following New Monsoon's set finishing run through "Buckets Of Rain" and the hoe-down worthy, banjo-heavy "Daddy Long Legs," the Brothers and Sisters classic came across as a tip of the hat to one of their apparent influences.

One thing New Monsoon brings to the table is an extraordinary sense of fun. About a year ago at the Big Summer Classic, they replicated the eerie spacey sounds from Pink Floyd's "Echoes" with a simple party balloon. About two-thirds of the way through their Mercury Lounge set, they brought out a dancer who gyrated to Brian Carey's bongo solo. The dancer didn't add much to the music, however she did add a sense of whimsy and fun that spread throughout the remainder of the set. They will keep the tour on the road until Thanksgiving and after a short break will rejoin Hot Buttered Rum for three year end shows at Cervantes Masterpiece in Denver, CO.

Labels: New Monsoon