By: David Schultz

U-Melt is a band that doesn’t waste time. At their traditional New York City New Year’s Eve after-hours show, played this year at the HighLine Ballroom, it took U-Melt only six hours of the New Year to finish what may very likely turn out to be the best show of 2008 and if they haven’t, Rob Salzer (guitar), Zac Lasher (keys), Adam Bendy (bass) and George Miller (drums) set the bar for everyone else at an Olympian height.

Since welcoming in 2005 at the Lion’s Den, U-Melt’s late night party to ring in the New Year has evolved into one of Manhattan’s more exciting traditions. Having moved from the now-defunct Coda to the main room of The Knitting Factory, U-Melt has graduated to the spacious HighLine Ballroom. Despite the late hour and the demands prior New Year’s Eve activities can take on your sobriety, U-Melt’s NYE shows have always been well attended. However this year, the scene exploded. When the band took the stage at 2:30 a.m., both levels of the HighLine were filled and they remained populated by dancing partygoers until the band wound things up at 6:00 a.m. Although they fell a bit short of their stated goal of playing until the break of dawn, they came pretty close. I am relatively sure I saw some cows coming home as I made my way uptown after the show. (In all honesty, they might have been drunken sorority girls but never let an ugly fact ruin a good folksy colloquialism).

U-Melt’s unrelenting 3½ hour set kicked off with their interpretation of Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” which segued nicely into “Green Amber.” Once they picked up steam, U-Melt would drift in and out of songs, organically moving on wherever the music took them. High-spirited versions of “Carne” and “Escape” followed their own muse with guitarist Rob Salzer and keyboardist Zac Lasher working in their typical array of highly creative solos. An emerging guitar god, Salzer consistently produced some stunning guitar solos that were notable for the fact that they rarely drew attention away from the song or the rest of the band. Not to be outdone, Lasher produced a variety of moods with his various keyboards, creating a suitably spacey mood on a cover of Seal’s “Crazy” and giving a carnivalesque feel to “The Fantastic Flight Of Captain Delicious.” The last hour of the show was dominated by a laid-back version of “Go” and an explosive “Red Star” In the midst of this run, Salzer worked in a leisurely version of “Auld Lang Syne.” While comparing it to Hendrix doing “The Star Spangled Banner” might be praising it too effusively, it was an impressive bit of craftsmanship and did bring Jimi’s Woodstock moment to mind.

As a special treat, Jim Loughlin of moe., who played earlier in the evening at Radio City Music Hall, sat in with the band for the middle portion of the set. Making phenomenal use of his menagerie of percussion instruments that practically filled the rear of the stage, Loughlin seamlessly blended in with U-Melt, especially during their Zappa-inspired jams. If you weren’t familiar with U-Melt, you would have been hard pressed to discern that Loughlin wasn’t a fifth member. He and Miller worked remarkably well with each other, never stepping on each other toes. On some songs, U-Melt opened up spaces for Loughlin; on others, Loughlin saw where there was room and filled it appropriately (and expertly). Leaving no opportunity wasted, their cover of Frank Zappa’s “Dancin’ Fool” wouldn’t have been complete without an inspired MalletKat solo.

At the end of the night, U-Melt returned to the stage after a brief respite for a quick run through Kool & The Gang’s “Get Down On It.” Even though they were temporarily short one bass player, Lasher, Salzer and Miller playfully began the song, working the funky groove until Bendy found his way back. With the crowd hailing his return as that of a conquering hero, the typically reserved bassist raised his hands above his head and slapped hands with everyone congregated by the front of the stage in a figurative victory lap. It was a nice moment as the crowd seized the opportunity to show their appreciation for Bendy’s exceptional contributions.

Last year, I strongly urged everyone to make a New Year’s resolution to become a U-Melt fan. While I’m not presumptuous enough to take credit for it, I will say that in 2007 a great number of people came across that idea on their own. As the crowd at the HighLine might indicate, this year could be shaping up as U-Melt’s breakout year. Along with Tea Leaf Green, U-Melt will get the honor of opening up the newly christened Sullivan Hall (formerly Lion’s Den) and later this month will headline the Fox Theater in Boulder, Colorado. They will also return to Sullivan Hall in late March to play their first two night stand in New York City as headliners.

If you haven’t got yourself acquainted with U-Melt yet, what are you waiting for? Get on this: Now!