By: David Schultz
Photo: Jeremy Gordon (via Wikipedia)

There’s a flip side to seeing a great band in their early stages: for as great a thrill it can be to see them grow, build confidence and broaden their fan base with every show, it’s frustrating when the genius and talent you see isn’t catching on worldwide with the same viral rapidity that propels vacant, untalented pop stars to the upper echelons of notoriety. For all the fond remembrances people have of Phish’s early days, it’s often forgotten that it took them almost a decade before the H.O.R.D.E. tour propelled them on to headlining amphitheaters. Having first seen U-Melt in late 2005, I’ve had to cope with the fact that the realities of building a successful band that can carry on a sustained career really doesn’t correspond to my timetable of how quickly I think it should occur. Said a little less eruditely: I know that U-Melt puts on some of the most eclectic, energetic and flat-out fun live shows of any band out there today, so why am I not being joined by tens of thousands of people at every show?

My unrealistic views aside, U-Melt’s appeal is definitely growing at an above-average pace. Their New York City New Year’s Eve after-hours shows, especially this year's edition at the HighLine Ballroom, are things of beauty and wonderment and with every show; bigger rooms are needed to handle their expanding fan base. Far from complacent, U-Melt - Rob Salzer (guitar), Zac Lasher (keys), Adam Bendy (bass) and George Miller (drums) – are consistently growing bolder and more confident with each show and it was evident this past Friday night when they made their return to NYC’s HighLine Ballroom.

Songs like “The Fantastic Flight of Captain Delicious” and “A Robbins Tale Nos. 1 & 2” have evolved into remarkable live pieces (and prompted the crowd to beckon for “A Robbins Tale No. 3”), longtime staples like “Red Star” and “Sequel” remain potent and in covering Black Sabbath’s “Faeries Wear Boots” and Billy Joel’s “Pressure” showed that they remain deft interpreters of other artist’s material. Playing for nearly 3 ½ hours, U-Melt kept the crowd deeply involved with the show, seeming to respond to any slight energy lag with something to raise the room’s collective spirit. Bendy now segues songs together with his bass work, Salzer continuously finds new ways to impress with his guitar-God like skills, Miller, one of my favorite drummers, always finds new ways to keep things pulsing and as exemplified on the Joel cover, Lasher knows how to send the band soaring on the wings of his keyboards.

U-Melt will make their way to Colorado via the Midwest for shows with Particle and The Breakfast and will be covering a lot of ground on their fall tour before their next local performance, a proper New Year’s Eve headlining gig at the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey with BuzzUniverse opening the festivities. Lasher is an avid Springsteen fan, so those who like to speculate on cover tunes can start doing the math yourselves. Shows in legendary rooms aside, I will expect to see U-Melt grow faster than Phish in one regard - they have until 2015 to move the New Year’s Eve show to Madison Square Garden.

Labels: U-Melt