Date: October 21, 2014
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge (NY)
Concert review by Dante Mann
Photo by Dante Mann
Secret Chiefs 3 (SC3), an instrumental rock band formed by Trey Spruance played a show for an enthusiastic crowd in the round at Le Poisson Rouge, October 21. SC3 is the name for seven different groups of musicians and has a rotating roster of members, each representing different facet of Spruance’s musical eccentricities. While I consider SC3 firmly in the rock genre, there are many other facets to their music (Cuban, Motown, Indian, Arab, death metal, and in particular Persian), Spruance’s interest in Iranian music, culture, and philosophy has given SC3 a distinctly Persian flavor.
The bands leader and chief composer (pun intended) Trey Spruance may not be a household name but through his work with Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, and most recently SC3, has influenced countless alternative metal, funk metal and nu metal bands.
The performance began with a jubilant classical waltz, then I was overtaken with neoclassical Gothic metal and, before I had a chance to adjust, a completely new movement of whimsical circus music replaced it. These unexpected and manic changes are indicative of Trey Spruance’s compositional style.
The circular stage made for a more intimate event, and like any performance the close you are physically to the stage, the more intense the effects of the music. As a musician’s musician, Spruance could have easily hogged the spotlight with adoring (mostly musician) fans looking on, but instead with a hood covering most of his face he sat down away from the action and gave the other members a chance to shine. SC3’s multi-instrumentalist Timba Harris’s mastery of violin and trumpet added a world music feel to what otherwise would have been standard rock instrumentation. I particularly found Kenny Grohowski’s percussion to be amazing and inspiring, through all of the shifts in the tempo and style, there was a consistent western perspective concerning the up and down beat making these contrasting styles of music digestible for a rock audience.
Secret Chiefs 3 have played a very important role in exposing people to new and different combinations of sound from around the world and in the process have given composers and musicians everywhere an open invitation to make the music they want and take to it anywhere it wants to go.
This was a great performance. I found it entertaining to merely watch and listen for the next surprising shift.
Trey Spruance and SC3 were at their best; based on the eager audience, they agree.
DooBeeDoo had the pleasure of interviewing Spruance in 2011 (watch video below); he spoke of operational aspects of touring, his connection with Iranian culture, and much more.o
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