This was the second time witnessing this band that plays at the Tranzac every first Thursday of each month starting at 9:30pm.

If you truly wanted an original experience from a band, Masaru can make it happen.

What makes them a true stand out band is that you never really know how many will show up. There may be a guest musician. It all happens in the moment. In fact, that is the way they approach their music as well.

It was as if every musician had Robin William’s ears.  The level of their listening skills is at the peak of professionalism and their live performance is 100% improvisation.

It is like watching a painter create a brand new art piece right in front of you. It doesn’t really matter how long you take, each stroke just pushes the journey forward.  Well this band does that with notes. Each member contributes their part of the sonic landscape and together they form an entire journey in front of you.

Here is my interpretation of what I heard.

Part 1- Like a buttercup waking up on its first day, the universe stopped to feel gratitude. From that moment I finally looked up to see 7 musicians creating a secular universe filled with promise and we were all floating through it like well deserved vacation peering through the window of our tour bus.

When the piano serenade emerged, it created a lighter side of nature and you could hear the birds flying closer.

Part 2- The band invited guest mandolin player, Logan McNeil to add a new layer to this tapestry. Like a whisper in the wind; the butterfly effect has taken shape. It slowly turned into a lion’s roar and it was telling the world who is king. After a long drawn out conflict, there is peace in the jungle again.

Part 3- Life in the cosmic realm is a peaceful place. This was a great segue from the last piece of music. It became a light celebratory dance amongst the insect of this place. It was a fun party, and then the piano set the mood to have us lay down for some needed rest. This slowly submitted itself into REM and boy did we dream….

Part 4- We received a short reprise of cosmic bluegrass, that just stopped by to mow your lawn. It was an aperitif right before our break.

Take a break and flip over the imagined album and side 2 begins a new conceptual journey.

Part 5- We are lonely and lost in the woods and a full moon is lighting our way. You can sense the wolves are on the hunt in the distant. The days grow colder as snow fall on the prairies and drifts on the cold flat ground.

The day arises and warms up the ground so new growth can appear and reach for the sun. Lushness appears everywhere and this once lonely place is thriving again.

Part 6- Masaru decided to take us on a tropical trip with plenty of coconuts. In fact we learned some kind of mambo Tango twist that got our spirits dancing for days.

Like life, discord entered the room like a grieving phantom and the discomfort set in. From left field a cool mist came and covered everything it could and slowly wrapped it up into the spiritual state of a chrysalis. What happened next? Nirvana…

Part 7- The band finished off this journey with a somber movement of the aftermath. It did not leave us in ruin, because this trip, like a great western just rode off into the sunset.

Yes this was my 2 hour vacation, and I am a much better person for taking it. If you are the kind of person that can absorb the power of the NOW, then this may be the kind of show you have been looking for. This is where I get to preach a little and say isn’t it time you went outside your front door and go and discover your music. Well, some of it I right here once a month.

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