The Throwdown Blues Band like to turn up the intensity; entertain enrapt Tap audience

The Throwdown Blues Band like to turn up the intensity; entertain enrapt Tap audience

By Bill Copeland

BillCopelandMusicNews

The Throwdown blues band hit The Tap in Haverhill, Massachusetts last night, and they kept the dinner crowd focused on them all night long. This band will never be one of those acts that gets ignored while people make conversation. They’re intense and a bit loud. In fact, the local police department called to tell them to turn down. Later in the third set, singer Eric Savoie said into this microphone, “We have to turn down because the people over there are upset,” and nodded his head toward a club at the far end of the building.

Opening with an instrumental number it became clear that the guitarist who prefers to be called Stan C loves his foot pedals, especially when they let him take it up high and keep it there. An Iron Maiden inspired musician as a younger man, that heavy metal sound influences his take on the blues. His blues are on fire. Throwdown moved on to “Some Day Baby” and Savoie proved right off the bat he can maintain a balance between belting and gentle crooning, though he seems to be more comfortable in an aggressive mode.

The main chemistry in this band is between the guitarist and the vocalist with the rhythm section keeping it in the pocket. On up tempo songs, the rhythm section keeps up and maintains a solid bottom. On slow songs and on slow boil numbers, the rhythm section really comes alive. That’s when drummer Skip Ficsher and bassist Jon Peresada layer a lot of gravy over the potatoes. When the guitar got funkier on “If You Love Me Like You Say,” shooting off multiple riffs, the rhythm guys really got into it and gave the song its needed bop. Peresada used to play in punk bands in his younger days, that might be what gives some extra bite to his low end approach to the blues and classic rock.

“Born Under A Bad Sign” was distinguished only by the guitar. The song has been recorded so many times over and so many bar bands play it to the point of cliché that this would have been tedious if the guitar mania didn’t go over the top. Guitar wailing and wild phrasing and bark at the moon vocals is the real trademark of Throwdown. They don’t ever find a groove. They just let it rip. The mid tempo “I Can’t Quit You, Baby” came off with the flavor of blues with the fierce delivery of Led Zeppelin and other modern interpretations. Yet, Throwdown does have their own distinct sound. That they don’t ape anyone else also keeps them watchable. The rhythm section really strutted their stuff on this Willie Dixon tune, Ficsher moving it along with some extra drum rolls and rolling low end notes that kept it flowing, flexible, at a breezy pace.

Savoie sought and gained crowd participation for “It’s A Boogie Thing,” inspiring the crowd to shout it out with him during pauses in this song that they also tore into. It was hard to believe the players could stop so suddenly to draw the audience into shouting along with them.

“Going Down” gave the band a chance to get aggressive again and the fiery high-pitched notes coming from his Stan C’s guitar were mind-blowing. Throwdown’s original tune “Help Me” had a nice bouncy beat that made you want to bop your head along, tap your feet, snap your fingers. The Jimi Hendrix classic “Red House” let the rhythm section move to the front of song, opening spaces for more impressive guitar flights and soulful vocals. “Cold Shot” showed off the band’s tight ensemble playing and their “Hootchie Kootchie Man” was an inventive take on a blues classic, with theirs being more flamboyant and hard rocking.

Throwdown tore threw “Voodoo Chile” and they really hit their stride at the up tempo portion of the song, with a lot of power coming from the guitar. They got more rhythmic on “All Your Loving I Miss Loving,” but even when they’re playing more groove-oriented material they tend to stay on an even keel with the edgy delivery. Throwdown might not ever make you feel like dancing. But they will certainly always be fun to party with.

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