Right around the same time disco morphed into house music, 1970s dinosaur rock began its own transformation. Once sneered at for their onstage wankery and long stretches of super-size soloing, bands like the Allman Brothers, Little Feat, and Traffic became jam-band groundbreakers. The big difference between these old-school behemoths and their shaggy-haired progeny is the latter’s clever fusion of genres: funk, jazz, hip-hop, krautrock, metal, and math-rock have all joined the musical party.
Cleveland’s contribution to this field includes a bunch of noodle-happy groups that offer their own spins on tradition. Three of the bands perform this week. The four-piece MödQuad plays songs — that’s right, songs, not just jams — which feature deep grooves with jazz-funk shadings. Papadosio heavily seasons its Phish food with electronica-oriented rock that covers everyone from Pink Floyd to Radiohead. And Jones For Revival equalizes its soulfully mellow tunes with imaginative jazz runs. Jam on it!
This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2008.