Pete Sawyer & The Left Hand Monkey Wrench Gang & Brightshine Album Release

320-2 Cedar Street,Santa Cruz CA 95060

23 July, 2022

Description

*ATTENTION: KUUMBWA COVID-19 POLICY: Proof of COVID-19 vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 PCR test (taken within 48 hours of the performance time), with matching photo ID, will be required at the door for entry. Masks are encouraged. Pete Sawyer and The Left Hand Monkey Wrench Gang have made anime for itself by offering high-energy editions of Grateful Dead classics and Deep cuts. Every show features a unique setlist played by Pete Sawyer and a rotating cast of the Bay Area’s most accomplished interpreters of Grateful Dead music. Walking a middle path between bands that seek to sound exactly like the Dead and bands that play the songs and sound nothing like the Dead, the LHMW Gang manages to connect to the Grateful Dead sound and vibe while still taking the music somewhere new. Brightshine’s upcoming album “The Wire” was born out of quarantine, a period that proved to be creatively fruitful for the band. During this time, their funky style incorporated energizing rock-based sounds. Brightshine’s expressive playing, and scintillating, deeply musical improvisations showcase Sawyers' stylistically diverse compositions and feature unusual and masterfully executed harmonic structures that are adorned with deep, multi-layered lyrics. WIth most of the album recorded live off the floor of the studio, the group’s excitement in being able to play again after quarantine explodes out of the deep grooves kicked out by the band, while their innovative and expansive sound plays like every note they hit is their last.