The Catharsis of Live Music Has Returned to Small Clubs [Electron @ Ardmore Music Hall Recap]

Written by Zachary Franck
Photos by Ron Adleberg

The catharsis of live music has returned to small independent venues in the northeast. The magic feeling that thousands upon thousands chase every year has begun to show itself once again. Electron, the jamtronica supergroup from Philadelphia,  returned to Ardmore Music Hall in the suburbs of Philadelphia for two nights of raw musical expression. As the COVID-19 pandemic outstretched from one month to the next, many were unsure of what the future held for small clubs and theaters. Luckily for some, they were able to utilize the time to renovate their layout and make upgrades – Ardmore Music Hall did exactly that. With limited capacity, they opened their doors and fans showed immense gratitude. The atmosphere was jovial and the experience will be remembered by many as their first indoor concert post-pandemic.

For fans of jamtronica, a good Electron show can be special. The four piece features bassist Marc Brownstein and keyboardist Aron Magner of The Disco Biscuits, drummer Mike Greenfield of Lotus, and guitarist Tom Hamilton from Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. All four of them have made names for themselves during the last two decades in their respective projects. When they come together to play as Electron, their experience fuses with their friendship and shines through with palpable synchronicity. As a band that barely practices and rarely plays shows, they’re able to reach some pretty spectacular improvisational depths.

Friday night’s show was littered with prime examples of the things that make Electron stand out as one of the most entertaining projects in the scene. They started the night off with an Aron Magner original, Soul Is Shaking. Right away, it was apparent that Tom Hamilton was coming off an inspired week of playing music with The Grateful Dead’s drummer Bill Kreutzmann in Hawaii (along with Carlos Santana and a handful of other extremely talented players). His playing had an extra level of passionate tenacity from the jump. Next came a standalone rendition of the Brownstein original, Chemical Warfare Brigade, the title track of his rock opera. The rock opera was debuted by Electron on August 18th, 2000 at Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia.

The back end of the first set was filled with killer playing from the band, individually and collectively. Therapy produced one of the stand out jams of the night – they showed great control, utilizing it to cradle the energy in the room before bringing it to a head. Following it up with a massive M.E.M.P.H.I.S. > And The Ladies Were The Rest Of The Night to close out the first set, they were heating up and had the crowd rocking. Brownstein’s basslines cut through the mix with a sharp heaviness that you could feel in your chest. He locked in with Greenfield and laid into the pocket with a natural presence that was easily recognizable.

They kicked off the second set with one of Brownstein’s most requested songs, Floodlights. It was one of many moments that showed off the melodic chemistry of Aron Magner and Tom Hamilton, the fact that both of them just played together in Hawaii for a week obviously added to the equation. It was cool to see Magner on a stripped down rig of three keyboards in comparison to the space station he uses with the Biscuits. Tommy Hamilton made great use of his whammy pedal on multiple occasions, he really pulls off some of those Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) stylings.

They brought the dynamics down and slid into Confrontation with an elemental smoothness that they’ve almost always been able to tap into. It was good, but the jam in Confrontation was one of the highlights of the night. Once Magner found the right patch on the Virus, it was an unadulterated serving of trance-fusion. They rode the energy into Rock Candy with definitive power and Mike Greenfield got a chance to flex his chops for a minute. His big drum fills in Rock Candy were definitely Steward Copeland inspired. Leaving Rock Candy unfinished, they jammed into 42 which featured Run Like Hell and Another Brick In The Wall teases before soaring into an absolutely electric Confrontation ending. Tommy’s playing contained an idealistic mixture of tangible soulfulness and purposeful technicality during the entire segment.

They ended the second set with a standalone rendition of Portal to an Empty Head which created some nice space for them to create soundscapes. When they returned to the stage for the encore, it only took a few moments for people to realize what was coming. Like so many times before, they capped the night off with Comfortably Numb. Electron covers the Pink Floyd classic(s) as good as any jam band, and Tommy shreds the solo in that song like its second nature at this point.

From start to finish, all four of them played with passion and consistency. Most of all, they were having a lot of fun together and it reflected into the crowd. It was truly awesome to be back inside a small venue to see high energy improvisational rock n’ roll. The livestreams have been cool, but the multi-faceted experience of a live concert cannot be manufactured or recreated. The alchemy of live music with an engaged crowd is ancient and embedded into our DNA – the catharsis that it produces is unmatched and does wonders for the mind, body, and spirit. Electron and the crowd at Ardmore Music Hall captured the essence that everyone has missed on Friday night… and wow, it felt good to be back.

WATCH THE FULL SET: