Friday night at Canopy Club was a joyous celebration of friendship, dancing and music, thanks to an unbelievable performance by Groovatron and a solid supporting set from Zmick. Although the show did not run as it was planned, it still ran smoothly for patrons and performers alike.
Heavy rains across the Midwest prevented a capacity crowd and delayed the arrival of Groovatron. Originally, Zmick was scheduled to play a set in the Void Room to open, and then take the bar stage again during Groovatron’s set break. As Zmick came to the end of their first planned set, it became clear that Groovatron still needed more time for a soundcheck. Zmick kept pushing onward into the songs planned for the set break – the epic “Crad Rock” and the fan-favorite “Cob.” Still with even more time to play, bassist Dan Wonsover asked the crowd if they wanted to hear some Grateful Dead, and obliged with an extended version of “Shakedown Street.”
Finally, the doors to the main hall were opened and the crowd poured in, filling the front area and the booths next to the soundboard. Making up for a bit of lost time, Groovatron started rather quickly after the doors opened and didn’t look back. Playing a healthy dose of old favorites, expansive jams and new originals, the Hammond, Ind., band had the entire crowd dancing along. Arguably, the tightest jam of the night came toward the end, when Groovatron played “17 X’s” off their new album In The Machine. The audience was really feeding off the energy the band provided.
When 1:30 rolled around, the crowd was a bit disappointed. It appeared that they were not going to return to the stage. Curfew at Canopy Club is usually around 1:30, so everyone was extremely excited when they came back. They were very appreciative that more than half the original crowd had stuck around in hopes to see one more song. Groovatron obliged, playing the opening track to their new release, “Star Biscuit.” Seeing this song performed live is even better than the studio version. It had great energy, tension and excitement. All of their sound effects gave images of blasting off in a far away galaxy with the all-but-cliché warning alarm blaring.
This great concert from two of the finest Midwest jam bands really got people dancing and having a great time. If this sounds like a good time, check out Summer Camp Festival. Both of these bands will be playing, and many more, so don’t miss it!
