When I heard that Gramatik was returning to Nashville for a show at Anthem on April 17, I’m pretty sure I jumped about 5 feet in the air out of excitement. I remembered his set at Cannery Ballroom about a year ago where he played for hours because the audience would not stop dancing and cheering and asking for more. Although his performance back then was part of a larger music event giving people the option to skip around between the various venues under the same roof to check out different bands playing, it was really hard to leave Gramatik’s set. And despite trying to break away a couple of times to “see this really awesome new band on the horizon that you just cannot miss,” I quickly found myself back at Gramatik every time.
So there I was again, ready to be enchanted by yet another amazing Gramatik performance. Many people in the audience drove from three to four hours away just to see him, and despite the fact that it was a Thursday night, which generally does not bring a lot of people to Anthem, the venue was packed, and it was packed early – that’s how good Gramatik is live.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, the talented Russ Liquid, one of the earlier openers, joined the stage to play the flute, trumpet, saxophone or keys over several of Gramatik’s tracks, adding that extra bit of funk that made this show such an unbelievably jazzy night. This talented gem started playing and touring with Gramatik about two months ago, and, boy, were they a match made in heaven! They even sampled “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder, and the crowd went wild.
The second opener Gibbz joined Gramatik to sing over a couple of his tracks. Again, an incredible match and a nice touch to an already perfect show. In sum, this musical experience will be hard to top and will definitely stick with me for months to come. And the next time I see an announcement for a Gramatik show, you can bet your life on it that I’ll be jumping five feet in the air again.
