Taarka & Free Peoples

With competition from the Yonder Mountain String Band at Chico State's Bell Memorial Union monopolizing most of the town's acoustic groovers, the charming set by Free Peoples was sparsely attended. Although the competing show was by all accounts worth seeing, if all those people knew just how enjoyable the Free Peoples' set was, the question of which concert to attend would have resulted in a long and heated internal debate, possibly ending in a frustrating stalemate.
Performing as a trio (Tim Sawyer and Johnny Downer on acoustic guitars and Michael DiPirro on standup bass), Free Peoples rocked the two- and three-part harmonies like porch rock pros and busted smooth down-home lead vocals with rustic charm and sure-footed modesty. With Downer's lead guitar winding through jazzy riffs, classic rock bends and quick flat-picking runs while the rhythm acoustic and bass broke the music down, stopped on a dime, then kicked in with moonshine vigor with a tight turnaround, the music gelled effortlessly and amicably. Keep your ear to the ground; the next time they play, don't miss the opportunity to catch this damn fine acoustic act.
As the night progressed, more souls filtered in from the Yonder Mountain show, bolstering the friendly, good-natured crowd. After a brief sound check, Taarka was ready to show us just why they're the newest, hottest ticket on the festival circuit. The stylistic variety and expert musicianship that quickly burst from the stage was an experience to behold: blending elements from bluegrass, jazz, klezmer, Celtic, sufi, Afro-Cuban, gypsy and American folk, their instrumental sound left no stoner unturned. James Whiton's meaty double bass work propped the music on solid ground, busting walking jazz-style lines, syncopated rhythms, flowing slides and percussive slaps with rugged abandonment and a flair for the bravado, yet keeping it all neatly in the groove. Operating an extensive trap set-like percussion array, Jarrod Kaplan displayed a beaming smile while beating on djembes and dumbecs and shaking the shakers, underlying the multi-faceted music with the perfect beat and feel. David Tiller stood at the foot of the stage, alternating between a traditional and octave mandolin, molding the songs with accompanying chords and rapidly picked leads while Enion Pelta ripped through violent swaths of melody, Strauss-esque classical strains and quick playful jabs through her pan-dimensional fiddle playing. Their performance was a high-energy romp filled with jubilant peaks and breath-catching valleys, sudden impeccably calculated tempo changes, crescendos and mysterious explorations. At one point, the group broke it down to a nebulous chaos section, conjuring sounds reminiscent of a tortured sea creature being beaten with a bag of oranges. The band, appreciative of the fervor shown by the Tuesday night audience, gave a mighty performance that left few off their feet. I was so captured by Taarka's music that I was even able to ignore the gaudy, arrhythmic hippy dancing.
- Maurice S. Teilmann

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