What’s better on a Friday night in Columbus than enjoying great food, seeing friendly faces and hearing wonderful music?

That’s exactly the atmosphere we walked into as we crossed through the doorway of Tatohead’s Public House for Admiral Contempt’s EP release party. Friends and family filled the intimate establishment, celebrating the release of “Lost to the Wind.”

Columbus’ The Cadence opened the festivities with their special blend of love-filled blues/rock. The band is comprised of Tony Gregorc (vocals/guitar), Steve Simeon (bass/vocals) and Ty Phillips (drums). Pulling mainly from last year’s “The Seed”, they played a sublime seven-song set.

No Need starts with a slow, grinding bass line, reminiscent of early 1970’s Savoy Brown or Ten Years After. Transitioning into the uptempo So Damn Excited!, driven by Simeon’s funky bass groove. Gregorc smoked the bridge with some serious blues riffs.

The instrumental Drop and Roll (a John Scofield cover) was next, Phillips understated playing on the kit keeping everything together.

The Cadence (Credit: Jacob Thompson / Music in Motion Columbus)

Makenna saw the band dropping some jam-band mojo on the crowd, which they appreciated. Their styling on this song reminded me of seeing early 1990’s Phish, when they were playing smaller venues in New England.

They channeled their inner Jimi Hendrix Experience on Maybe, a slower, soulful tune. Better weather had a funky groove that was a nice fit with the previous song.

They closed with the uptempo, but melodic rocker How to be a Rolling Stone:, with the band showing the almost-packed venue that they know their instruments well.

When a band has you wanting more, that tells me they’ve got a good thing going. Their set showed they have a depth that goes beyond standard blues riffs, almost challenging the audience to turn away.

Our recommendation is to make plans to see The Cadence in a live setting as soon as you can.

Ed. – we’ll have an in-depth interview with the band coming in the near future.

Setlist

1. No Need
2. So Damn Excited!
3. Drop and Roll (John Scofield cover)
4. Makenna
5. Maybe
6. Better Weather
7. How to be a Rolling Stone:

Get to know The Cadence…