Lights, Camera, PRISM!
Photo by Jaymee Hinz
On April 16th, Syracuse’s local musicians walked their own red carpet as the annual spring concert series PRISM returned at local venue Lucy Blu’s for a night full of distinct musical genres and Hollywood allure. Hosted by Bella Ierano and Maya Perez, the night managed to feel tonally cohesive despite the relatively wide gap in styles between their five musical acts, thanks to a shared energy and communal spirit. The show was also sponsored by some local student/music businesses, including Theory, Funk n’ Waffles, and The Sound Garden. Considering how much money I’ve thrown into records, it would’ve been nice to win their raffle for a Sound Garden gift card. Alas, it was not my day.
As a frequent listener of the JCM Jazz shows on campus (and also part-time worker… when I feel like putting in legwork setting up), Jobi Arcila’s set was a comfortable, yet always welcome opener for the evening. Accompanied by friends Damian Doyle (keyboard), Nicolo Labieniec (saxophone), and Ivan Malcolm (drums), Cila rattled through a shortlist of jazz staples and original compositions that guaranteed a hot start. While the jazz familiars were unsurprisingly excellent with their dynamic use of tempo, traditionally inviting ride-heavy percussion, and multiple instrumental moments to allow each member to shine like on the group’s rendition of Roy Hargrove’s “Soppin The Biscuits”, I was especially impressed by Cila’s original numbers, including the pensive slow burn of “Flowers for Erica” and bouncier “Haste”, the latter of which including a sprawling bass solo from Cila that was exceptionally performed. Unlike a larger ensemble performance, the constraints of a quartet allowed each member’s talent to truly shine, and shine they did.
After the second set from Cassidy, I was prepared for the evening’s fluidity of sonic textures. The singer-songwriter project of one Liam Nolan, Cassidy’s setlist split the difference between more classic and Southern-inspired rock, including an evidently well-received cover of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Melissa”, and slightly more traditionally modern indie textures, which were found frequently across their originals.
Accompanied by Rob Wilhelm, Jake Rubman, and Marco Fiaschetti, Cassidy’s set demonstrated the unique balancing act the night would command in its mix of genre styles, but like any pretentious white-guy with a few too many Bill Callahan albums on wax, I can appreciate the flows for what they are.
The most upbeat, pop-rock adjacent of the evening, which was mimicked by a crowd that clearly took several steps toward the performers from the prior sets, which formed the respectable distant semi-circle that all basement jazz shows have (I could only assume). Accompanying guitarist __ clearly had a fun time doing the riff for the original “Edge of Vegas”, which picked up a distinctly crunchier hard rock texture. There’s a joke here about the Hard Rock hotel in Vegas, which I will refrain from making for fear of embarrassing myself. He then hyped up a cover of Backseat Lovers’ “Kilby Girl”, which the crowd popped for heavily. Color me ignorant for not knowing it before tonight, but I get the reaction now, song slaps (at least Martinelli & co’s version did). His set closed out with another original “Spaced Out”, another pretty exceptional track that John Lakeman was quite enthusiastic to bang out the technical riff for… which is what I would say if he didn’t encore into Killers’ classic “Mr. Brightside”, an obvious crowd pleaser! Likely my favorite set of the night as well, given my own predisposition toward hookier rock, and definitely not because their friends of friends :)
Following Martinelli was another familiar face, CC Consenza, an artist I’ve actually covered previously for shows last year, not to mention their actual on-campus performances. Flanked by Peyton Barlow on bass, Maria Perfili on guitar, and Safiyah Taylor on drums, CC’s set definitely put the vocalist front and center more than others during the night, which isn’t a problem when the performer is as compelling as Cosenza. Consenza commanded the audience with a clear understanding of her vocal range, a distinctly warm presence, and the ability to convey emotional vulnerability, which matched her lyrics perfectly for the excellent original cuts of “Scars” and “Seasick”.
Closing off the night were the “definitely not a jam band”, Hydrogen (at least, according to their Instagram). Consisting of members Michael Brodsky, Jacob Cotton, Michael Boccuzzi, and Dom Colucci, Hydrogen A notable element of their set was some space-adjacent synthesizers, which made progressive rock the last and most distinct instrumental addition to the Prism tapestry. These came off their first of only two tracks (because, hey, psychedelia/prog/jam rock tends to run long), a cover of “2001” (likely the version by Phish), which has me wondering if the cult-like following that band has received is actually earned, especially with the tasty breakdowns found throughout its sprawling run-length.
All five acts showed out for a star-filled night, capping off another successful Prism evening, and I’ll be happy to report the same time next year to give our local artists their due praise.