Writer: Robert Gonzales

You know you’re in the right place when you arrive at the doors and see the same universal family that you recognize from all the shows and festivals in the Capital Region. I was one of the first people to arrive. JP and Jeremy were at the bar, and I walked up to say hello. Speaking of universal family and capital region music, we joked that if there was a band with Jeremy, JP, Tom Pirozzi, and Brian Mangini, they could call it The Every Band of the Capital Region! We spoke of the blues gigs they have been doing: Jeremy Walz has been doing the Sunday Night Blues Night at McGeary’s in Albany for decades, and Jeff Prescott has been doing the Monday Night Blues Night that just started over at the Twisted Fiddler in Troy.

The Putnam Place is a great venue. The staff is friendly and the space is open. They have a great deck out front with heaters during winter. The sound engineer is top notch, and the owner & managers are wonderful people. It won’t take much for you to feel welcomed and comfortable at Putnam Place. It’s the best venue in Saratoga!

The crowd starts filling in to the event space and it gets packed pretty quickly. The guys come out and get behind their instruments. Dead Man’s Waltz has two drummers: Tom Major and Jeff Prescott. They also have two guitarist & vocalists: Jeremy Walz and Rev Tor Krautter. Brian O’Connell plays bass, but also sings and can play guitar as well. Andrew Costa rounds it out on keys.

The band welcomes us to the venue and starts playing song after song of great classic hits. Every tune is something you know all the words to, and the crowd sings along with triumphant vigor! Despite it being wall to wall people, there are pockets of people dancing around each other. Everyone is filled with love and happiness!

 

(Dead Man’s Waltz Performing at Strange Creek Campout 2023)

The Dead Man’s Waltz can be likened unto a Hippie’s Juke Box. They already have all of your favorites on the set list, but this point is further illustrated by the band asking the crowd, “What do y’all wanna hear?”

Someone yells out, “Cassidy!” They play it. They probably did 3 crowd choice songs in a row before going back to their set list. In fact, I’m not sure how much of what they have is a rigid set list and not more of a suggested times to play certain classics while just going with the flow in the moment of what they feel like playing and hearing and whatever the audience feels like listening to. It seems like they can play it all!

Reverend Tor is a badass on guitar, shredding solos and rocking out harmonies. Andrew is slaying it on keys, tickling ivories and make the crowd jiggity jig. Slow and beautiful, fast and happy, bluesy shuffle, kick those feet off rocking: These guys can do it all! If you ever have the opportunity to attend a Dead Man Waltz show, do yourself a favor and go. You will enjoy the entire night!

My favorite part of the night was when the drummers did their solos. The band just kinda leaves the stage and let’s all the focus fall on the two drummers. Tom and Jeff go back and forth taking the lead and keeping the backbeat. I was amazed at watching how they were able to go off on a drum solo while the other was still playing. It seems way harder to accomplish than just letting one drummer do his thing. It was like having a drummer and a percussionist, but both are actually playing trap sets. And they have this instinctual cohesion where they pass the lead back and forth and support each other while somehow changing up their rhythm completely in real time!

After a good five minutes of awesomeness, Brian comes up and starts throwing in some bass. Now, as much as I love all the classic covers that these guys have been playing, this improvisational jam is my favorite part of the night, besides all the dancing. I enjoy original creativity. Hearing Brian, Tom, and JP just making music on the spot in a raw and natural way endeared us more to their musicianship. It brought us in closer, like giving us a hug with sound.

From Cripple Creek to Whipping Post and all points in between, this night was a magical foray into jamming out on all the songs that you know and love. Incredible musicians, honed craft. Powerful solos. Boogie with the good times rolling! The fact that the night had to eventually end was our only Hippie’s lament.

Perceptions of,
Robert Gonzales