Longtime local band Thirteen of Everything played two sets at the circus-themed Carousel Lounge on June 16. The quartet includes drums, Chapman Stick (also bass, acoustic guitar, and bass pedals), guitar, and keyboards. While the band has kept a low profile in recent years they are playing shows in 2016.
Their first song, “Flying East,” was largely in 7/4 time so I knew that I was in the right place. The music can be described as melodic progressive rock with some edge. They performed a new song that has yet to be recorded, ToE launched into “Red” by King Crimson (also covered by Proud Peasant at VoyagerFest 2015). After a short break, guitarist Joe Funk played some solo acoustic then was joined by keyboardist Thad Miller. After a couple more album songs the band played another cover, this time “Lazarus” by Porcupine Tree. The sets were a nice mixture of familiar and new, originals and covers, vocals and instrumentals.
The day after the show I pulled the band’s 2005 CD “Welcome Humans” from the shelf for a listen. The release was on the Musea label (yes, the one in France) and contains about 72 minutes of music, about the limit of the compact disc format. The first half of the album has echoes of Camel with some King Crimson grit. The second half, especially the 26-minute suite “Late for Dinner,” gets into Gabriel-era Genesis territory with dynamics, acoustic guitar, organ, dramatic vocals, and so forth. Joe sometimes uses a Steve Hackett-like electric guitar sound but his phrasing is different resulting in a unique take on the instrument.Thirteen of Everything plays on Friday, July 22 at the Lucky Lounge in downtown Austin. They share the bill with The Aaron Clift Experiment, Seven Circles, and VoyagerFest 2015 alums Black Ladder
