The Motet, Organ Freeman unleash sound fusion in Tahoe

Tahoe Onstage
Lyle Divinsky and The Motet jazz up the Crystal Bay Casino at Lake Tahoe’s Crown Room.
Tahoe Onstage photos by Michael Smyth

Crystal Bay Casino at Lake Tahoe hosted a terrific evening of music Saturday that featured jazz and rock fused jams, funk and soul.

Launching the evening in the Crown Room and coming out with all barrels firing was Los Angeles rock-fusion trio Organ Freeman. These three dudes hit the stage loud and charging and ripped through 45 minutes of vocal-free jams.

Trevor Steer on keyboards and Erik Carlson on guitar took turns playing lead and supporting roles on jazz, rock, blues and psychedelic tones, but the star of this show was drummer Rob Humphreys. All three artists multi-tasked while playing their instruments, but Humphreys took it to another level. Meaning this in only the most appreciative way, if “Animal” from Sesame Street ever came to life, it might be Humphreys. He and his hair tore through drum parts with speed, aggression and reckless abandon.

Tahoe Onstage
Drummer Dave Watts is the original member of The Motet.

With the crowd warmed after a quick change, Denver funk outfit The Motet took the stage to wrap its two-night run. Frontman Lyle Divinsky was in his usual dancing, cajoling, gyrating form. Divinsky is impossible to ignore onstage, as his infectious smile, smooth dance moves and big voice draw you in. Backed by drummer Dave Watts and a slew of talented musicians, there isn’t much drop-off when Divinsky exits occasionally for some jazz-fusion instrumentals before he returns and the band brings the funk.

Night 2 in the packed Crown Room dance party belonged to the bass lines of Garrett Sayers and the keyboard wizardry of Joey Porter. Sayers was simply ripping through his bass parts and completely in-step with Watts, while Porter went full galactic journey on his solo opportunities, working in groovy talkbox accents as well.

A drenched but not done crowd then headed to the Red Room for an after-party with Bay Area funk and soul artists The Humidors. Andre Cruz’s smooth soul vocals paired with spirited brass and keyboards kept the party going to the wee hours. The Humidors mixed original tunes with fun covers from Jimi Hendrix and Oakland’s own Tower of Power in a fast-paced set to complete the high-energy evening.

— Michael Smyth

Related stories:
— The Humidors are on the ‘Rise’
— With Real Dance Music, The Motet does Tahoe two-step

Tahoe Onstage
Joey Porter on keyboards for The Motet.

Tahoe Onstage
Blake’s Tree shines in the Crown Room during The Motet show on Saturday, March 1.

Organ Freeman

The Motet, Night 1

Tahoe Onstage
Garrett Sayers on bass.

ABOUT Michael Smyth

Michael Smyth
Michael Smyth moved to Reno in 2007 after living more than 40 years in the Bay Area. In addition to going to live shows, he enjoys golf, skiing and fly-fishing. Check out his website https://michaelsmythmedia.com/

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