TAUK at Southland Ballroom, Raleigh, NC - May 29, 2014

TAUK at Southland Ballroom, Raleigh, NC - May 29, 2014
The New York instrumental phenomenon, TAUK, came to Raleigh Thursday night to open for Orogone at the Southland Ballroom.

It was my first time seeing the four-piece group and I was blown away.  These guys brought down the house with sexy instrumental progressive groovy funk rock.

If there were an official soundtrack to have sex to, it would be a recording of this performance.  If it were a movie, it would’ve been rated NC-17 due to the way these guys had the crowd dancing.  I’m surprised I didn’t see any bras or panties flying up on stage.  I had a smile on my face from ear to ear the whole time they played.  I was taking pictures of the performance, but they really made it difficult.  It’s not easy to take pictures when you can’t stop dancing.  Also, their stage presence was full of high energy.  Matt Jalbert had the crowd mesmerized with the way he made love to his guitar next to the contagious bass grooves of Charlie Dolan, the hypnotic keys performed by Alric Carter, a.k.a. A.C., and one of the dirtiest percussionists I’ve seen live, Isaac Teel.  The way Teel easily changed tempos and beats, this band had the crowd rocking out one second and segue into a slow heavy groove the next.

One of the highlights of their performance was their heavy instrumental cover of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” by The Beatles.  They took this song and made it sexier than it already is.  They really display how to create a message with only instruments, playing the notes of the lyrics with the keys and strings of guitar. I couldn’t help to sing along. 

I’m excited to have seen them on their tour which has them hitting some of the best east coast festivals this year, including Blackstock Music Festival, Grover Fest, Mad Tea Party Jam, The Hudson Project, Pasture Palooza, Floyd Fest, Doah Fest, Wills Mountain Festival, and two festivals close to home which I am thrilled to be able to catch them at again, The Big What and Mantrabash!  They are also excited to travel out to Los Angeles for the first time to perform at The Mint.

These guys were awesome, I was truly blown away by their performance and I can’t wait to see them play again.  Home Grown Music Network really knows good music and any show put on by them is worth checking out.

- Eric Everington