Tea Leaf Green @ State Theater

For the first time I had a chance to see Tea Leaf Green as they continued their national tour through the Washington D.C. area to the State Theater. I had read great reviews of this band - but what we experienced was awesome. We arrived during a wicked drum solo, followed by another half hour of funky - jammin music by Jimmies Chicken Shack - a local band with a hardcore group of followers. After a brief set change - it seemed as if the front doors re-opened as waves of people moved towards the stage. When Tea Leaf Green opened with Red Ribbons I immediately thought out loud that this group had outgrown this venue. Not only was their sound too big - but also the size of the audience. By the time they finished Jezebel and Don't Curse the Night during their first set, I was wondering if this is how music lovers felt thirty years ago following the Allman Brothers or Grateful Dead in smaller venues.

What makes Tea Leaf Green so impressive starts with the guitar work of Josh Clark. He just plays a tight guitar which is backed by the rhythm of Trevor Garrod on the keyboards. Finally Reed Mathis and Scott Rager round out the group on bass and drums. But Josh Clark is the man as seen in their opening song of the second set: The Devil's Pay and then the Baseball Song. By the time they played Incandescent Devil I hoped they'd go on all night. This is one band I will travel to see and purchase Rock 'n' Roll Band or Taught to Be Proud.