Kung Fu & Twiddle – Dirty Dozen Tour ~ Terminal West @ King Plow ~ Atlanta, GA 4-16-15

Written by: Mike Gregory

Photography by: Lucas Armstrong

Kung Fu and Twiddle joined forces to bring the masses to their knees through the power of music on their Dirty Dozen tour. They cut a swath of destruction from Buffalo, NY to Atlanta, GA so intense it can only be matched by Mother Nature herself! Playing 13 shows in 16 days, it is safe to say this dirty dozen have been burning the candle at both ends—with a blow torch! Terminal West would be the final destination of the tour before the two bands part ways.

Funk You opened up the night about 9pm. They were a perfect band to set the mood for the night that would shortly unfold. The show steadily gained momentum as the crowd shuffled in. About 45 minutes into the set, Rob Somerville appeared with his saxophone peaking the crowd’s curiosity. The crowd was receptive to Funk You and rightfully so, but drooling over what was to come next.

It was difficult to keep track of who was on stage when as this was not your typical cookie-cutter show and the stage was fairly dark. Out of the darkness, Kung Fu and Twiddle drummers started laying the foundation until the bassists joined in as fans swarmed the stage. Band members took their places one by one, adding to the jam as they entered—keyboards, guitarists, and like icing on the cake, Rob joined in on sax. Tim and Mihali traded some smoking hot licks on the guitar. The bassists had a similar exchange; what started out sizzling ended up evolving into an upbeat spacey jam. It was crystal clear that both bands are completely comfortable with each other, raising questions about just how good this night would be!

Rob finally greeted the crowd and 10:50pm. The first set of the last night playing together would belong to Twiddle. First, they played a few gritty tunes, which turned into funk. Under purple and green lights, guitarist, Mihali Savoulidis and bassist, Zdenek Gubb exchanged pleasantries for the crowd until keyboardist, Ryan Dempsey joined in. The mellow jam turned into a balls-to-the-wall crazy-ass guitar solo; the crowd lapped it up like a dog at dinner time! Mihali sported a smile larger than life all night; it was clear, he is right where he belongs—on stage with a guitar in his hand! Funk You guitarist, Evan Miller, was invited up on stage for yet another heated exchange of guitar shredding, before taking us home to funky town again. This pattern of greatness was repeated over and over again. Twiddle’s energy is always up there, but there are moments of extreme happiness bursting forth like a volcano!

At approximately 11:50pm, Tim Palmieri from KF enters and jams with Twiddle for a song, then exits. Kung Fu synth-ninja, Todd Stoops, takes the crowd to Jamaica for a quick tour of the Caribbean. The stage was basically a revolving door most of the night. Tim came back up and he and Todd took the crowd to the promised land of deep-fast grooves. At midnight, the stage turned into a hornet’s nest of musicians as everyone came out to play! Musical chaos broke out until the moment guitars were vaulted into the air like lightning rods! Spacey jams followed as Twiddle exited the stage after a brilliant performance.

Kung Fu played the quirky little tune “Bopcorn”, of course spiced up with improv included. KF bassist Chris DeAngelis, surprised the crowd with a tune that sounded like it was straight out of the 70’s  that beautifully showcased everyone in the band. The night became even funkier when Ryan Dempsey, dressed in a superhero onesie, joined Todd Stoops on the keys. Then Mihali came back, this time for another reggae-insired funk jam. Adrian Tramontano, was nearly out of sight most of the night sitting behind a cluster of musical instruments, but you could hear him loud and clear.

The night finished off with “Hollywood Kisses” and the most blazing rendition of “Samurai” to date! Tim and Mihali stole the stage shredding behind their backs and over their heads. Even though it was a weeknight, the crowd held strong until the show finished at nearly 2am!  The show was an absolute scorcher! The bond that these two bands share is one that should be shared on stage again! Long live the Dirty Dozen Tour!