Relix Magazine<br /><br /> -Jeremy Goodwin

Relix Magazine
6/01/02
Creekside Jamboree (Forksville, PA)

A little after two AM—over two hours after main stage headliner Lake Trout called it a night-Club D'Elf began methodically shredding the late night tent at the Creekside Jamboree into tiny pieces.

This Boston ensemble features a handful of core members, augmented by an extensive roster of rotating guests. The edition that bandleader Mike Rivard assembled for this gig included Mister Rourke, fresh from a stint as Soulive's touring turntablist, and Miracle Orchestra guitarist Geoff Scott. The quintet was rounded out by the brilliant Alain Mallet on keyboards-recently back in the States after some European gigs with Paul Simon—and drummer Eric Kerr, who works his small kit with an unassuming intensity.

Rivard's mantra-like themes on electric and acoustic basses form the clear foundation of the D'Elf sound, but an egalitarian interplay was exhibited between each musician, as one voice would occasionally bubble to the top briefly before yielding to another.

The show roared open with signature tune, “Left Hand of Clyde”, featuring a procession of funky themes and furious scratching by Rourke. Material like “Jungle Adagio” later in the set offered a darker stew of drum and bass beats, spiced with Scott's passionate outbursts. When this song dropped into the Moroccan-flavored “Mogador”, the crowd tasted another key element in the fusion of genres and cultures at the heart of the Club D'Elf project.

The band finally quit at 5:40am, leaving the still-juiced festivarians in attendance to stumble out happily into the ethereal dawn light, as fog drifted down from the nearby mountain tops and the soft swish of a nearby creek provide ambient accompaniment.

A jamboree indeed. – Jeremy D. Goodwin