Snarky Puppy entertain the Landmark, B+

Above: Snarky Puppy plays the Landmark May 5th 2016

Snarky Puppy put on a great performance last Thursday night at the Landmark Theater here in Syracuse, NY with openers Sophistafunk. It was an interesting mixture of music that flooded the sounds of the historic theater.
Snarky Puppy might be everyone's favorite new age Jazz group. Thursday night showed why as they powered through an impressive performance at Syracuse's Landmark Theater. Syracuse natives Sophistafunk got the crowd going with their party like Jazz sounds that were completely different from the headliners despite being in the same genre.
Sophistafunk jammed out the Landmark with constant crowd interaction. Lead singer Jack Brown has a very positive but aggressive attitude about him that spiced up the evening. It was a good way for those at the show traveling to Syracuse from other areas to get introduced to the legendary local group. Sophistafunk were more appreciated then ever to not only open for Snarky Puppy, who Jack Brown claimed were one of their greatest influences, but also to play the Landmark for the very first time.
Grammy Award winners Snarky Puppy took the stage next
WAER 88.3's  Eric Cohen was very excited to be on stage as he introduced the band, explaining how the group played thousands of shows across each of the world's six main continents.
Snarky Puppy proved just how great they were Thursday night. Each member of the band really has their own unique sound. They all got their time to shine Thursday night as they each jammed out their own solos.
The sound was crystal clear through the most part, as they continued their performance Thursday night. The only negative thing was how turned down the microphone was, and you could barely hear whenever front man bassist Michael League was talking into the microphone.
The crowd was surprisingly obnoxious throughout the concert. Maybe it's because the Syracuse area isn't use to professional progressive Jazz concerts, but their constant shouts of 'turn up the base' was an annoyance.
However, the older aged crowd also cheered and quieted down throughout the set as the band played great jazz tunes throughout the night.
There were some younger fans mixed in with the crowd as well which was a great thing to see showing that Jazz music can influence people for all ages.
No matter what, the head bobbing was constant and even towards the end of the show the crowd got to their feet and were dancing to the greatness of Snarky Puppy.
Despite some awkward comments by the crowd and the vocals, the Landmark proved to be a perfect setting for the Brooklyn based jazz group.

B+

All photos by Nicole Carey
Sophistafunk Thursday May 5th at the Landmark Theater

  Snarky Puppy