![The Motet at The Big Weekend (10/5) [REVIEW]](https://i0.wp.com/goodmusiccollectiv.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/motet21.jpg?resize=1180%2C787&ssl=1 "The Motet at The Big Weekend (10/5) [REVIEW]")
Written by Mitchell Tillman
Photography by Erika Kirchmayer
The Motet gave a stellar performance on the second night of The Big Weekend at Concord Music Hall. Fusing “fiery funk, simmering soul, and improvisational inventiveness” the seven man band out of Denver, Colorado threw down a wildly energetic set on Friday. In keeping with the theme of The Big Weekend, the band plays live instruments and is composed of a sax (Drew Sayers), trumpet (Parris Fleming), drums (Dave Watts), keys (Joey Porter), bass (Garrett Sayers), guitar (Ryan Jalbert), and vocals (Lyle Divinsky).
The Motet has been steadily grinding their way to fame, from sold-out performances in their home town at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater to touring around the country. They write their music “democratically and collectively,” with their most recent 2016 album “Totem” produced by Lettuce and Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno. They brought this fantastic group partnership to Chicago, and the raw energy throughout their performance was palpable. In the intimate setting of the Concord, the band’s showmanship – most visibly their vocalist dancing playfully across the stage – identified with their crowd and the energy only kept rising. The show ended past 2am, and the band even came back out for an encore!
When doors opened at 11pm, Mungion performed an hour-long opening set for the Motet. Mungion is a jam-band based out of Chicago, and the hard-working group has been making a name for itself headlining other venues such as the House of Blues and The Metro. The quartet is composed of guitar (Justin Reckamp), keyboards (Joe Re), bass (Sean Carolan), and drums (Matt Kellen), and all four members are vocalists! If you’re interested in checking out more information regarding Mungion, click HERE to read our exclusive interview with the band over Summer Camp Music Festival 2018.
Most people at the Motet concert were participating in the entire Big Weekend event, which took place across multiple days and venues in Chicago. Coming off of the two-set Lettuce concert the previous night with shows to look forward to the next night, everyone seemed to have an extra celebratory atmosphere at the show. It was a great performance to capstone a great night of The Big Weekend.
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