Consider The Source
Hiro Ballroom
New York, NY
March 30

Consider The Source’s music is not for the faint of heart. It’s loud, frenzied, and might even make you dance, which is unexpected given the complexity of the bands music. The trio is made up of double-neck guitarist Gabriel Marin, bassist John Ferrara and drummer Justin Ahiyon, the latter of which announced that he would be leaving the band after the nights performance to pursue other interests. Ahiyon was set to be replaced by Lou Miller, a friend of Marin’s from his old band in New York City. Despite the impending lineup change, fans eagerly piled into the sold-out Hiro Ballroom, which was set to close its doors for good after the evenings conclusion.

As the band took the stage and picked up their instruments, you could almost see the energy flying throughout the air. Marin sustained the opening note to “The New World Cocek” as Ahiyon melodically hit a set of wind chimes that hung on his drum kit, a brief moment of quiet and reflection before bassist John Ferrara started with a slap riff so heavy that it caused a woman in attendance to fall to the floor. After a huge climax, the group dropped into “(Good Point) Wandering Bear,” an often-played staple of their live show, off of their 2009 album “Are You Watching Closely?” Marin assumed his guitar hero power stance as the band switched time signatures effortlessly, jumping from quiet, spacey guitar meanderings to full on guitar assaults that recall peaks reminiscent of King Crimson’s “Lark’s Tongue in Aspic (Part 1).”

Ahiyon was practically jumping out of his seat as he hit the drums near the songs end, receiving a thunderous applause that is rarely seen during the second song of a performance. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) neither the band nor its fans were given a moment of breathing room for the remainder of the nearly two hour performance, as the band powered through crushing versions of “The Transported Man,” “Abdiel,” “You Go Squish Now,” and many more. There were Star Wars teases ( “Keep Your Pimp Hand Strong,” ) Marge Simpson vocal samples ( “Ol’ Chomper” ) and even a jaw-dropping xylophone, bass and drums battle – except in this case, the xylophone was played through effects pedals on the double-neck guitar as Marin headbanged so hard that the Turkish Taqiyah that he bought during the bands recent trip to Turkey almost fell off his head.

As the band took the stage for the encore, sweaty fans cheered, screamed and yelled for more as a shirtless Ahiyon stood up behind his kit for the final time, thanking the crowd with tears in his eyes. Be sure to look out for Consider The Source at festivals such as The Disc Jam Music Festival and Heads in Harmony, as well as at their opening performance for The King Crimson ProjeKt (featuring Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto) at the Beekman Beer Garden in New York City on July 17.