Enchantingly memorable musical magic with FLOW (the Group) – Live Show Review, Royal Room, 2018/05/15

Enchantingly memorable musical magic with FLOW (the Group) – LIVE SHOW REVIEW, ROYAL ROOM, 2018/05/15:  There couldn’t have been a more fitting venue for this wonderful show… I had planned on going down to New Orleans to witness the first show of F.L.O.W.’s Arrival Tour, but (as often happens) “events got in the way“.  So when I realized they would be playing right here in the Great Northwest, it was a “must” date… unquestionably one of the most enjoyable I’ve had in recent memory.  As you watch their opening salvo of their Royal Room show, you will realize why they received a “PICK” from me for their marvelous album…

I suppose it’s only fitting that this collective of wizard-like bards were playing in a room fit for kings and queens… and, of course, I must mention that my waiter (Nico) took care of every little nuance, making sure that I felt like I was royalty (thanks, Nico). 

The core of FLOW (Fiona Joy on piano, Lawrence Blatt doing acoustic/electric guitar and ukulele, Jeff Oster on flugelhorn and Will Ackerman on guitar (Will is also a founder of Windham Hill records, and now runs his own Imaginary Roads studio) was enhanced by the significant skills of the players who were there as part of the expanded FLOW grouping… guitarist Todd Boston, drummer/bassist Tom Eaton and percussionist Jeff Haynes are stellar players in their own right, and have been reviewed by me many times (just click on their names to see my latest review of their works)…

FLOW “changed it up” in most pleasant ways, too… this wasn’t one of those shows where the group just plays the tracks from their most recent album in the same order as the album… lots of solo, duo and other combinations made watching the show a great deal of fun, as you’ll see & hear in the two videos below…

A solo by the legendary Will Ackerman was pure pleasure to behold…

…and Will’s duo with Todd Boston brought forth all the joy that the magic rocks in our area are the harbinger of…

A truly amazing display of bardic talent in a two-hour show that had each and every listener hushed to full-quiet mode as they waited for the players to pull the next piece of musical magic out of their collective hat!

I give FLOW a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of a (perfect) 5.00… they definitely are my “PICK” for “live show I most enjoyed watching in 2018“!

I’d also like to thank my new acquaintance, photographer Robin Layton, for taking the excellent group photo shown below…