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My wife and me went to Hell’s Kitchen in Tacoma to experience firsthand the Floater experience that some had described to me as “mindblowing” by a musician and co-worker. My wife has been a fan of Floaters’ for 12 years now, I’m a johnny-come-lately fan of the last three years. Many of the fans there had been fans of the band for many, many years and told me that I was in for a treat.

Treat would be a mild understatement. After patiently waiting through the other bands on the bill (they were awesome in their own right, but I don’t own any of their music so had no anticipation of what they could provide). Floaters fans are as eclectic as their music is, a large contingent of us were in the over 35 crowd in addition to the mid to late twenties you’d expect. Rob, Dave and Peter hit the stage at 12:15 and began the set with “Queen Of The Goats” from an earlier album. The music delightful, well played and arranged differently on the album, always a plus. After three songs into the set, I finally became clued in to why their fans are so fanatic.

It was like watching three brothers make music together to which you were invited to enjoy their mastery of their respective instruments. Rob’s bass playing and vocals, Dave’s masterful licks of his guitar, the simply amazing drumming of Peter, each superlative in their own right, together the music not only in the words of the jazz great Miles Davis “…allow(ed) to breathe” but took on a magic and a life of it’s own. It was as if these men had a connection through the music, that connection allowed to be shared by each and every one of us. I believe each of us there were privileged to be with them, share with them their gifts of music, introspection, joy, sadness, longing and love (in a hardcore, take no prisoners way).

The set ranged from earlier albums to the latest effort “Stone By Stone” and included at least a couple of covers. The great surprise of the evening came as the “encore”: Helter Skelter originally created by the Beatlles. That had most of us over 35 bouncing and singing along as if we were kids again, hearing it for the first time. Point blank: I’d be suprised if you saw them live and DIDN’T become a fan, desirous of wanting the music to never end. I’m definately going to the Showbox Marketplace show on January 10th, and think that you would be a fool not to at least come and as one of their songs exhorts: “come and see everything, come out and see the whole world.”

The Silverthorn

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