At its best, attending a musical performance can be akin to a religious experience.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band understand that philosophy and made it their credo Friday night at The Sphere Entertainment Complex.
Playing nearly three hours of energetic, adrenaline-pumping gospel-influenced blues to the packed venue, the band won over many audience-goers who were initially less enthusiastic to Randolph's performance.
The lights dimmed for the group at 9:45 p.m., and they took the stage to an audience who had spent the previous 45 minutes clapping, chanting and screaming for Randolph. A Bob Marley mix played over the loudspeaker, priming the mostly college-age crowd for a night of exceptional music.
The band locked into a groove immediately, kicking things off with an extended instrumental version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop ('Till You Get Enough)," with Randolph playing the lead vocal part on the pedal steel guitar, an instrument emblazoned with his name and the words "More Love."
After the first song, Randolph made the band's intentions clear.
"If you don't want to get loose, you can go home right now," said Randolph. "Because there's going to be a party here tonight."
From there, the group played a well-balanced mix of original songs and cover tunes, often segueing perfectly between jams.
Playing with full-force intensity, Robert Randolph and the Family Band tore through some of their best concert tunes, including "The March," (which, appropriately, went into a brief rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In"), the upbeat Stevie Wonder-meets-George Clinton "I Need More Love," and "Shake Your Hips," during which several girls from the audience came onstage to dance around the band.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Robert Randolph's playing is his infectious charisma, which is fascinating primarily because he plays an instrument that requires him to sit during much of the show, save the small number of songs during which Randolph played a standard guitar.
While Randolph's playing style has been compared to those of guitar greats Duane Allman and Jimi Hendrix, his performance technique bears a much stronger resemblance to '50s piano wild man Jerry Lee Lewis. Randolph downright abuses his pedal steel guitar.
He did not get very far into the set before he jumped up, kicked his chair out for under him, and leaned back with his eyes shut tight and his fingers flying over the fret board with frenzied precision.
The band fed off the crowd's excitement and played a series of songs that not only acknowledged their influences ("Purple Haze," and "Billie Jean") but also assaulted the crowd with one rollicking climax after another.
To close its set, the band played "I Don't Know What You Come to Do," during which the band members switched instruments several times before returning to their original lineup without missing a beat.
"I really loved the energy of the show and just when you thought the show couldn't get better, they'd come out with a great song," said Matthew Schweitzer, a senior business major. "They invite people on the stage, and they are very exciting, real performers."
For the three-song encore, the band balanced their unrelenting blues rock with a smooth, instrumental cover of Alicia Keys' R&B hit, "You Don't Know My Name." They followed with an improvisational piece that included a spectacular breakdown, which briefly teased Aerosmith's "Walk This Way."
After the encore ended at 12:30 a.m., some audience members seemed delirious, shaking their heads in disbelief, incredulous of the performance they just witnessed.
"It's been too long since we were in Buffalo last," said Randolph. "But don't worry. It won't be that long again."
