Side Arm: Bridgeport Ribhouse, Fri Dec 10

Richie Angelucci, Bobby Pirylis and Ryan Valotta, are long-time veterans of the tri-state rock scene, and are known collectively as Side Arm. They stopped in at the Bridgeport Ribhouse for a Friday night show. Bobby is a hard driving drummer, but can show a lot of nuance on cymbal touches through a delicate part of a song. Ryan is a legit guitar wizard (more on this in a moment), and Richie plays bass, and sings the lion’s share of their setlist in a clear clean voice with surprising range.

This is a power trio that sounds much bigger than the sum of their parts… In part because all 3 of these guys contribute vocally on most every song, which gives the vocals punch and complexity. But also because Ryan plays his axe through a Roland GR-55 guitar synth. This is a stomp box that can magically turn a guitar into pretty much any instrument or sound you can imagine… If you know what you’re doing with it… And he does. The man has this thing dialed in, deftly switching from rock guitar to Hammond organ to Tower of Power horns and back, hybrid picking out the proper voicings for each. So when you are chatting with your friend at the bar and you hear this 3 piece band playing with guitar, bass, drums and keys in the mix, look up, pay attention… It ain’t no backing track. It’s a cool effect that makes these guys sound a lot more full and interesting than your average 3 piece, and it’s damn impressive to listen to and watch.

Side Arm played from a set list that was fun, and instantly recognizable, but not your typical classic rock bar-band fare. Hole Hearted. Reelin In The Years. Silly Love Songs. Silly Love Songs by Wings… I mean, who does that? Cool also that they did their version of Bruce’s version of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town… They also took several audience requests, which is always fun. In some cases, their choices were downright ballsy. What do I mean? Chicago’s “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”, horns and all, courtesy of Ryan’s wizardry… Brave for any band, but for a 3 piece? Ballsy… But it was good! “Bohemian Rhapsody”, with just 3 voices and 6 hands…. Again, Freddy’s piano done very passably through guitar strings and electronic magic. Ballsy. But they pulled it off, and it was fun.

It was also cool to see that these guys are considered family at the Ribhouse, and I suspect the same is true of the other area venues they play. They just seem like good guys. The love shared between the band, the bartenders and the audience was apparent, most of all when the band led a heartfelt toast for a beloved Ribhouse patron who had recently passed away.

We decided to call it a night after the 2nd set, but I’m kinda disappointed we did. I’ll be looking forward to the next time they come around.