P3 is a guitar, bass and drums trio that go for that 70s bluesy rock mode on their first single (“Blue Balls”). Guitarist Paul Barton is the compass on top of his psychedelic guitar slinging style that characterizes old time rock and roll at its best. A few atmospherics are thrown in for good measure as Barton leads a great linear improvisation path. Unburdened by vocals the entire band easily shines. The B side to the band’s single (“Bug Juice”) relies on a brief electric guitar riff to push the group into overdrive. The trio shows good balance and excellent recording of drums and bass to make this a surprisingly crisp recording.

The band’s complete CD (“Live at the FlipSide”) of six tracks shows off a bit more dexterity for them in a comparable light. “Hot Lumps” opens with heavy bass riffing creating a type of holding pattern for the main theme to build. Barton again steps forward as a clean soloist: his closest comparison is to Alex Lifeson (Rush) but the band is far closer to jam band status than to the Canadian classic rock icon. “Blue Rubber Line” navigates rocky waters with some guitar effects phasing and echoey backdrops a bit later into the eleven minute track. “Rebus Jumps” is the best incendiary jam as bassist Paul Kollar steps up: he recalls Larks’ Tongues… era John Wetton doing his best to punish as well as propel the tempo. The trio really cooks on this piece with drummer Philip Wylie’s cowbell adding just the right accents. On “Flight of the Porridge Bird” the trio really gels too. They prove that they can keep it up and maintain the interplay ad infinitum. And finally some wah-wah and controlled distortion from the guitarist’s bag of tricks appears as well. On the last track, the bass line is especially prominent and dovetails into a major chord like Fly By Night era Rush with a series of tasty hammer-ons from Barton (that recalls Peter Banks in Flash). Overall it was an especially electric night for the trio in January that created these live sessions.

– Jeff Melton

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