Saratoga Loves LaMP: Jam Trio Shines at Putnam Place

SARATOGA SPRINGS — When a band is named LaMP, it’s near impossible to not make an “Anchorman” reference. Thankfully, this trio of jam band veterans is in on the joke (their website is ilikelamp.com).

The curious name is a combination of the first letters of each band member’s surname. Russ Lawton and Ray Paczkowski are both co-members of Phish frontman Trey Anastasio’s eponymous band, and Scott Metzger also shreds for Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, which is widely regarded as either the best or one of the best Grateful Dead tribute acts.

Rather than repeat the same sounds they create elsewhere, this trio has used LaMP to keep things groovy, jazzy, and instrumental. To these ears, they sounded something akin to Circles Around the Sun meets 70s-era Herbie Hancock. To the ears of their audience at Putnam Place on May 8, the sound inspired a whole lot of dancing.

According to their bio, LaMP played their first gig at a bar in Burlington, Vermont in December 2018 before entering a studio to create their debut EP, released in 2020. Five years later, a follow-up, One of Us, arrived on both vinyl and streaming platforms.

The group is one of those side projects created by talented musicians that flies a tad under the radar, but any fan should want it that way. There was no giant ticket conglomerate shelling expensive seats at LaMP’s recent gig in Saratoga Springs. Virtually anyone could afford the price of admission and find themselves an arm’s length away from the stage. From that vantage point, they could enjoy, in all its loud and live glory, the talents of three master musicians who are on stage simply because they want to be. Lest the joke be made one too many times, let it be said just once more, “I love LaMP.”