Last Friday night, Reid Genauer and the Assembly of Dust, with a special opening act by Al Schiner of MOE, got busy kicking out the jams for an eager group of true blue fans at the Clifton Park live music hot spot, Northern Lights. Although the crowd was sparse, they were one of the most high energy bunches I've seen in a long time, courtesy of some good old fashion home grown AOD cooking, with a dash of MOE.

The first act of the night was jam band MOE member Schiner going solo. Sporting only his guitar, harmonica, and verbal stylings, Schiner filled an hour with his songs of ranging styles and subjects. Pulling out the funk on some, he kept the heads of the devote MOE fans lining the front of the stage bobbing through entire songs. Others, however, made my Tennessee native friend slap her knee and say, Talk about some country, I feel right at home!

Playing guitar and harmonica at the same time, which never ceases to impress me, Schiner demonstrated some real musical talent as a solo artist. He was very personable with the fans as well, describing the inspirations for his songs and talking about whatever the moment seemed to bring. The only rough point was his Tom Petty-esque singing voice, which sometimes went off key and was uncomfortable to listen to. But, when you've already made it big with a very well known band such as MOE, fans will still be happy to hear you, even if some of the notes are similar to the sound of wringing out a wet cat.

Now on to the main show, the AOD boys. With a sound and style much like that of MOE's, these talented musicians were able to fill the night with a showcase of songs set to keep the beat alive. A cross between soul, funk, and blues, Genauer led his band, the Assembly of Dust, with his fancy acoustic/electric git-fiddle through songs with the perfect blend of lyrical organization and jamming out.

Genauer's vocals were extremely clean and powerful, and the band's rhythms catchy. Bassist John Leccese knew how to lay down the slap, and drummer Andy Herrick was clean and versatile. The solos from the lead guitarist and keyboard player were of obvious blues origin, but had a style all their own, and were just the right length. The key player did love the high notes though, which tended to do a number on the ol' ear drums. The crowd loved the music of AOD as well. The feel of the show was very positive, with most of the audience getting down to every song. You knew people were having a good time. Genauer even invited Schiner up to stage with the band, for a very enjoyable, very talented jam session.

The night after the show, we tried out the self-titled debut Reid Genauer and the Assembly of Dust CD which was just as good as the live show. The tracks include shortened versions of the jam sessions with powerful soul and gospel-like vocal additions. All the tracks from the night before were there, along with bonus video material and such.

Overall, Schiner, Genauer, and the AOD put on a great show of artistically oriented yet danceable tunes for the fun-loving, energetic crowd last Friday night. So if you see these boys coming to town again sometime, forget the hot and crowded, strobe light laden, make you want to throw-up atmosphere of the hip-hop nightclub, and check out Genauer and the AOD instead. The ladies will have just as much fun with 100 percent less creeps and the gentlemen ...well, you shouldn't even need a reason to stay away from those strobe lights, so support live music and catch AOD.