5 Flavor Discount rolled into Londonderry, New Hampshire last night, and the Rhode Island-based band kept Whippersnapper’s patrons on the dance floor all night.The quartet opened with the Jimi Hendrix classic “Stone Free.” Guitarist Jon Hathaway got a nice thick fuzzy tone in his melodic phrases. Hathaway went wild in his solo, firing off those higher pitched notes that sounded like the guitar screaming with joy. Lead vocalist and front person Robin Soares brought an acid-blues vocal approach to the Hendrix tune, and this new twist kept the song as interesting as the guitar work.5 Flavor Discount can easily switch gears from Hendrix to Stevie Wonder. “Sign, Sealed, Delivered” came off well with Hathaway’s bouncy funk riffs and Healey’s forceful bass playing. Healey can control all of the color and tones in a song with his low end anchor making songs sail through twisty grooves.
Soares massaged the vocal phrases in Ohio Player’s “Fire” and she belted in a way that rung out the drama and dynamics. Needless to say, Hathaway followed her with a fiery solo after she showed she can really hold a note forever as well as belt out a vocal phrase. Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” was a whirlwind of tense rhythm. Hathaway nailed the classic solo before getting jiggy with it, putting his own personal stamp on the intervals of notes he was blowing out.
Sly And The Family Stone’s song “Higher” came off like another force of nature with guitar, bass, and drums making a huge, heavy, danceable sound. From the funk of Sly, 5DF slid right into some hard rock with The Black Crows’ version of “Hard To Handle,” Hathaway bringing it all to life with his nifty guitar work. Soares stepped down so Hathaway could lend his lead vocal to “Brown Sugar” and the three-piece made a full sound because the band knows how to use harmonics and dynamics to make more with less and because Hathaway knows how to play lead and rhythm simultaneously. Hathaway can also handle these classic rock lead vocals. He’s been doing them for so long he knows every nuance and inflection.
In true 5FD style the band soon went into disco with the 1970s’ piece “These Are Such Good Times” and the song pulled a lot of Whippersnappers patrons onto the dance floor. Next up was Parliament’s “Tear The Roof Off” and Soares belted those high notes while the band slid into that funk groove. Hathaway pressed out high note phrases before nailing that familiar funk melody. The most interesting thing about Hathaway is he manages to keep things fresh and recognizable at the same time. Healey, meanwhile, can put out bulbous, palpable notes that make you feel like you’re sinking into the groove.
DeFazio, the cutesy, five foot, one-inch female drummer, played a complex solo that was skillful, skin-smacking fun. 5FD had a ball with Black Eyed Peas numbers that the band handled with their adept rhythmic skills before grooving mellow with “I’ll Take You There” and “Let’s Talk About Sex.” Soares eventually moved out onto the dance floor for a rousing rendition of oldies staple “Shout”
The 5 Flavor Discount went into another groove mode with songs by Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, and Aretha Franklin, and, without a hesitation, switched gears again and rocked out on The Rolling Stones’ number “Honky Tonk Woman.” Bass boy Healey sang Rod\Stewarts’ “Hot Legs” with his dry rasp fitting the song like a glove. The band got frenetic on “You Shook Me” by AC/DC and they had fun playing The Clash tune “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?”
Near the end of the night Hathaway played some nice psychedelic slide guitar on Steve Miller’s “The Joker,” making an indelible impression on an audience that already seemed wholly impressed, judging by how often almost everybody in the room crowded the dance floor. 5 Flavor Discount is simply a fun, party band who do their thing with a high degree of musicality and talent.
