Jeff Lewis / Staff Photographer

Last week’s run at the Belly Up Tavern felt like a small music festival. In the course of 48 hours, five bands entered the coastline venue with their own musical integrity while each night of music was a gradual buildup to the headliner. Tuesday evening initiated the run of fun reminiscing the rambling rolling thunder days of Bob Dylan, complete with band These United States that led into headliner Stockholm Syndrome (Eric McFadden on guitar, mandolin and vocals; Danny Louis on keyboards and vocals; Wally Ingram on drums, percussion and vocals; Dave Schools on bass and vocals and Jerry Joseph on guitar and lead vocals). Living up to the definition of the band’s name, the group of musicians kidnapped each of the members’ own talents and conjured up a relationship of potent and provocative sounds.

A vigorous animal, Stockholm Syndrome wasted no time morphing its presence of musical hunger into what it has set out to become: a rock “n’ roll band. However, the band is not for teeny-bopping, small-ball rock band fans, and is unapologetic through and through. Joseph shed his skin of lyrical honesty that makes a listener take note with grit focus that is equally aging and engaging. McFadden wails in abundance on the electric guitar while setting a reggae rhythm anytime he picks and plucks the mandolin. Louis probes his keys that lock in with the thunder and grumble of Ingram’s kit and Schools’ volcano drone-funked bass. It’s almost funny, but not surprising, this “dream team” of musicians came together as a side project and is now a full band.

From land and sound, Wednesday covered a large and diverse body of water that kept heat-seeking fans hydrated from the previous night. The trifecta bill kicked off with the Bay Area root-down beats of Salvador Santana and his band. Mixing the sounds of world idioms into it’s own pursuit of style, Santana and crew surrounded the stage with a city of instruments. Fused Latin-jazz funk beats were tied together with baritone raps that carried a message of overall world unity. Some like to think Santana’s upbringing has something to do with the diversity of the band, because Carlos Santana happens to be his father.

Judging by appearance, The New Mastersounds (Eddie Roberts on guitar, Simon Allen on drums, Pete Shand on bass and Joe Tatton on keyboards) looked as if it were born from Mod rockers straight out of Leeds, ready to bust out renditions of classic cuts from The Who and The Jam. Yet, gracing into signature English wit, the band took the stage with a growing crowd. The concoction resulted in a steady flow of more open-ended jazz-funk that had laid-back San Diegans grooving to a steady rhythm.

The band was a perfect introduction to “supafunkrock” outfit Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews on trumpet and vocals, Michael Ballard on bass, Pete Murano on guitar, Dan Oestreicher on baritone sax, Joey Peebles on drums and Dwayne Williams on percussion).

Continuing the audacious train of entertainment and welding the New Orleans sound from the previous week of “The Crescent City” predecessors Galactic, Andrews led the young artists and fans into another high-energy groove that developed naturally. The genre-spanning band swept into loyal brass that can only be rooted from the boiling pot of the Sixth Ward in New Orleans, also covered diverse rock-riffs and rhythms recycled into a new sound. Taking it to another level is a standard more so than ever in this town. Thanks to well-rounded outfits from “The Big Easy,” Andrews and company covered classics such as Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and The Meters “Cissy Strut,” signifying a new direction and paving a landscape that respectfully sustains the past, present and future.

For information on the bands check out the following Web sites:
www.theseunitedstates.net, www.stockholmsyndromeband.com, www.salvadorsantana.com, www.newmastersounds.com and www.tromboneshorty.com.

For upcoming shows at Belly Up Tavern, check out www.bellyup.com.