Fans, friends, and former East Cooper classmates have made a habit of squeezing into Art’s Bar & Grill every New Year’s Eve to get down and funky to local groove-rock ensemble Sol Driven Train. This year the guys performed with an expanded lineup (extra percussion) and a little extra instrumentation (djembe, banjo, and extra horns). Singer/guitarist Joel Timmons, dressed in a red cape and pajamas, looked like a deranged superhero out for a nightcap. As midnight approached, he and the band detoured from a few sax-peppered original tunes into a quadruple-percussion Afro-funk instrumental jam. Timmons kept time with sticks on a floor tom while drummer Phill Eason and a few guest percussionists traded licks. They got so deep into the groove that they almost missed the countdown. If it wasn’t for members of the audience shouting and pointing at the footage from Times Square on the television hanging over the stage, they might have banged through it entirely. Luckily, they took notice, put on the brakes, and picked up the count around “eight … seven … six.” Demonstrating an ability to switch gears with ease, they immediately launched into “Auld Lang Syne,” horns blaring. —T. Ballard Lesemann
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