THE FLAIL – 9PM & 11PM

“The Flail is a quintet composed of post-music-school cats in their early 30s who rip up the joint… A touch experimental, a bit cacophonous, The Flail artfully lives up to its name.” — Karl Stark of the Philadelphia Inquirer

The Flail is a terrific young quintet that feels like a cooperative, but is compositionally led, at least on Never Fear, by trumpeter Dan Blankinship. The band takes the current language of modern jazz and gives it a very personal twist that’s full of energy and humor, telling stories along the way by using loose arrangements that allow for the maximum interaction between the band members without letting them fall into chaos.