REVIEW | Matt O'Brian moves past reggae with 'Wanna Believe Wednesdays' 

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Even though Flying Object — the latest musical project from Matt O’Brian, former frontman for roots reggae bands Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and Thunder Body — has been around since 2020, Rochester audiences have had few opportunities to see the new group in action.


That’s changed with “Wanna Believe Wednesdays,” Flying Object’s weekly October residency at Flour City Station. And although the new residency is reminiscent of Thunder Body’s “Medicine Wednesdays” at Flour City and Abilene, Flying Object’s October 11 show, the second of four in the series, was surprising in several ways.

Last year, Flying Object released its debut EP, “No Rewind,” which let listeners know O’Brian’s reggae days are largely behind him. What the five-song collection did not prepare fans for was the band’s predilection for launching into jams once the songs’ pop-rock structure has been established. That said, what separates Flying Object from a self-indulgent group of Grateful Dead devotees is commitment to the integrity of a song over freewheeling solos.

On Wednesday night, Matt O’Brian led from the front of the stage as the band’s bassist. It was a step away from behind the drum kit, where he fronted Thunder Body. This time, he handed the sticks to his brother Chris O'Brian.

With the rhythm section benefiting from bloodline chemistry, it was important the remaining members of the band matched that intuition: enter keyboardist Elliott Schwartzman and guitarists Max Flansburg and Mike Martinez. Their already layered sound was rendered even more lush by the addition of guitarist Ric Robertson, who sat in with the band during both the evening's sets. As O’Brian mentioned multiple times, Robertson is a natural fit with Flying Object, and his solos were second only to his brilliant take on the Black spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”

While three guitars could have easily been a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, Schwartzman’s superb contributions on the Rhodes piano and a Nord Electro 5 cut through the dense textures with contrasting tones. The band was also enhanced by the percussive and vocal contributions of the effortlessly smooth Chris English.


Flying Object played tunes from “No Rewind,” including “Tiny Bits of Paper” and “Heads or Tails,” a catchy foot-tapper that featured a seamless transition into jam-band territory. But the joyful jams weren’t the only unexpected treat. O’Brian’s choice of cover songs was all over the map and intriguing; Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life,” “No Surprises” by Radiohead, and Paul Simon’s “Graceland” all got the Flying Object treatment, with the latter classic taking on a subtle, more laid-back vibe than the original.

There’s no telling what surprises Flying Object has planned for the next two Wednesdays, but based on this performance, we know it’s going to be upbeat, adventurous, and most importantly, fun. The band is clearly settling into its identity, and the results are exciting.

For more information on Flying Object's "Wanna Believe Wednesdays," go to facebook.com/Mattobriansflyingobject.

Daniel J. Kushner is an arts writer at CITY. He can be reached at [email protected].