The Radiators 1999-06-18

The Radiators
The Call - Providence, RI
June 18, 1999
(download)

The Radiators have much to choose from on archive.org. There are shows stretching back as far as 1979, and ones from just the other day (a show I wished I'd gone to). They are a great band, who's work will make frequent appearances on this blog as time goes by. The Radiators carry with them the sound and feel of their home down in New Orleans. In rhythm: the bass guitar chugs along like a tuba, the drum set sounds like individual instruments, the piano frills along in that Professor Longhair style.

To get what I am talking about, listen to "Come on in my Kitchen." I have heard dozens of bands cover this song in several different styles. It's a common Robert Johnson blues standard that even has its own wikipedia page. The Radiators just slide into the song with a little piano riff. They are in no rush to get things started. The tightest the song gets is during the unison lick on the turnaround, but besides that the song celebrates laid back funk. A rare thing in most of the covers of this song.

With all that said, this Radiators show is a bit different. This acoustic performance from 1999 offers up the funkiness of the Radiators mixed with intensity of an acoustic performance. It is not the only time the band has done this-and I did pick this show a bit randomly-but I wanted to continue on my acoustic music kick. I settled on this particular show, because of the cover of "Soul of a Man" they ended their second set with.

Set l-
You Aint Goin' Nowhere, Back To Loveland, Don't It Make You Wanna Go Home -> Highway 61 -> Honky Tonkin', Girl With The Golden Eyes, Black Dog, Diamond Joe -> Salty Jane, If I Were A Carpenter, My Sweet Nightbird, Soul Of a Man

Set 2-
Come On In My Kitchen, He's Misstra Know-It-All, Rosie, King Of The Road, My Home Is On The Border, Nadine, I Don't Worry About A Thing, Viva Las Vegas, You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond, Parchman Farm

Encore-
Life Ain't Nothing But A Party, For What It's Worth

The run time of this show is 2 hours and 35 minutes. Thanks to whoever uploaded this one. And no, I have no idea what Heatgen is.

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

Robert Randolph and the Family Band 2005-7-29 Starland Ballroom Sayreville, NJ (dowload)

Does great music sometimes compel you to throw your hands up and let out a "HELL YEAH!", much to the disdain of your significant other/children/co-workers/etc.? Do you enjoy this guilty pleasure?

If you've answered yes to these questions, I've got just the show for you, and if you're not on your feet by the end of this one, I'll give you your money back.

(Of course, you haven't paid any money...But we'll worry about that later, OK?)



If a Robert Randolph and the Family Band show is vaguely reminiscent of every hands-in-the-air Sunday morning church service you've ever seen (think Blues Brothers, the James Brown church scene), this isn't an accident. Randolph and the band cut their teeth playing in the band at the House of God Church in New Jersey. Way back when it was founded, the church couldn't afford an organ, so they opted for a pedal steel, or "Sacred Steel", instead.

(Excerpt from a Puremusic Interview with Robert Randolph):

PM: And it's the worship instrument in the House of God more than the organ, is that right?

RR: Yeah, exactly.

PM: That's interesting, because I've always thought that it's an eerily human sounding axe. I mean, it really sounds like somebody crying and somebody laughing, you know.

RR: Yeah. I mean, that's the way we was taught up to play it, like a singer moans and groans and weeps and hollers and screams, like the old Southern Baptist singers. You know how people in church go [singing] mmm-hmmm, and do a lot of moaning and carrying on.

This show comes to us from the Starland Ballroom in the band's home state of New Jersey, and it's a scorcher right out of the gate. The band opens with "Run For Your Life", a frantic get off your ass and move kind of tune that showcases the pedal steel really well. Both the cut and the crowd enthusiasm make this sound like a show ender rather than the first song of the night. (Check out a video snippet of this track being performed at this very show. Video is shaky, but the sound quality as pretty good for the 'Tube).

It just gets hotter from there, and this is how the set went down:

Jam>Run For Your Life, I Need More Love, The March, She Waits, Shake Your Hips, Dont Bring Me Down, Everything Is Going To Be Alright, Nobody, Dont Worry Be Happy>Squeeze>Soul Refreshing>Purple Haze, Roll Up>Warpigs jam>Roll Up

Sound quality for this set is an A-, there's a few variances in volume which keep it from being a solid A. The show was taped by Tim in Jersey, thank you Tim! Photo credit.

Bernie Worrell & the WOO Warriors 2002-04-20

Bernie Worrell & the WOO Warriors
2002-04-20
The Downtown - Farmingdale, NY (Download)

Bernie Worrell. Oh great and powerful "Wizard of WOO." He is classically trained from the New England Conservatory of Music. He co-wrote Parliament/Funkadelic classics like "Flashlight," "Atomic Dog," and "Cosmic Slop." In 1997, he was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. His career to date includes enough twists and turns that I gave serious consideration to creating a resume to keep it all straight. Just check out the video bellow.



The WOO Warriors play a mix of Parliament and Funkadelic songs, as well as others that Bernie has worked on. I chose this show because it was Bernie's birthday, and I love birthday concerts. The show opens up with a jam into "Why can't we WOO together?" "Volunteered Slavery" is a departure from the way most bands interpret this song. It's slower, more deliberate. That feeling is carried through "Outerspace Ways, Inc" right into the beginning of "Biological Speculation." The show ends with a strong version of "Thumpasasaurus." The rest of the show played out like this:

Intro-> Jam-> Why Can't We WOO Together, Gamin' On Ya, Super Stupid, Red Hot Mama, You and Your Folks Me and My Folks, Drums, Volunteered Slavery, Outerspace Ways, Inc., Biological Speculation, Happy Birthday, Bernie, Trash A-Go-Go, Standing On The Verge *, Cosmic Slop *ENCORE: Thumpasasaurus

Bernie Worrell, Gary Sullivan, Donna "Lady Bass" McPherson, "The Flash," Jen Durkin, * w/ John Hickey

Sound Quality is A- and the files are encoded in Shorten (see our new how to). Show clocks in around 1:40:58. As a side note, Jen Durkin is a member of Deep Banana Blackout and previously highlighted on thejivefather here. Show seeded by WOOFAN.

Addison Groove Project 2004-5-22

Addison Groove Project 2004-5-22 Webster Theater (Download)

As Thanksgiving came and I had some time off to sift through some more shows, my thoughts turned to Addison Groove Project, the Boston-based funk/jazz group which provided me with some amazing show nights and many hours of free and legal live sets due to their "taper friendly" policies.

Unfortunately, the association between Thanksgiving and the band is a sad one. AGP bassist John Hall succumbed to cancer on Thanksgiving night of 2004, a great musician and person who left the party too soon. John played through his illness as often as he could, and seeing the band during this period it was obvious that performing for his friends and fans provided him with a joyous diversion from a terrible disease.

This show was one played by John and the band during his illness. The venue is the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT, a fantastic little concrete box with uniquely and surprisingly warm acoustics. AGP opens up the set with some serious style, launching into the opening tracks of Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Visions of an Emerald Beyond". As anyone who has heard "Visions" knows, that's some pretty challenging material to warm up with. (if you haven't heard it, pick it up!)

After returning to some of their mainstays like "Crullers and Nyquil", they also pull off a respectable cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar", before playing their ode to renter's hell, "Small Apartment".

Addison Groove is sadly on extended hiatus and there are no shows planned for the forseeable future. Some members are involved in a new project, Skinjer.

The full set list:

Eternity's Breath Part I
Eternity's Breath Part II
Goodness Only Knows
Crullers And Nyquil
Wolfgang
The Ibim
Brown Sunlight
Cross The Tracks
Have A Cigar
Beantown
Beat Me Til I'm Blue

Sound quality is a B+, it receives the plus only because the recording captures the sonic essence of the Webster Theater rather well. Recorded and transferred by Dave Flaschner. Photo Credit.

Donations in memory of John Hall can be made to the Mockingbird Foundation

Deep Banana Blackout 2006-3-18

Deep Banana Blackout 2006-3-18
The Paradise Lounge - Boston, Massachusetts
(Download)

Deep Banana Blackout has been bringing the funk from Fairfield County, CT for over 10 years now. They formed and thrived in a state that, in my lengthy experience while living there, has produced some of the worst white guy pseudo funk (and pseudo-fratperson-funkateers) in the universe.

DBB has always been a taper friendly band, which may stem from the fact that they've relied on people passing bootlegs to create the following they have today. They're a band that thrives on live shows, and all but one of their released albums are live performances. Studio work just doesn't capture their essence, and I think they were smart enough to realize that after the tepid release that was Feel the Peel.

They've earned recognition in my inaugural post because they chose not to sign with a large label and decided instead to continue playing small shows to a loyal fan base, even though this is cited as a factor in the financial issues which caused the band to cease existence as a full time act in 2003.

Also, did I mention that they lay the funk down so hard that your ass will be shaking for weeks...?

In 2005 and 2006, the band reunited to play a few shows around St. Patrick's Day. On March 18th 2006, Dave and I attended one of these shows at the Paradise Lounge in Boston, MA. It was what DBB dubs their 10th anniversary show. We showed up early and had dinner and a drink in the restaurant area of the club. As we went into the back venue, the room was empty save a taper in an old school Public Enemy shirt setting up a rig worthy of serious envy. At that moment, I had a feeling we were in for good things, and I wasn't wrong. Kudos to Rob Adlers. The sound is top notch.

The set played out like this:

Set 1 Disc 1
Tr-01 Bring it up the Rear
Tr-02 Breakfast @ Volo's
Tr-03 Booty Ooty
Tr-04 Custard Pie
Tr-05 Stiff Pickin'
Tr-06 Mama's Ebding
Tr-07 Homo Lingo
Tr-08 Underdog
Tr-09 Take Me
Tr-10 Get Chall 98

Set 1 cont. Disc 2
Tr-01 Storm Bringer
Tr-02 Take The Time
Tr-03 Hear My Song
Tr-04 Standing on the Verge
Tr-05 Super Bad
Tr-06 Ascension
Tr-07 Gossip

Set 2 Disc. 3
Tr-01 Doin it to Death
Tr-02 Banter
Tr-03 Part Time Love
Tr-04 Bump And Sway
Tr-05 Rocker
Tr-06 Crowd
Tr-07 Boot!

The band played like they were blowing off steam from missing nearly a year of each other's musical company. They played like they'd spent 10 years faithfully funking out for the crowd. In fact, they funked like it was the last time they'd ever get to do it again!

The Deep Banana classics are well represented and there are some quality covers as well. The band was ON: They sweat and bled and laid it all out, and you can hear it. Fuzz's guitar work and Jen Durkin's vocals stand out in excellence as usual. In short, it's a blowout show. It's on par with the last DBB show at the Higher Ground just before the Winooksi, VT club closed, and that's really saying something.

It's hard to pick favorites from a show of this caliber, so I won't. Download the whole damn thing and judge for yourself! (If you like the show, I also recommend throwing the band a few bucks and picking up Rowdy Duty)