Benevento Russo Duo 2004-05-20

Benevento Russo Duo 2004-05-20 The Boom Boom Room San Francisco, CA (download)

Doing a Benevento Russo Duo post takes us on another "What F&%$ing Genre is This?" adventure. I've always thought of them as the lovechild of a sticky summer tryst featuring jazz, trance, and rock, played on a keyboard and drums and computers...but that sounds pretty gross. Not quite as out there as Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (try as I might, I can never wrap my head around the musical mess that is JFJO), but not quite structured enough to be defined in any traditional way. What is it that they do? Luckily, the band was nice enough to help me out by putting this gem in their bio:

"They were an indie-rock band that jammed. They were a jazz-combo that rocked."

I couldn't put it better myself.



They're also known for doing some sweet Zeppelin and Radiohead adaptations, which you'll get to hear in this set as well. In fact, the entire 2nd set is all Zeppelin tracks. I'm not a big fan of posting cover bands, but I think when you hear this you will see why I decided to refer to these as adaptations. If you're a fan of The Bad Plus, expect something similar, and if these are elevator music covers as I have heard from a critic, I'll ride that elevator any day of the week.

I chose this set because it's very true to the Duo as I found them 5 or 6 years ago. Don't get me wrong, I really like their newer stuff too, but this is a great starting point for a new Duo fan and a nice trip down memory lane for longtime fans. The first set is a great cross section of old Duo tracks, and the Zeppelin set is quite good, and also just a lot of fun to listen to. Benevento and Russo have a really noteworthy ability to build up a track, so many start of slow and minimal, layers are slowly added, and suddenly several minutes in you will find yourself rocking out, frenzied and really experiencing a musical climax with them. The Duo at their best has an ability to build anticipation and provide payoff that so few groups can manage. Pardon me if I am offending any of our more chaste readers, but it's a musical orgasm, frankly. Get an extra pair of undies ready for listening to this show.

See for yourself in this very small sampling at the end of a performance of "Big Whopper":



The full set was:

Set 1: Vortex, Abduction Pose, Darts, Myxamatosis, Sunny's Song, Mephisto, ?, Marzipan

Set 2: The Song Remains The Same, The Ocean, What Is And What Should Never Be, Immigrant Song, Ramble On, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Four Sticks, Bring It On Home,

Encore 1: Fool In The Rain
Encore 2: Black Dog *

Sound Quality is an A-. Thanks to Jeff Patton and Brad Leblanc for taping and transferring!

Soulive 2005-08-20

*If you enjoy this show, you might also enjoy similar posts on Deep Banana Blackout, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, and Addison Groove Project.




Soulive 2005-08-20 Celebraterie Festival Erie, PA (Download)

I don't know why Dave and I do this to ourselves. He just finished a show review of the Hardest Band in the Universe to Genre-fy, and here I am trying to talk about a band only slightly less difficult to describe. A lot of the bands that I follow do a lot of this style melding, and it's no small part of why I like them so much. Musicians who turn live performances into the art-form it has become understand that their mission is greater than traveling to a bunch of places to play the same songs over and over.

I know some people hate looking at music as a business, but that doesn't change the fact that it's exactly that. So let's look at a band using a business analogy: The music of a great band is like a great software package. It starts with a solid base of something that is in demand, and it is constantly revised and improved based on what what will keep the end user (or fan) coming back for more. Does anyone think that The Dead would have nearly the following they still do if not for the fact that they toured constantly and were always learning and growing along the way...?

There is an excitement and anticipation for what will come from the next stop on the tour. What new cover or rare song might make it on to the setlist...? The best of the best (The Grateful Dead, Phish, Govt. Mule, Umphree's McGee, Widespread Panic, etc.) recognize that the product of their endless touring is more than showing up in different places and playing. It's about creating a running narrative with their fans that will keep them coming back for more, and it's also about the growth of the band itself.

A Soulive show illustrates this perfectly. The first time I ever saw this band was at the (unfortunately now defunct) Berkshire Mountain Music Festival. They played short sets each day of the festival and I was so impressed with the diversity of their sound and repertoire that I became a fan and remain one today. Was I hearing a jazz band, a live hip-hop band, or a James Brown/Jimi Hendrix cover band? No, I was hearing what can only be described as Soulive.

Tim Hammer of LAist- What do you think has been the secret to Soulive’s success?

Eric Krasno- I think it’s what we do with our live shows. We always bring energy to our live shows that our fans can appreciate. We are also trying to change what we do. We’ve been criticized a lot for changing our sound but in the end of it all, that’s what makes us happy. That’s really what helps us stay into this thing and stay fresh and stay excited.

Soulive is jazz and funk seasoned periodically with R&B, rock, hip-hop, reggae, and whatever else they feel like at any given time. Although centered around the trio of Eric Krasno, Alan Evans, and Neil Evans, the lineup of the band has also reflected the constant evolution of their sound, including at various times Sam Kininger, Rashawn Ross, Ryan Zoidis, Toussaint Yeshua, and others.

Here's "Reverb", which is included on the setlist for today's show-


This show is from 2005 and features the band in its 2nd "incarnation", when it included the Sam Kininger-led horn section and shows were more vocal heavy than they had been previously. The set is performed before an obviously involved audience, and the band has them worked into a frenzy by the end of it. In general, this was a very special time in the sonic adventure Soulive is on, and I think you'll be able to hear that. Some favorites of mine are the dub-infused "Reverb", a version of "Do it Again" with some stellar work on the keys and vocals reminiscent of "The Hardest Working Man in Showbusiness", and their covers of "Slippin' into Darkness" and "Crosstown Traffic". Here's the whole setlist:

1) Intro>Spinna>Uncle Jr., Vapor , Reverb, Slippin' Into Darkness *, One In Seven, I Know You Got Soul (Bobby Byrd), Crosstown Traffic, Do It Again *, (Crowd Noise), Tighten Up *

* Alan Evans on vocals

Sound is a B+, thanks to Levi Hunt for taping this show and DJ Necco for transferring it. Photo Credit is to the band's website, interview credit goes to Tim Hammer and the LAist.

-Soulive has a somewhat new album out entitled "No Place Like Soul" and I highly recommend checking it out if you liked this performance. The link above allows you to purchase it directly from the band's website and maximize your financial support to them.

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones 1999-04-30

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones 1999-04-30
Merle Watson Memorial Bluegrass Festival
North Wilkesboro, NC
(Download)

Writing about a band like Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is hard. Should they be categorized as jazz, bluegrass, instrumental, crossover (?!?!) classical, country, or world. It's difficult to decide, because the band or its members have won Grammy Awards in each of these categories. Once decided, the writer is presented with the additional daunting task of describing the Flecktones music and abilities.

To avoid sounding too gushing, one could take the position of a contrarian. That, however, doesn't seem very easy either. Just google "flecktones suck." Maybe the best advice comes from the editor of the Wilkesboro Journal-Patriot in introducing the Flecktones for this show, "Just shut up and introduce them." Plus, track four includes everything you need to know about the members of the band.

Intro > Throwdown, Imagine This, Band Intros, Big Country, Enter Sam Bush, Spanish Point, Stomping Ground, crowd, Encore: Cheeseballs In Cowtown

I ended up choosing this show by accident. I was searching archive.org for a Sam Bush show when I ran across it. If the Flecktones are normally missing something, Sam's presence fills the gap. He comes in halfway through the set, right after an excellent performance of "Big Country." He jumps right into "Spanish Point," off volume two of the Bluegrass Sessions album. While Sam and Béla have a long history playing together, it is such a treat to hear him with the Flecktones. It's sets like these that make going to a music festival worth it.

"They think the banjo can only be happy, but that's not true." -Bela Fleck

One complaint often aired from people that do not like the Flecktones, is that their music is too busy. While I'm often quick to dismiss this, the complaint does have some merit. Combining different styles of music like the Flecktones do creates compositions that are challenging and complex. For most people, they've never heard anything like it. In an effort to impose order on music, our brains tend flatten it out and listen superficially. The result is a cluttered wall of sound. I'm not trying to sound like an elitist, but to recognize that most people no longer listen to complicated music. Music that requires your full attention. There are just too many things competing for it. Active listening is a tricky skill to master, one that needs to be started at a young age (link).

For a quick exercise, let's listen to what is going on beginning at 2:24 on "Stomping Ground." The band launches into a call and response. It opens with Victor Wooten on bass laying down a groove, the rest of the band supporting. Jeff responds with his sax, then it repeats with Béla, and then Sam. Futureman stays in support, but he responds to what is being played. After listening closely to each individual instrument, you should be able to pick them up when they are playing together. At 3:03 the band comes back together into a unison. Can you still hear each individual voice? Now listen to another track. The things discovered make getting into music like this worth it.

Rebirth Brass Band 2006-06-30

Rebirth Brass Band 2006-06-30

High Sierra Music Festival - Quincy, CA

(Download)

New Orleans music just has it.  Music historians will talk about the march beat, the history of congo square, mardi gras, and the big chief, but for me the music that comes out of that city is the best our culture has to offer.  It is what we will be remembered for. For over 25 years the Rebirth (sometimes ReBirth) Brass Band has been carrying the torch. Their name takes on renewed importance in our post-Katrina world. Most recently they released a live DVD entitled From the Big Apple to the Big Easy ; a NYC Gulf Coast benefit.  

This performance from the High Sierra Music Festival is a show stopper.  They opened by sliding into a high-powered version of the Fats Domino tune "I'm Walking."  Rebirth covers one of my favorite party tunes, "Big Chief." I think "Rollin" best captures the spirit of the set, including dropping in a little Parliament tease.  Anyone familiar with the Blues Brothers movie will recognize the last song of the set, "Everybody Needs Somebody." No slight to the movie intended, but this is how this song should be done.  The rest of the set played out like this:

Recommended: Download higher quality FLAC

This is not jazz or brass band music in the form that you might be tempted to think of. When Rebirth started in the early 80's, they incorporated the musical developments around them (mostly the burgeoning genre of hip-hop) into their interpretation of New Orleans music. One can sense it from their choice of topics for their own compositions to the banter between the songs of this show.  It's so seamless that I wonder if they are even separate. While this is music for a Friday night, it is Monday, I'm feeling shitty, and this show made me smile.  Thanks to Freddie G for recording and posting this show. Photo comes from rebirthbrassband.com

Kaki King 2004-6-10

Kaki King 2004-6-10 The Iron Horse Northampton, MA (download)

Many people make great music. Some do it in a form easily classified and understood, and a few do it in a way different than anything done before. I have respect for both, but musicians who can create something unprecedented hold a special place in my heart. Great music is made, as they say, standing on the shoulders of giants, but it is those that stand on those shoulders who open the next door.

Kaki King makes music that isn't easily cornered. She's been compared to Michael Hedges and Preston Reed, but this doesn't really do her justice. For one, Kaki does her thing with a pretty normal 6 string guitar (more recently adding lap steel and some other toys).

"I played guitar in loud rock bands," she says. "But at some point I'm like a martial arts student. I learn all kinds of different stuff but I find this obscure Taiwanese art ... well not Taiwanese. But you know what I mean, something that is very obscure. I put myself to the challenge: Here are the rules. One guitar. Not a lot of instrumentation, or none preferably. No singing. Different tunings. I kind of just went with that. I didn't know it would be my career, it just was something I like to do."

This show brings Kaki to the Iron Horse in Northampton MA, which is a pretty hallowed venue around these parts due to the quality of both the acts and the sound. She opens up the set in a pretty shocking way, playing a short piece of "Georgia on My Mind" and then announcing to the crowd that Ray Charles had passed away that day. The recording captures the audience reaction, and it's obvious that some members of the audience hadn't heard yet. She then lets people absorb the news to the melancholy "All the Landslides that Birds Have Seen" before launching into the trademark "Playing With Pink Noise", which is the song previewed in the video above, and she spun a great set on from there. Highlights of this show also include "Magazine" and my favorite which neither I nor archive.org have been able to find a title for.

1. Intro/Georgia on My Mind
2. All the Landslides Birds Have Seen
3. Playing With Pink Noise
4. Neanderthal
5. Solipsist
6. Ingots
7. ???
8. Lies
9. Can the Gwot Save Us
10. My Insect Life
11. Magazine
12. Doing the Wrong Thing
13. Carmine Street

Kaki has a new album coming out on March 11th called "Dreaming of Revenge". No doubt it will be as innovative as her previous releases. Check out her site for more info.

Sound quality is A+, this is about as clean and tight as live performance gets unless you're paying $15 for a mastered CD. It was recorded by Clinton Vadnais, so thank you Clinton! Photo Credit.

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe 2001-12-31

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
2001-12-31
Warfield Theater
San Francisco, CA
(Download)

My new years eve traditions have evolved over the years to throw aside anything frantic, and focus in on welcoming in the new year relaxed and reenergized. What I really like to do is gather with friends to take a hike during the day, and at night enjoy an old favorite, plus something new, and listen and play music. In that vein I started exploring new years eve shows on archive.org. This Karl Denson's Tiny Universe show caught my attention. While I want to sit around and hang out, I still want to listen to something that emanates energy. It is new years after-all.

"Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account." -Oscar Wilde

Sometimes Denson is refered to as neo-bop. In my mind nothing fits that label closer than this interpretation of "Auld Lang Syne." It is a little dissonant and busy (some might call it noisy), so if you don't like it skip ahead a track. Nobody will tell on you. A pretty ballsy opener. My two favorite tracks from the show are "All the Brothers and Sisters" and "The Answer." "Spanish Castle Magic" is about the slowest feeling track in mix. It's afrobeat rhythms take you down low. The set played out like this (note the differences in track listings hear vs. archive.org. This is the correct order and song names.):

Auld Lang Syne* > All the Brothers and Sisters*, Steamed Water#@, The Answer, How fine is that?, Elephants#, Spanish Castle Magic%, Because of Her Beauty, Crosswinds, Freedom, Jam > Fallin'

Karl Denson- saxes and flute, Chris Littlefield- trumpet, Brian Jordan- guitar, David Veith- keys, Ron Johnson- bass, Zak Najor- drums Mike Dillon- percussion, * with Skerik- sax, # with Chipito Ayeres- percussion, @ with Adrian Ayeres- percussion , % with Fareed Haque- guitar

On this particular night, KDTU opened up for Galactic. Hard to believe, considering their opening set clocks in at over two hours. Karl had a pretty busy night joining Galactic for "Baker's Dozen" and "Shucktime," before heading across town to joining String Cheese Incident on "Round the Wheel." Sound quality is B+, a little bass heavy. Show is encoded in shorten info on how to play shorten files can be found on etree.org. I recommend using xACT for the Mac.  Happy New Year!

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