Brock Butler celebrated his birthday in Manhattan this past weekend ripping apart the Bowery Ballroom Friday night and Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday. Both nights were phenomenal and they brought a much more electronica vibe to this performance then they were here back in February. There was more exploration in the music this time. Less frat rock, more free-flow rage.
Brock Butler @ Brooklyn Bowl
Perpetual Groove is a band with a large cult following. Their latest release, Heal, came out in January 2009. They hold a wonderful music festival every year called Amberland. Led by musical encyclopedia, Brock Butler, you can always be sure that you will have an interesting musical evening as this group touches on a wide variety of styles of music, numerous covers and funky get-down jams.
The first set of the Bowery Ballroom performance is my favorite set of the entire weekend. It was blasting with energy, filled with songs about friendships and championship such as Crockett and Tubbs, All My Friends and We Are Your Friends. There was a vibe shooting through the stage Friday night. The birthday party had commenced.
Bass Rage @ Brooklyn Bowl
Seeing TTFPJ in the set list, I had to figure out what it meant. After a bit of digging, it is my understanding that TTFPJ stands for Tribute to Freddy Prince Jr. The explanation gets more in-depth by continuing to dissect the lyrics behind the song. The tribute is apparently referencing FPJ’s marriage to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
They covered some great songs like The Beatles‘ Helter Skelter, Bob Dylan‘s The Man In Me (I think) and at some point Brock Butler mashed Wyclef Jean‘s Gone Till November into Walking in Place, I believe.
Having blasted PGroove‘s Youtube video cover of Kanye West’s We Don’t Care the entire week prior to the show, Josh shouted to Brock about playing this during the second set. Brock looked right at Josh and said he would have to talk to the fellas about it. Sadly, it never happened. We were hoping for it to be the encore and it might have happened however…
Albert Suttle - Drums
Encoring with Chemical Brother‘s The Golden Path at the Bowery Ballroom, there was no encore the following night at the Brooklyn Bowl. Rather, Brock Butler told the audience, “We have to get off stage at 12:15 on the dot. Instead of stepping away we are going to play right through.” The crowd went wild and the remainder of both nights were filled with trippy dancing, smiling, sing alongs and space in everyone’s faces.
There have been very few post-Jerry/Dead projects that I have enjoyed. As stated in previous articles, I lost almost all interest in pursuing The Dead after Jerry died. It took many a year before I started seeing Furthur for the first time this year and sadly, Bobby practically ruined the first set by passing out on his feet while on stage.
There will forever be post-Jerry projects but nothing will quite match The Grateful Dead and the power through music that they projected while Jerry was alive. But at the end of the day, we LOVE those songs, we LOVE the lyrics, and we LOVE the notes. At the end of the day, it sometimes doesn’t matter who is singing them. And so, I have begun checking out the Post-Jerry projects that have come around my way. More importantly, I have come to appreciate, albeit only a few, Post-Jerry projects I have seen beginning with Bill Kreutzmann‘s 7 Walker’s, including Papa Mali and George Porter. A lovely new project with fresh Robert Hunter lyrics.
I was internally PRAYING that there would be a dance floor. At times, B.B. Kings has somehow thought that the audience to some of their shows might be old and not want to dance? Shoot, not at a Dead-related project. Happily, as we walked into the B.B. Kings basement space they had left a portion of the dance floor uncluttered with tables and it was packed from side to side with dancers. I have just got to assume that B.B. Kings doesn’t give a rats ass about the people actually watching the music, they only care about the people buying alcohol and the people who sit down to eat. The rest of us are just supposed to fend for ourselves.
Starting the first set with Scarlet Begonias, an uplifting, vibrant song, Tim Bluhm‘s vocals slide into place perfectly with that Devilish sound. Such a great voice, slightly obscure for those unfamiliar with his projects, such a commanding presence and great guitar styling. He was a perfect fit for this project.
Keller Williams, on the other hand, is by no means a weaker substitute, yet he has such a distinct voice and guitar styling that the whole thing just screams that Keller Williams is performing with The Rhythm Devils. For those of us who LOVE Keller Williams, this is a wonderful treat and I do LOVE Keller Williams, both his voice, his styling and his cute head of hair! However, it felt as though Tim Bluhm folded right into the group, mixing seamlessly into the The Rhythm Devils sound rather then standing alone as Keller did.
Davy Knowles - Amazing!
Fire on the Mountain was to follow with Davy Knowles kicking out the first guitar solo of the night. Now, if I could insert a sound clip here it would be of a car coming to s screeching halt after you hear his name. Personally, in that front row, as soon as I focused on him…I hit the brakes and my jaw dropped. How many of y’all have heard of DAVY KNOWLES? DAVY KNOWLES!! Wow. A wonderful, handsome, vocally appealing, shredding guitar player. Yes, another one of those.
Mikey Hart rage!
The Grateful Dead medallion fronting Mickey Hart‘s Drum kit shimmered in lights, almost as if it were winking at us as The Devils performed what could be a potential theme song: Friend of the Devil. Davy Knowles moved to the mandolin for this tune, further exposing his talents to the audience. Originally from England, when not touring with The Rhythm Devils, Davy is leading the group Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam.
Tim was reading lyrics all night!
After a while, I noticed Tim Bluhm was looking at his music stand more than usual. It became clear he was reading the lyrics and possibly reading the chords to the songs as he sang, tossing his lyric sheets to the ground after each song. I thought of my of one of my girlfriend’s, who has a major thing for guys reading sheet music hahaha.
Tripping their way into Fountains of Wood, it was a great song. The talking drum played by Sikiru Adepoju was an interesting addition. It add slight dimension but overall , without even a spot light on the poor guy, he was cast to the side and I forgot he was there half the time. That is absolutely not a good thing. Now, if you want to see a talking drum performance, come with me to see the West African Band at midnight every Saturday. Unreal…
Davy on Mandolin
Check out The Mother Hips too!!
The remainder of the set brought forth a free jam on the drums. Mickey Hart rang the chimes, adding a softness to the lovely This One Hour. Davy Knowles leading vocals on Cold Rain and Snow. I just fell in love with him harder and harder with every note that came from his mouth and hands. At some point throughout the night, I overheard people dissin’ the lovely, young musician that was tearing the stage up that night. Honestly. It absolutely didn’t bother me, like it appeared to bother others, that this young man was so young. Personally, it makes me happy for the future of Dead projects/music/vibes when I see young musicians holding their place along side the greats. When I see them taking that music, becoming inspired by it, taking it on and making it their own all while keeping the integrity of the song. He was phenomenal. How could anyone hate on him? Blew my mind…
Andy Hess - Bass
I saw my friends to the left of the stage and I made my way for a different vantage point. At some point during the first set, a photographer had placed a Jerry Garcia Bobble Head Doll near Andy Hess, on top of the amps. For the remainder of the night, Andy would take a step forward and softly tap the head allowing Jerry to nod in agreement to the smiling faces.
Lovin Tim!!
The Rhythm Devils closed the first set with a feisty rendition of Cumberland Blues and UNCLE JOHN’S BAND!!! Such a great tune. Such a familiar tune. Everyone was singing and dancing and smiling. The EXACT hoped outcome for such a show!
Bill Kreutzmann
We took a break outside to use our phones and rage Times Square a bit. There is no phone reception in the basement of B.B. Kings Club. It’s quite annoying but liberating at the same time. Not drinking, I picked up a soda from the street vendor to have in my purse. Surrounding the cart were tie-dyed shirts as far as the eye could see. This was nothing like when Furthur was in town a few months back and the streets were hardly walk-able, but it was still a highly psychedelic street. After about 10 minutes, we made our way back down the plush stairs for the second set.
We made sure to walk in a little early so that Josh could join me in the front stage. Being that he is over 6-feet, it’s better he already be there rather then try to push his way up to the front once it’s already packed. After a few minutes, the stage was once again filled with some of our scenes most respected musicians. Watching Tim Bluhm‘s solo during Samson and Delilah was a point where I caught myself completely lost in the moment.
Wrecking Crew was fun. A light, danceable song (as if any of their songs WERE NOT danceable) that had everyone on stage as well as the audience grinning from ear to ear. It was clear that the members on stage that night were having a blast. It came out in their performances, the musical banter was evident. Listen to Davy Knowles‘s voice. Man, I love his voice!!
Any rage...
Then it was time for the drums! Making way for the intro into The Other One, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart completely took off on their respective monstrous set-ups. I sometimes have my issues with muddy snare drums or too many electronics but these two truly created a unique vibe in B.B. Kings that night. In the moment, I thought there was some deep, creative drumming going on. Sikiru Adepoju had his moment on the talking drum as well during this time. Still, no spot light placed on him. He stood on the side, in the shadows. WHY???
Not so Tiny Tim
Bobble Head Jerry
Mountain of the Moon was lovely. Such a slow song, couples formed and began swaying immediately as Tim’s voice soothed over us on vocals. The various guitar solos followed and SPAAAAACE entailed through to the end of the song. Totally trippy. Voodoo Zombies, sang by Davy Knowles, who sounded a little like a male version of Joan Osbourne for a minute, followed bringing the vibe back into overdrive followed by New Speed Way Boogie where the guitars weeped on stage and the bass was heavy. Andy tapped Bobble Jerry with a smile while the audience sang along helping the band bring the songs to their end.
A HUGE jam out occurred during Strange World. And finally, they closed the set out with Not Fade Away. Another sing-a-long kind of song that had everyone involved.
Mikey Hart
As they exited the stage, the crowd finished their singing and began screaming as loud as they could. A truly appreciative audience who, I think, realized how great a performance they had just seen. With the introduction of Davy Knowles into the mix, I had been elevated to some pretty high heights as he sang with that voice. With the insertion of Tim Bluhm as lead over Keller Williams, I had seen a different performance, I had felt that this was such a better fit. As I spanned the room for friends, they returned to the stage for one last song. As Davy Knowles sang So Many Roads, I slowly prepared myself for the night of music to be over. That is never a fun feeling but what a song to end on!!
Sadly, a recording of the performance never made its way online. There were numerous tapers at the show. However, at sometime, I believe during intermission, something occurred between some tapers and the audience that forced the taping to be shut down. Some STUPID Drama ensued and here we are with no recording. GRRRRRRRRRRRR……regardless, here is the set-list and I hope the videos suffice!!
Sept 1 – NEW YORK, NY – B.B. King Blues Club
1st Set: Scarlet Begonias>, Fire on the Mountain>, Friend of Devil, Fountains of Wood, This One Hour, Cold Rain and Snow>, Cumberland Blues>, Uncle John’s Band
2nd Set: Sampson & Delilah>, Wrecking Crew>, Other One, Mountains of the Moon, Voodoo Zombies, New Speedway Boogie, Strange World, Going Down the Road Feeling Bad, Not Fade Away
Live music!! What would our lives be with out it? For live music lovers, and I think I can speak for most of us when I say this, we look forward to new and unusual sounds coming up out of our scene. Once in a while, a group comes along that pushes the boundaries of their musical talent. They push the boundaries of what is popular and what might be. They push the comfort zone of our ears, our listening pallets. I can say, without hesitation, Caravan of Thieves if just one of these groups.
The Living Room
Caravan of Thieves graced Manhattan with a month long Tuesday night residency at The Living Room in New York City’s East Village. The brain child of husband and wife duo Fuzz Fuzzman (Deep Banana Blackout) and Carrie Sangiovanni, Caravan of Thieves not only brings to the scene a uniquely vibing, gypsy jazz sound but more importantly, their performance is rich with fun and flare. Flat out awesome gypsy rage.
Django Reinhardt
Gypsy Jazz & Gypsy Swing was made famous in the 1930’s through the musical styling of Django Reinhardt, a name synonymous with the style. I wager not many people have ever heard the name, let alone heard the beautiful music that came from this innovative European guitar player who changed music forever. I can’t think of anyone who has brought this musician to the forefront of my mind until I heard this performance. Fuzz Fuzzman is Django-incarnate.
James “Fuzz” Sangiovanni – Voice + Guitar
Carrie Sangiovanni – Voice + Guitar
Ben Dean – Violin
Brian Anderson – Double Bass
Special Guest: Bruce Martin (Tom Tom Club)
As I walked into the back room of The Living Room, through the heavy velvet curtains, I was greeted with a packed room, dimly lit intimate tables and a stage covered with what appeared to be a music group pulled right from the 1930’s. With Victorian flare, they wore page boy caps, Fedora hats, suspenders, ripped stockings, corsets, vests, thin ties…their image a direct reflection of their dedication to style of their sound.
Caravan of Thieves @ The Living Room
The first thing that stood out from their wonderful image was the lack of a drum kit. The second thing, no electricity at all…full acoustic, which I was looking forward to after a heavy week of electric raging from other various performances.
Sadly, I missed the first song (I Don’t Wanna Be) but walked in as The Caravan raged into a phenomenal cover of Queen‘s Bohemian Rhapsody. Carrie held to the vocals as Ben Dean covered the underlying melody with the night’s first solo to my ears coming from the violin. As Fuzz sung, “I see a a little silhouette of a man…,” the crowd joined the four Thieves and a sing-a-long ensued. Fuzz pulled out a ripping solo bringing the song to an end.
Fuzz & Carrie Sangiovanni
The third song cemented the Gypsy style into my ears with I Can’t Behave, a love song marked with dilemma. This would be the first time the Thieves had performed this song in front of an audience and the banter before hand was comical. “There’s something nice about a First Time!” says Carrie, as she gazed jokingly at Fuzz. The end of the song raged forth chaos which brought to mind Russian’s dancing the Kozachok. Perhaps there was a Gypsy dance that would fit this song.
Caravan of Thieves ragin...Bruce Martin joining the stage...
Let's hit everything around us...
Then there is hitting. Lots of hitting They all start hitting things placed around the stage. And with the introduction of Bruce Martin (Tom Tom Club), Shim Sham Honey began. Bruce was playing all kinds of instruments throughout the evening, presently raging what appeared to be a turkey oven rack. The sound was unique yet so richly rooted in times past. Exactly what I would consider a traveling gypsy jazz circus band to sound like. Pulling the sounds from their surroundings by utilizing such primitive or unique items in addition to the traditional instruments. Sadly, there is little footage of this show so here is the song performed in 2009. It’s great 🙂
Carrie and Ben
Butcher’s Wife wasup next which had Fuzz and Ben Dean battling it out with their bows. I can’t fail to mention that the character that each member of the Thieves attempts to portray goes way beyond just playing their respective instruments and dressing in period clothing. The vibrant, whitty banter and the impromptu comedic happenings that takes place on stage brought the musical set to life and added an entirely new dimension to the performance. A soft, yet raging flare came out of Ben Dean, the violinist, during Butcher’s Wife. A slow, lovely song with tantalizing violin teases. Bruce Martin on Accordion changes the sound considerably, bringing a hint of a keyboard being present. Carrie’s voice matching so well while she harmonized with Fuzz.
Caravan of Thieves + Bruce Martin (Tom Tom Club)
The Talking Heads Psycho Killer rang out over the audience and yet again, they killed another cover in such an unusual style. This cover was particularly poignant as both Bruce and Fuzz are members of the Tom Tom Club, a group founded by husband and wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both members of The Talking Heads. My friend Eric was at a earlier residency performance earlier in the month and was able to grab this snippet of the song.
The next song was called Candy, a metaphorical song about addiction, and as Fuzz described the meaning behind the song, ironically, I was popping Jolly Ranchers in my mouth and passing some out to those around me. As the juices ran down the back of my throat, the main Thieve asked us to yell out our favorite candy, Josh and I both scream out “Reeses‘” and my Jolly Rancher spits out. The chorus for Candy was so pretty. Fuzz picked a lovely acoustic solo on his gorgeous guitar, his top hat tilting to the side. Ben’s violin solo was next, expressing both the loveliness and darkness behind the song.
Yummy Bass Player doin his thing! Doesn't he look like Christian Bale?
The next song, a mash-up of You Are My Sunshine and Singing in the Rain, started with some banter between the guitarists. Bruce, Ben and Fuzz start into a flighty singing “Please don’t take my sunshine away,” and then the bass player and all other members completely wig out on stage. They began screaming, flailing about, crying, throwing things…it got SERIOUS up in the Living Room.
It was at this point the true flare of the bass player came alive into my focus. He reminded me of Christian Bale and I did some mental wrong doing in my head with him and his stand-up bass. Screaming things like “I’m so sad!” and “You Cunt!!,” he was the most verbal and out-there element on the stage with his antics. At this point, various members of the Thieves have made their way back to the floor, faking tears, still screaming and things quiet as it’s almost as Fuzz steps forward to proclaim a service announcement. “Look at these sorry sobbing saps. Is this how you want to be? We don’t want you to be this way.” “We are moving ON” states a serious and dramatic Fuzz. And it was back into a happy bounce vibe, a calypso-style rage of Singing in the Rain.
And they all fall down...
Bouquet, the title of their first studio album and a song about “bouquets of thoughts” was meticulous and full of flare. Lead off with the violin and then into silence. Fuzz explains that the next song is a medley of Beatles tunes, Girl/Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite. Fuzz was very verbal in his explanations of the meanings behind every song. A true testament to the validity and authenticity of the style in which the lyrics and story telling play such a crucial part in the compilation of a group. The meat of the song showcased Bruce on what we were told was an Angklung. I imagine his home/studio to be an arsenal of odd instruments. Again, the following video is not from tonight’s performance, sadly, but great all the same.
Then it it was time for band intros: Fuzz on everything, Bruce on all kinds of things. There was talk about this being the last night of their Living Room residency and how much fun they had over the past month. I silently cursed myself for missing the previous shows but was SO thankful for making this one last minute, as I had almost missed this one as well.
And as Fuzz screams, “Where the freaks at?”, it turns into an all out percussion jam. At some point the entire band has dipped to the floor and audience members are up dancing. “I’m going to eat you, you are my desire,” sing one of the Thieves. And as Bruce raged his Angklung, Fuzz raged and scatted, Ben was beating on the bass all while Carrie’s soft female voice filled the air. And finally, the Percussion Jam where they all just manipulated and beat the instruments and structures around them until they couldn’t anymore.
What can’t be said about this band? They are fun with elegant compositions. They are witty, they are sincere, they are talented musicians. It is dramatic song writing that backs some dramatic acoustic music…the list goes on and on. Be sure to check out their schedule and catch one of their shows immediately:
Setlist: I Don’t Wanna, Bohemian Rhapsody, I Can’t Behave (debut performance), Ghostwriter, Shim Sham, Butcher’s Wife, Psycho Killer, Candy, You Are My Sunshine/ Singing in the Rain, Bouquet, Girl/ Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, Eat You, Freaks/ Percussion Jam
Encore: Raise the Dead
Sadly, there was no recordings made, or found at least, of the Tuesday residency. However, I can’t leave you with out a taste of this wonderful, playful group. Only catching a few minutes of their act, I was privileged enough to see Caravan of Thieves at Gathering of the Vibes this year. Here is their set:
Musical Musings of a Tiny Rager 