NYC | Musical Musings of a Tiny Rager

Posts Tagged ‘NYC’

Big Sam’s Funky Nation Album Release Party @ Sullivan Hall (04.16.10)

Posted in Music, Show Review, tagged Album Release Party, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra, Chad Gales, Eric B. & Rakim, Evan Howard, Gnarles Barkley, Jamie Neumann, Jesse Barnes, Kevin Louis, King of the Party, Mark Williams, NYC, NYC Funk Live, Otis Retting, Prince, Ron Caswell, Sam Williams, Satoru Ohashi, Sullivan Hall, The High & Mighty Brass Band on April 19, 2010| 1 Comment »

Oh, Big Sam!! You ripped us up GOOD!!!!

Big Sam's Funky Nation's New Cd: King of the Party

New York City was NOT prepared for what hit it Friday night. How do I know this? Because EVERYONE I know who attended Friday’s show was crying from the pain on Saturday after we danced OUR ASSES OFF!!!! Big Sam’s Funky Nation rolled in hard and strong to Sullivan Hall for the Album Release Party of their fourth studio album, King of the Party this past Friday. OK! I am just going to say it: Big Sam is…STRAIGHT UP…the King of the Party. What an amazing, fun, fantastic performance!

H&MBB

I was unable to make it for the opening acts as I had a previous engagement uptown with a group of my favorite girlfriends. Yes, just sometimes, I make room for things other then music in my life. S0, I quite literally arrived at the venue as the The High & Mighty Brass Band was wrapping up. SORRY H&MBB!!

As I entered the venue, I walked up to the right front of the stage and there they all were; the lovely members of the NYC Funk Live Group who were able to make it out that night. I was immediately bombarded with hugs, introductions and smiles. Apparently, I had missed a hell of an opener as they all seemed energized. My good pal, Russ, says “I wasn’t sure of the set list, but I got this for ya,” as he hands me The High & Mighty Brass Band‘s set list from the stage!!! Enjoy:

High and Might Brass Band’s Set List:

1. Cerole Love Song

2. Ol Girl

3. St. James

4. We Rock, We Roll

5. It’s Alright

6. Island Tune

7. Why Don’t Cha?

8. Baby

9. Big Draws

10. Lil Mary

Big Sam @ Sullivan Hall (04.16.10)

The first thing I recall about the scene is that it was SUPER hot, as per Sullivan Hall’s usual. The venue had unloaded into the street during the set break and I was able to make my way up front and put my things down after the lovely greetings ceased. At that time The High and Mighty Brass Band decided to make their exit…or was it their segway in for Big Sam’s entrance? Similar to Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra, out came a parade of horns, parasols and tambourines from the side of the stage. They paraded all the way through the venue and out the front door…and then there was Big Sam on stage!

Poor Big Sam started to melt the second he stepped foot on stage but it did nothing to hinder his performance. Wearing a navy blue button up shirt over jeans with a pageboy cap, he was stylin and lookin’ fine…Big (very in shape) and fine!!! Big Sam, on vocals and trombone, was joined on stage that night by his Funky Nation, consisting of:

THE FUNKY NATION:
Danny Abel – Guitar
Eric Vogel – Bass
Drummer Boy Milk Williams – Drums
Da Phessah Drew Baham – Vocal/Trumpet

Big Sam @ Sullivan Hall (04.16.10)

For his fourth studio album, King of the Party, Big Sam has combined rock, jazz and hip-hop into his already intensely funky styling. Being that this was an album release party we were very excited to hear the new music that Big Sam was ready to fling at us. And he brought an arsenal of music. First things first, a trombone RAGE! Blowing on his trombone as hard as he can, holding the note out and commanding the stage, Big Sam got all our attention. Each musician on stage took thier turn giving us a little samples of their instruments before it was time to get the dance party started.

More cowbell @ Sullivan Hall

With a introduction of Up in Here, Lil Liza Jane, a Jazz standard, started us off. It reeked of tradition and the 1920’s, which was lovely. Without stopping a beat, Feelin’ Kinda Funky was getting us all to dance. “I’m feelin’ funky! Are you feelin’ funky,” asks Big Sam. The venue erupts with a scream. Danny Abel caught my eye at this point. What is it about the guitar players that join these horn bands? They are always AMAZING! Danny Abel was good! He was no (insert name of my favorite guitar player here) but he really gave it up when he was let go to solo. FKF ended with a bass rage from Eric Vogel.

Krunked Up! was our first taste of music from his new cd. This song is very modern, a little dirty, and very much not at all what I was expecting to hear that night. It started out a nice little jammy tune, horns and guitar in a nice little jammy beat. The bass was vibrant in this one! “We’re gonna get krunked up tonight!! While we’re dancing on the dance floor, everything is feeling right!” And then BOOM!! Into a rock driven chorus where Big Sam’s voice was converted with a machine sounding similar to T-Pain. Big Sam had definitely dipped his hands in the pool of funk-rock jam with this one.

Da Phessah Drew Baham @ Sullivan Hall

Covers followed with Sexy M.F. by Prince and Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. Danny stood out again playing the guitar again on these. I honestly can’t stand a sloppy guitar player or one who doesn’t fill all the space with the notes when the time calls for it. Danny put on a smile and he just shredded it when it was his turn to shine and I loved it. There was a great horn battle during Crazy, that had the entire venue jumping. They were turning in circles and dancing around each other; all while playing Prince and Gnarls Barkley. It was funny to me.

Mark Williams @ Sullivan Hall

So, we were then given a phat tease from Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid in Full, which brought us into the Otis Retting cover, Hardle to Handle. This is also number 7 on Big Sam’s new cd! Upbeat and funk driven, there was a wonderful dance off here between Big Sam and Da Phessah Drew Baham. Without missing a beat, “Who Dat! Who Dat!” was being shouted from the stage. The Saints Chant was next with a great trumpet vs. trombone battle. There is something about that song too! It just makes you want to look to the heavens and smile! Even in that dark, grimy, exhaustively hot Sullivan Hall, my smile was blasting and I felt sunshine in my heart. It’s time like these when I take a look around and I see all my favorite people smiling, laughing, dancing…the real reason music was created…to bring happiness.

“It’s on like Donkey Kong,” someone screams! And Sam returns, “Yeah, You Right!” We were given a second line tease into number 8 off the new cd, Big ‘Ol Booty! And then the horns were alternating blasts, sounding off and leaving way for the guitar and bass to pick it up. “Shake that Big ‘ol booty for me. Shake it, shake it! Don’t you stop!” was Sam’s chant in what was yet another rock laden jam. And yet another a horn heavy song asking us to shake our big ‘ol bootys. Oh, irony!

Treme Logo

At this point Big Sam steps up to the microphone and gives a shout out to Treme, a dramatic television series based in New Orleans and meant to take place three month after that bitch, Hurricane Katrina. I have not had a chance to sit down and watch ANYTHING, let alone something that would demand my attention so deeply. I don’t even have HBO, but I will watch this show as I suggest you all do. Aside from the gorgeous story of survival, the soundtrack to the show incorporates different musicians from NOLA. I don’t think I want any distractions when I sit down and watch this one!

BSFN & H&MBB @ Sullivan Hall

The stage begins filling with members of The High & Mighty Brass Band and it was back to tradition with Rebirth Brass Band’s Do Whatcha Wanna horns and drums. And I hear COWBELL!!! It was the perfect segway into Everybody Needs Somebody To Love. I believe this is when I was noticed the High & Mighty Brass Band dancer in the audience with a tambourine. She set it down to dance! Oh yeah, it was on. I always want the tambourine 🙂 I grabbed that son-of-a bitch and then it became just a general RAGE fest. Seriously. I am just going to post Russ’s amazing set list section here:

Chameleon intro —> It’s Your Thing (Isley Brothers) —->Just Kissed My Baby (Meters) —-> Chameleon (Herbie Hancock) —-> Shake What Yo Momma Gave Ya —> Flashlight (G.Clinton) tease during solos —-> Sam teases Freedom Jazz Dance (Miles Davis) during his solo —> No Diggity (Blackstreet) —-> Rebirth of the Slick (Digable Planets) —–> Hip Hop Hooray (Naughty by nature)—–>Rebirth of Slick

Seriously? How does one remember all of that? BIG BIG SHOUT OUT to my funky fine friend, Russ Adgren, who put together a wonderful set list for me, all as the show went down. This man is a music encyclopedia and is a major reason I was able to just kick back and enjoy myself at this performance without taking copious notes!! He will also be hookin the site up with his review of Sharon Jones and the Dap King’s newest CD, I Learned the Hard Way! Keeps your eyes peeled.

Ok, back from our regularly scheduled plugs…

RAGE!!!!!

During that whole time of FUNKY NATION raging, The High and Might Brass Band members were taking turns ripping solos. In particular, saxophonist Chad Gales really pulled out a nice one. During It’s Your Thang, 5 horns fronted the stage and blasted in our faces. Big Sam brought the heat for Flashdance! The dancer girl, Jamie Neumann was all over the stage and at some point gained control of the tambourine again. Then Big Sam had it and they danced with each other. Then it was time to sing…Big Sam and Da Phessah singing most of the lyrics and Da Pessah sticking the microphone in my face for parts of No Diggity No Doubt. I got to tell them all I liked the way they worked it!! Hip Hop Hurray brought Danny back into the forefront with another guitar shred.

And the cowbell made it way back into the songs haha.

Drummer Boy Milk Williams @ Sullivan Hall

This whole time I had been focusing on the horn players. Because why not, wouldn’t you? But raging like a monster behind Big Sam and Da Phessah was Drummer Boy Milk Williams! There is a reason your momma tells you to drink your milk. Yes sir!! And his shirt had come off, as had many peoples. I wanted to take off mine but alas, ladies don’t strip in sweaty nasty dance halls….or do they? Man, that sexy, shirtless glass of chocolate milk raged a drum solo that went on for days and days and days. And damn, it kept the dance party going with out all the other musicians. Eric backed him and teased him on the bass and so it went on and on for a good five minutes of solid drumming rage.

Everbody Get's Down @ Sullivan Hall

Honestly, I don’t ever remember them leaving the stage. I truly don’t. But if Russ says there was an encore then there was. I don’t have the separation into my notes, thanks again for the help my man!! My notes do say, that in that T-Pain style voice, Big Sam said, “Everybody on the dance floor,” and he didn’t mean dancing. He meant down. And down the band went, on their backs kicking their legs in the air. And down we went some on their knees, some on their backs, some legs in the air, most just bent in a squatting position, all smiling!

Big Sam and Friends Get Down

Big Sam and his Funky Nation, with the help of The High and Mighty Brass Band really whipped the floor clean with us that night. I was not kidding when I said earlier that all my friends were sore the following day. I, myself, had company coming in and another show to attend and the second I tried to stand the following morning my back and legs yelled at me fiercely. There are dance parties and then there are dance parties. The entire venue never stopped dancing for the entire set. It was a rock laden brassy night. A little unexpected, a little expected…all in all, it was a WONDERFUL dance party with friends and I encourage you all not only to buy this fourth album, but the previous three Big Sam and his Funky Nation have previously released!!!!

Big Sam’s Funky Nation Sullivan Hall Set List

1) Up in Here —> Lil Liza Jane —> hey hey hey hey —->Feelin Kinda Funky
2) Krunked Up
3) Sexy Muthafucka (Prince) —> Crazy (Gnarles Barkley)
4) Paid in Full tease into Hard to Handle
5) Saints
6) Second Line Tease into Big Ole Booty
7) Do whatcha wanna —> Everybody Needs Somebody to Love —-> Lighthouse
8) Chameleon intro —> it’s your thing (Isley Brothers) —->just kissed my baby (Meters) —-> chameleon (Herbie Hancock) —-> shake
what yo momma gave ya —>flashlight (G.Clinton) tease during solos —-> Sam teases Freedom Jazz Dance (Miles Davis) during his solo —>
No Diggity (Blackstreet) —-> Rebirth of the Slick (Digable Planets)
—–> Hip Hop Hooray (Naughty by nature)—–>Rebirth of Slick
9) “Long Ass Drum Solo” by Chocolate Milk
10) Up in Here
11) Second Line(!!)

Encores:
Dance Floor
See Me Dance

—————————————————————————————-

Robert : Oh I loved it! And whenever I see you, I know the evenings gonna rock.

Best drunk note of the night : BF in NYC = WOOKIE

Read Full Post »

Comedy: The Tweet Spot (04.15.10)

Posted in Comedy, Show Review, tagged Comedy, Comix, Derik Boik, H. Alan Scott, Jessie Richardson, NYC, Ochi's Lounge, Queer as Folk, Sara Schaefer, Sharon "Mama" Spell, Social Media, The Tweet Spot, The Tweet Spot: A Twitter Game Show, Twitter on April 15, 2010| 3 Comments »

Being a straight up computer geek, it really does blow my mind how much Social Media has a direct influence on the physical world and visa versa. Just as with Myspace and Facebook, I have been a member of Twitter since early on in it’s conception. In terms of actually “Tweeting” though, I think I have been at it maybe a year? Who knows but it’s the wave of the future people, embrace it, or not, but never judge!! Last night, Twitter weaved its way into my nights adventure both in my physical world and my virtual world, giving me a night full of laughs! Who knew…

H. Alan Scott

For months, my friends and I have been meaning to check out our pal’s new comedy show at Comix called The Tweet Spot: A Twitter Game Show. The brain child and host of the Tweet Spot is H. Alan Scott (http://twitter.com/halanscott). I have lived in the city five, wow, 6 years now. I can honestly say I haven’t come across someone who makes me laugh as much as he does. I have attended other shows of his in the past and I advise you all to check him out either in LA or NYC where he splits his time!

This performance/act was so up my alley. It incorporated the use of social media by way of the Internet and Twitter. I was out of my apartment enjoying a live performance. They asked me to scream and shout and ENCOURAGE playing with your phone at the same time. I do that shit all day, everyday! And I am not going to lie, I learned some Twitter related guidance tips during this thing hahaha.

H. Alan breaks it down...

This is how it goes down: Popular Tweeters/Comedians read us some of their best 140 character tweets. The audience is asked to shout “Retweet” if it’s good and “Unfollow” if it stinks. There is also a portion of the game show called Hash Tag Dash, which incorporates a spinning wheel. The comedians are required to come up with tweets as fast as they can relating to the topic the spin wheel has fallen on. The audience decides the winner.

H. Alan introduces himself: “As far as we know, this is the only game show of its kind…here in Chelsea!” He lays out a case of Fresca in two rows, offering a can to those who want to come fill in the empty seats up front. As he describes the rules of the game, he asks that we “respond emotionally!” with our Retweet/Unfollows.

The Tweet Spot (04.15.10)

The first segment of the show required the audience to turn and check out a tv that was mounted on the wall streaming The Tweet Spots tweets. We ran through hash tag trends like #donttrytoroast and #Theresnothinglike. The only one being retweeted: #donttrytoroastif yo momma sells apple pie in front of the apple store on Earth Day. And the one we all cringed over, which ended up coming from one of our Tweeters of the evenings, “#Theresnothinglike my mom smelling my hair right after I get outta the bath and right before I turn around and say “Hey!” We then discussed the lovely Twitter battle currently going on between Kim Kardashian and Demi Moore over the word “pimpin'” vs. “pimping”. Both are idiots and H. Alan does a fabulous job making this battle way more entertaining then it truly is.

The Tweet Spot (04.15.10)

The time comes for the main portion of the show. It’s time for the Tweeters/Comedians to perform their tweets and either get Retweeted or Unfollowed. The lineup went as follows:

Sara Schaefer

Sara Schaefer (http://twitter.com/saraschaefer1), a Blogger for Jimmy Fallon was first. Her tweets are witty & charming and she veers off topic often. “Sorry, I am supposed to be saying my tweets, not coming up with new material,” she says!

My favorite tweet of hers went something like: I’m sorry but until they come up with an airfreshner that can go back in time and kill the mother and creator of all that is bad smells, then they all suck #airfreshner”

At this point H. Alan proceeds to show us a LOVELY Dixie Carter video that is probably the most insane, terrifying, hilarity I have seen in a while. It was in my dreams that night ahhhhhhh.

Jessie Richardson

Next up is Jess Richardson (http://twitter.com/jess-richardson)

My favorite tweet of Jess: You would think that Marcia Gay Harden would consider changing her middle name from Gay considering her last name so closely resembles HARD ON!”

And “I am pretty sure Eddie Veddar’s cheek bones are made of apples.”

Derik Boik

Derik Boik (http://twitter.com/derik_boik), was our first male up for the evening. Where as the first two Tweeters had their tweets on paper, Derik was using his phone. Way to stick with the theme!! And he seems to have a very dark sense of humor.

A few of my favorites: “My granddad’s so annoying! He’s one of those people who try to save everything. What’s the word? Not pack rat…… Oh, a Christian…”

And “I’m taking my daughter to the zoo! We’re excited to see what her reaction to oppression is.”

And “I know this is dumb, but I just decided that if a girl had green genitalia, you would call it a “clitortoise.”

Mama Spell

At the end of his tweets, Derik showed us some of his wonderful Twitpics from his time living in Tennessee? Kentucky? I can’t remember but anyplace that sells BUTTS and other items at the same place, creepy!

Sharon “Mama” Spell (http://twitter.com/mamaspell) was up next. She was hilarious.

I loved: “Fell asleep with my makeup on last night. This morning my pillows looked very surprised at me.“

And “I am a La La La-aholic!” ~~~~ Aren’t we all Mama, aren’t we all!! 🙂

Hal Sparks

And finally, the special guest of the evening, Hal Sparks (http://twitter.com/halsparks), as seen on VH1, MSNBC, and Showtime’s “Queer as Folk.” He had been tweeting on his Ipad the entire night, chiming in with little drops of humor throughout the performance.

Fav Tweet: “Who else has though about peeing in their Brita and seeing if it works?”

Hash Tag Dash

The last segment of the show was The Hash Tag Dash, where comics line the stage in front of microphones. They have to come up with funny tweets on the spot about a certain topic that the spinning wheel falls on. Some of the topics include #80sTweets, #thingsnottosayaftersex, etc. Mama Spells won a few, there were ties, it was all funny 🙂

Ochi's Lounge

The Tweet spot: A Twitter Game Show can be seen on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 9pm @ Comix. The show is free with a one drink minimum purchase, plus you get Fresca’s & Peep’s! (Even though I saw NO peeps this time!!)

Ochi’s Lounge

Downstairs at Comix

353 W. 14th Street

New York, NY 10014

And the most beautiful thing about Social media, you can attend the damn show from your couch!! If you can’t be there, you are able to follow along on all the night’s tweets at http://twitter.com/comixny or follow #tweetspot.

Read Full Post »

Annual Easter Brunch with The Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra @ Highline Ballroom (04.04.10)

Posted in Artist Spotlight, Show Review, tagged Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra, Dean Frasen, Highline Ballroom, New Orleans Easter Brunch, NYC, Samia Mounts, The Highline on April 12, 2010| 3 Comments »

Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution @ Highline Ballroom (04.04.10)

I have come to figure out that this writing thing is time consuming. HAHA! Especially for a ADHD person like me who likes to integrate random facts into the articles and gets completely sidetracked every 10 minutes, without fail. So, I am running around a few nights ago packing for ROCK THE RESORT, trying to START and then finish up this review, clean my apartment, etc. My sister gets on my phone and says, “Ummm, all you need to say is IT WAS AWESOME…STAY RIGHTEOUS!!!” She said it with force! I loved it! Because you know what? She had a point. It was awesome! It was righteous…..in fact, that is exactly why I need to explain this Revolution more in depth…..Full Righteous Love Rage!

Easter Brunch With Bro Jo @ Highline Ballroom (04.04.10)

I spent Easter Sunday, other wise known as my 30th Birthday, with some of my best friends at Highline Ballroom to see Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra perform their second Annual New Orleans Easter Brunch event. Oh man, oh man!!! So much fun!

My girlfriend and I made our way to Highline Ballroom around noon when the doors were expected to be open. If you are ever around that venue, take a moment to walk on The Highline, the newest park addition to Manhattan’s West side. I met my sister at the door and various members of the crew began emerging. (ADHD moment: how great is it when you see that familiar face light up when you first spot each other in the mix?) Having been at Highline a few days earlier for Rebirth Brass Band and Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, it was fun to be in the same venue under completely different circumstances.

Bacon + Boa + Bro Jo = AWESOME!

As we entered the venue it was chaos as per Highline’s usual. Staff hollering at those of us in line as to where to go. There is VERY minimal space to actual accommodate people filing in for a show. Considering we had just been at a sold out show last Thursday, and this mess was still going down for an Easter Brunch? Sorry Highline, not sure where the kink in your chain is, but it’s there as far as your entrance into the venue is concerned. Other then that, I love this venue. When we finally made it through the gates of entry hell, we were seated at two lovely reserved tables right up in front of the stage. There was a little dance floor space set aside, THANK GOD! It’s not like at B.B. Kings that takes up every inch of danceable space with a table to turn a profit!

Andouille sausage grilled cheese with caramelized onions and sweet potato fries!!!

Forget the music for a minute, and lets discuss the energy of this group. First of all there is power in numbers but sometimes that can really destroy a group if it is not uniformed and cohesive. Being only 2 years old, this 23 piece Orchestra of Love is on point. But I digress…the energy…the energy. The women in the group are sexy, feisty, hyper, movers and shakers. They dance with fierceness and strength when they rage their songs. It is impossible to snap a poor picture of the ladies of this group as they are always groovin and always smiling. The Revolutionaries wear a pallet of white that allows for their beads and other righteous paraphernalia to stand out! Now with 23 people in the ranks, the Revolution’s ability to swarm the venue is possible. And that is exactly what they do.

Bro Jo Easter Day Parade @ Highline Ballroom ~ Photo by Dino Perrucci!

Calling it the Easter Day Parade, but a signature move for the group at all their shows, the horn section and vocalists with their parasols came out from the side of the venue and paraded around through the tables blowing, singing and dancing. The event had barely begun but this is the moment of the entire event that I was waiting for so I could see all my friends faces light up with a smile. And that is EXACTLY what happened. The friends that were helping me celebrate my birthday that day were not your typical music going friends. This is not something that they would have ever chose to take themselves to and if it were not for being my birthday, they never would have come. So, to see their faces light up and their heads start bouncing was magical for me. Once on the stage, they came out guns blazing….

Brothers @ Bro JO @ Highline Ballroom

A Child Shall Lead The Way brought us into a vocally charged rush of words that brought gospel right to the stage. Can I get an Amen? As the song played, the dance floor FILLED with tiny little people of all shapes and sizes. My friend leans over and says, “Now, please don’t go hip checking all the kids cause you want the front.” Dean blows the whistle and we are transported to church! Amen! Tambourines, choir, Easter, gospel, horns, birthday Bloody Marys….A Child Shall Lead the Way is one of my favorites. Because a child WILL lead the way….You know it’s true. Whitney schooled yall on that years ago right? The children are the future, Amen! Now, yall know I don’t care too much for lyrics, but the lyrics are one of the MAJOR draws of this band for me. I am biased with nostalgia due to an insatiable love for peace and happiness but…”Before wretched times start creepin’ in/Don’t try to tell me that she’s born with sin/Her smile could teach this world how to love again/and a child shall lead the way!!” Watching the children dance up there, the last thing I wanted to do was hip check them. I wanted to join them and smile with them as a tear came to my eye thinking about all the grand adventures they would all have one day and I hoped that music would be involved!

Me and Bro Jo @ Highline Ballroom (04.04.10)

Another original, Bon Temps Roulez, followed. Straight from church, we were transported to New Orleans with this jumpy, feisty tune. Love the ohhh la la la la la’s. This song has a great hook that forces you to shake your hips. You know, Brother Jo’s voice is reminiscent of J. J. Grey’s; full-bodied, scratchy, southern. Love it!

So, they have opened the show with two originals and are gearing up for another song when Brother Joe picks up the microphone and announces that it’s somebody’s birthday. Awesome! A funky, New Orlean’s-tinged Happy Birthday was sung in honor of my 30th birthday. After the first few measures, that was it. Samia beckoned me to join the dance floor. I was up in a flash rockin’ the boa my Aunt had sent me days earlier and in all smiles. Samia jumped off the stage and shook a little with me before gathering my friends on the dance floor. The dance party had officially begun! My girl would later tell me that tears came to her eyes during this song. It was the first dance of the day and I was surrounded by all my beautiful friends who were beaming smiles. The rest of the venue had risen and joined in. She couldn’t help feel the power of it all. She wasn’t alone. By the end of the song, everyone was on their feet, everyone was on the dance floor, everyone was up, up, up! Isn’t that what music is meant to do? Raise you so high that you can’t see the ground and your dancing on air? And it happened during a version of Happy Birthday sung for me. I had turned 30 years old surrounded by my best friends, feeling younger then ever, raging with a band that preaches love and compassion and strength. Who could ask for more? As my sister, put her arm around me and I realize even my biggest problems don’t compare to how hugely wonderful my life is during the good times. What a great thing to be able to say and feel. That was my happiest moment of the entire weekend.

Brother Joscephus @ Highline Ballroom (04.04.10)

After Happy Birthday, we had big fun on the bayou with a Hank William’s cover of Jambalaya and another original titled Strollin’. I love when Bro Jo pauses during their song to have dialogue. In the background sparatically come the responses from the rest of the Revolutionaries. It’s witty and always garnered laughs. Midnight Moon, another Bro Jo original, was next; a bluesy song, reminiscent of the 20’s. I especially love the keys & whistling intro to the tune. After Olden Days, it was time for a beloved kids song that had all the darling children jumping up and down. Shhh, don’t tell but it had a few of us big kids jumping as well. Bro Jo fell joyfully into “I Wanna Be Like You! Who doesn’t love the JUNGLE BOOK!!! It was upbeat, it was familiar, and it spoke to the child in all of us! Good Times, a beloved TV theme, followed, which spoke to the adults in MOST of us. Man, what a great song for this band to cover. With all the voices singing the chorus, there is room for all vocal ranges to be met.

Rev. Dean Dawg & Pastuh Peace @ Highline Ballroom (04.04.10)

Burbon Street, a jazzy tune written by Paul Barbarin, kept the dance party going until Bro Jo slowed it down with the lovely Don’t Give Up On Love! The female Revolutionaries start ooooh-ing and ahhhh-ing as they head into Don’t Give Up On Love. This is my favorite slow song of theirs. It’s Easter and we are surrounded by people who love each other, friends who are really family, family who are best friends! When I feel music I let it take me over as best I can. I drop tears in the middle of concerts all the freaking time. Feelings from realizing how far I had come since last year plus a combination of my lack of sleep from the days prior and the joy I felt in the moment prompted tears that went down hard during that song. My sister put her arm around me and we swayed to the lovely radio worthy melody. The song also knocks out a full horn jam that never fails to please. “Sometimes a melody is all you got/don’t you see?/A melody is made to stand alone/magics in the harmony” A perfect song for some Aretha type vocals. Not sure about the horns at the end though, they could use a fat guitar solo right there. With that kind of beautiful arrangement there could be massive play with each instruments against the melody.

Samia @ Highline Ball Room (04.04.10)

Samia Mounts must be mentioned as she has a fabulous voice and knows how to throw it. I have heard her sing Freddie Mercury’s Somebody to Love at a few other shows. Every time, it sounds better and she brings a dancing venue to a halt as they stare with their jaw wide and on the ground. Hardly a dry eye in the house, everyone has to catch their breath when she closes the song. She belongs on Broadway, straight up.

Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution @ Highline Ballroom (04.04.10)

Mighty, Mighty Chain of Love, another original, got us back up, up, up with horns a blowin’ and Rev. Dean Dawg blasting away on the keys. A traditional New Orleans favorite, When the Saints Go Marching In, brought the venue to it’s highest that point of the afternoon. Another familiar song, it’s fun when everyone in the venue can join in on the singing and enjoy the tune as one. The horns threw it out during this song. The three original members on stage happened to make up the horn section. Each one gave us a gorgeous solo on their respective instruments before Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra reprised A Child Shall Lead where they invited all of the children on stage to dance amongst the instruments. Seeing all the children up there, at first being a little shy and then just ripping into whatever kind of dance style that would be, you couldn’t help but feel your heart melting.

If you take nothing away from anything, just know that this group comes out blasting and doesn’t stop for anything. They leave dripping in sweat as we all do!! Forget the little kids loving this, this 30 year old big kid LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The greatest part of this entire day was when I was home relaxing. Throughout the night, my friends texted “I love you”, “Thanks for introducing me to that music”, “Thanks for a great day”. I had introduced new music to great friends and they left with a light and happy heart that stayed with them throughout the day and into the night. That was the best present of all, besides the amazing Jam Cruise photo album my sister got me…friggen awesome!! At the end of the day, I’ve always known that my life is going to be a wild ride, but this whole 30 thing…watch out life, it’s on!!!! Because with great music continually being played out there, there is no way I am slowing down.

Thank you my beautiful friends. You make life worth living!

I have found if you love life, life will love you back. – Arthur Rubinstein, Musician

Read Full Post »

Will Bernard Trio w/ Todd Sickafoose and Ches Smith @ The Stone (03.30.10)

Posted in Music, Show Review, tagged Ches Smith, Directions To My House, Experimental, Jazz, Lower East Side, March 2010, NYC, The Stone, Todd Sickafoose, Will Bernard on March 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »

One of the most beautiful things about New York City it’s ability to provide us with beautiful music, of an genre, at any given time of the day or night. On this nasty rainy Tuesday night nothing could have kept me from a lovely intimate jazzy evening with Will Bernard, Todd Sickafoose and Ches Smith at The Stone.

The Stone door

I had never been to The Stone before and my girlfriend and I had a hell of a time finding it as we walked by it’s door 4 times before realizing that was the venue. No sign, both walls flanking the door looked like those metal security walls that the store fronts draw down when they close up for the night. We thought it was a closed store and kept walkin’ on by. The whole time I am geekin’ out hoping it wasn’t one of those places that won’t let you in once the gig has started. Finally, we figured it out. The only hint was a little sticker on the obscure front door that read “The Stone.”

As I entered The Stone, I was immediately taken aback. No windows, no bar, no merch counter…barely any light, was there even a bathroom? About 10 rows of chairs, maybe 50 in all, lined the floor in front of the playing area. I loved it. Musical intimacy at its best. Especially because only 20 of the seats were filled!!!!

The three wonderful musicians, Will Bernard on Guitar, Ches Smith on Drums and Todd Sickafoose on Bass, come up the stairs a little after 10pm and the first thing Will says: “Everyone’s gone to the bathroom, right?” Good stuff. Clearly, there would be no set break.

California invaded NYC that night at The Stone. All three musicians are transplants from various parts of California. Personally, I was born in Sacramento, California and wish I could remember more about the beautiful state. Good to know if I was still living out there, I would be surrounded by amazing musicians!! Well, with the exception of these three!!!

Directions to My House CD Cover

Many of the songs played last night were off an album that Ches and Will collaborated on a few years back called Directions to My House!

So, they go right into Agro Business. I notice that all the musicians were reading sheet music. With this style of experimental jazz, it blows my mind how their actions can be translated into notes on a page. I would LOVE to see what the drummers sheets look like. I kept going back to the drum composition. Couldn’t pull my eyes away from Ches’s playing. Will begins to manipulate his trippy guitar sounds with the machines at his feet. But we couldn’t hear the bass.

Turning to my pal,”Do you hear the bass?” “Not at all,” she says.

As I turn around to face the players, Todd bends down to turn up his amp. Now we are back business!

Wide Awake was next with it’s soft, slow start. The drum brushes came out. And soon the trippy picks of the guitar made way for the heavy parts that followed. As Wills face scrunched into his guitar rift, Ches proceeded to strike every surface of his drum kit. Again, how does that translate into sheet music? Silence. And then it’s Todd’s turn to bring it back up. Todd’s fingers are moving a mile a minute and Will’s guitar softens as the song comes to a close.

Ches Smith @ Terminal 5 (03.28.09)

It’s about this time that something in my memory triggers in relations to Ches Smith. He looks sooooo familiar. Turning to my friend, “I feel like I saw him with Les Claypool or something….” Today, while researching Todd, it all came together when I realized he was in the Secret Machines 3 and I had seen them open for Les Claypool at Terminal 5 last year. I love when that kinda stuff hits home. And after last night, I will never forget his face, or hands, again.

I adore when the boundaries of time are broken in music; the spaces that can be manipulated with notes. The thing that separates each artist is when and where they place those notes. Crab Apple Red is one of those songs that I love for it’s count/time/beat, pick your poison. Todd started off with the deep bass and the rest flow in. Will shined shortly after as he picked away at his guitar. After hearing the studio albums for a while, watching him play these songs live makes it so much more outstanding! It humbles you because they may make it look easy, but IT IS NOT!! As Will and Todd make eye contact with a smile, they put the song to sleep.

WE GOT A NEW SONG TONIGHT!!!! In my notes I spelled it Mootwos, HAHA, but it is spelled Motooz. Will bends over to prepare his machines to produce just the right sound they have felt this song was born to release. I remember thinking…”foreboding”… when the song started. Low, mysterious…..Ches gave us a nice drum solo, Will manipulated sounds with his machines, turned over his guitar on his lap and then the SLIDE came out! Always a welcome sound.

“Are you having fun? I am having fun! It’s been a while since I got to play this stuff,” says Will.

Parental Guidance fullfill’s it’s name. If there was a silent movie and the parents were yelling at the child, this would be the soundtrack. It’s as if at first they are stomping their feet/bass strings and shaking their fist/drum sticks. And then they calm down and talk rationally….relax. Ches’s cymbal manipulation was fun. My friend would later say, “I have never seen someone do that before!” Personally, I was wondering how using your fingers on the drums translates on to sheet music. But, there is a story behind this song, I can feel it.

With Hall of Science, the brushes come back out on the drums, Will destroys his guitar into a manipulation of sound that would confuse most people. He slaps the guitar, smacks it. This is a whole different kind of rage. This is not music for the faint of mind, forget heart. It makes you focus. It makes you think. There are parts that make it feel like a little getup and go jam and then there is chaos among the instruments.Will starts shaking the curtains, Ches scratches the floor with his feet, Todd rips the music in half……”HEY! That’s my music!” Will proclaims. Laughter abounds. “Guess we can’t play the head out.” But they do and I loved it!

Up until this point, I had wanted to remain seated. This isn’t the type of music you dance too, or rather, I dance to. To each their own! But whenever I hear Not Necessarily Stoned, I immediately want to put on a saucy red dress and move. And move slow. Each artist’s talent shined on this song. Will on guitar, Todd on bass and Ches on drums. It was a perfect song to end the evening.

After thanking Will, my fellow blogger friend and I leave the venue chatting away about the interesting performance we were just privileged to see. It’s always fun introducing friends into new musical environments. Another Happy Tuesday for this Tiny Rager 🙂 Thanks you guys!

Read Full Post »

Perpetual Groove @ Bowery Ballroom (03.26.10)

Posted in Music, Show Review, tagged Bowery Ballroom, Brock Butler, DJ Nutritious, Jam Band, NYC, Perpetual Groove, Sullivan Hall, Turbine on March 30, 2010| 3 Comments »

Perpetual Groove @ Bowery Ballroom (03.26.10)

Perpetual Groove and Turbine played at the Bowery Ballroom on March 26, 2010. Turbine was slated to play the Sullivan Hall after party with DJ Nutritious but got tapped to open for the band at Bowery. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the show in time to see the opening band but our coats were checked and we were in the venue minutes before Perpetual Groove went on.

Brock Butler @ Bowery Ballroom (03.26.10)

Brock Butler, lead guitar and vocals, has been a favorite of mine for a few years but nothing hit home the way it did when I was privileged enough to enjoy a very intimate show on the Pool Deck of Jam Cruise 8 at 6am as we pulled into the Cayman Islands. He was accompanied by a passenger, Elli Labar, on violin. I can’t describe this moment on the ship, as it was beyond emotional and beyond words at that point in time. But I can show it to you. Enjoy!!

Perhaps I should talk about the show??? Oh, ok, FINE!!! First, let me just state how much I like the band’s name. Perpetual Groove. How fun is that?! Apparently there are some haters when it comes to the name of the band but personally it just MAKES me want to dance! It says flat out: we are hear to rage your face!!

John Hruby @ Bowery Ballroom (03.26.10)

PGroove came out raging as they always do beginning with No Decorations, off their latest CD Heal. It only took to the end of this song for me to have to leave the front of the stage due to all the tweaking under age kids that I wanted to kick in the teeth. Don’t get me started…..

As much as I love Brock, the keyboardist, John Hruby, had my attention most of the night. I am unsure how to describe the way he plays. It is not so much how he plays the instruments but how he moves and smiles and interacts with the crowd AS he plays the instruments. For me, my major point in seeing a live show is being able to actually SEE the artists that I love play their respective instruments. That is huge for me. I like to feel their pain when they sing, watch their fingers when they strum their guitar, watch their feet as they tap to the beat. John was engaging, loud and vibrant in his actions. He gets lost in his playing the same way we close our eyes when a song over takes us. I don’t even think he could help it. And if he can, he sure fooled me.

Set I: No Decorations> The March of Gibbles Army> Speed Queen, A Day the Way, At the Screen, The Golden Path

PGroove is as well known for their ability to cover songs as they are for their own material. With a musical encyclopedia for a brain, Brock Butler can pretty much play anything you ask him to on the spot from rap to rock to reggae. When PGroove headed into Aha’s Take on Me, I immediately turned to my girlfriend and started jumping up and down as John started in on the lyrics. I pictured the video and imagined the entire venue was in black and white and we were all running like mad men down the cartoon hallways. Yall remember that video? At that moment, EVERYONE, regardless if they knew any other song that night, knew that song and we all sang along. Take on Me elevated the energy in the Bowery to its highest point of the night!!! (Enjoy 90% of the song in the following video hahaha!!!)

While playing Mr. Transistor, we got our second cover as they broke into R.L. Burnside’s It’s Bad You Know and returned to finish off Mr. Transistor.

Set II: Mr. Transistor> It’s Bad You Know> Mr Transistor, Cairo, Take on Me, Robot Waltz, Up Again

After PGroove walked off the stage, we all knew not to move and eventually they slowly joined the stage again for the encore. We were handed an intense version of Life, from the album the album All This Everything, which flowed into Stealy Man. Walking out of the venue after the show, I said goodnight to fellow jam cruisers, friends and the like. I took one more glance toward the stage and Frobee Brobee stared at me from the bass amp. The smile on his face mirrored my own. It was a good show! Thank you PGroove! Hope to see you all again soon!

Download: Perpetual Groove Live at Bowery Ballroom, NY (03.26.10)