Category: Kansas City Star

KC’s MCs throw down this weekend

by thedailyrecord, posted in Kansas City music scene, Kansas City Star
(Above: Supernatural takes on Juice in one of the most famous MC battles of all time.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Practice is vital but when it comes to rapping, nothing improves skills like a live, trial-by-fire MC battle. This weekend, several rappers will have a chance to compete for money.

The third annual Versus Emcee and Beat Battle goes down Saturday night at the Record Bar, 1020 Westport Road. A pre-battle show will be held tonight at the Riot Room.

“Battles are how you prove yourself and show how far your skills have developed,” said Clarence Draper, who goes by the MC name Vertigone. “This is also a way for people who aren’t actively involved in the scene or new to the area to get up and connect and get involved.”

The contest is open to the first 16 MCs who sign up. Draper encouraged them to arrive between 8:30 and 9 p.m. The winner will take home $500.

“This is first-come, first-served, so they need to be there early,” he said. “Plus people should come out to see the beat battle.”

In the beat battle, six DJs will use their own equipment and go head- to-head in six rounds that include using a common sample to create distinct productions.

Draper said the final evening will resemble the battle scenes in “8 Mile” but without scripts. Everything that comes off the stage must be spontaneous.

“At Versus we reward the freestyle,” Draper said, “which is the most pure idea of the MC not having anything and being ready to rhyme.”

Draper practices his freestyles during his normal routine, incorporating things he sees, such as traffic signals, into rhymes.

“The socially conscious stuff I do on my albums is not going to win you any battles,” he said with a laugh. “I practice all the time how to rhyme, which words work together. I focus mainly on two-syllable words like ‘eventually’ and ‘century.’ It’s not all ‘cat’ and ‘hat.’”

MC Les Izmore, who releases albums on his own and performs as part of Hearts of Darkness, participated in last year’s Versus battle. For him, the night is more about building his skills than beating others.

“I know a lot of people practice their freestyle, but I’m not prepping,” Izmore said. “(Last year) was a thrill. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I may not know the person I’m up against, but I’m there to challenge myself as an MC.”

Although boasts and insults are a large part of the battle repertoire, presentation plays a large role. In other words, sweat the technique.

“Battling is more than insulting people. You have to have style and swagger to how you do it,” Draper said. “You have to work the crowd as much as your opponent. When someone says something that sways the crowd, you have to win them back.”

While the Versus battle is only in its third year, its tradition runs deep in Kansas City. During the city’s jazz heyday, musicians would spar in ‘head cutting’ contests nearly every night in the 18th and Vine District.

“I’ve been at the Mutual Musicians Foundation and seen the musicians, all of them were just in this mood, this groove,” Draper said. “And then they started jumping off of that with solos, each person trying to outdo the other. It’s the same thing we’re trying to do in a freestyle.”

Vertigone and his friend Raymond “Kartoon” Hardy hosted the initial Versus battle because they felt there was a void in the community after the demise of the successful Mic Mechanics battles in Lawrence.

“Battle rhyming starts out under the street lights and on the corners in the neighborhood,” Draper said. “Eventually you get tired of that and want to take on other people. We are trying to keep this going for anyone who doesn’t have an outlet. It’s as much about social networking as anything.”

Izmore has one final word of advice for everyone joining him onstage this weekend.

“When I was up there (onstage last year), I could feel a ton of raw energy,” he said. “You gotta make sure to come with your best, because you don’t know what will come up next time.”

Review: Megadeth

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: Megadeth perform “Hangar 18” in England earlier this year. The audio quality is pretty much what it sounded like inside the Beaumont Club as well.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Blazing fast guitar licks, double-kick bass-drum riffs and an armada of metal anthems: Dave Mustaine brought everything that made Megadeth famous to the Beaumont Club on Saturday night.

The majority of the quartet’s 90-minute set drew from its reign at the top of the thrash heap in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when it played before massive crowds alongside Slayer and Anthrax and was compared to Mustaine’s former bandmates, Metallica.

Although Mustaine had to rehearse the crowd’s part for “Head Crusher,” one of four songs performed off the band’s current album, “Endgame,” most of the time he was able to step back and let the mob rule the mic. The schizophrenic “Sweating Bullets” and outro to “Peace Sells” were especially lusty sing-alongs. The audience vocals were frequently clearer than Mustaine’s, which were buried in an abysmal mix that made every number sound and feel like brick to the head.

Snarling vocals aside, Megadeth’s other hallmark is lightning-fast, labyrinthine fretwork gymnastics. Although he’s yet to celebrate his second anniversary in the band, guitarist Chris Broderick was more than up to the task, ripping up the extended instrumental half of “Hangar 18,” tearing through the epic “In My Darkest Hour” and trading solos with Mustaine on “She-Wolf” and the warp-speed new song “1,320’.” Ever the gracious host, Mustaine frequently retreated to bang his rusty locks alongside the bank of Marshall amplifiers lined across the back of the stage while Broderick took center stage.

The rhythm section of Shawn Drover and James LoMenzo – Megadeth veterans with six and four years of service, respectively – guided the groove into “Trust” and held down the framework for the guitar pyrotechnics.
While many metal songs focus on war, Mustaine has never been afraid to get political. Megadeth’s previous album was called “United Abominations” and features a song called “Washington is Next!” The closing triptych revealed an interesting point of view.

“Symphony of Destruction” deals with political puppets propped up by a government bent on war. “Peace Sells” discusses disillusionment and hypocrisy of politicians who aim for peace but somehow end up perpetuating war. (The song’s refrain is “Peace sells/but who’s buying?”) “Holy Wars” started out as a referendum on Northern Ireland, but features several Middle Eastern guitar breaks and echoes jihad theory.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t war Mustaine wanted to talk about. Instead, he interrupted “Peace Sells” for an anti-Obama screed, blasting the president without using his name for selling the country to the Chinese and giving away civil rights. Mustaine’s solution was to “write my own (expletive) name in there” on the ballot come election day.

(It is curious that in the week following Obama’s announcement of an Afghani surge after running a campaign on ending the war, Mustaine would ignore these parallels for clichéd attacks.)

After peaking on the charts in the late ‘90s, Mustaine broke up the band in 2002. Two years later, he resurrected the name as the only continuing member, but has yet to regain drawing power as a live act. While the Beaumont was plenty crowded, tickets were still being sold at the door after the band had taken the stage.

If the stumble from stadiums to clubs frustrated Mustaine, it didn’t show. He took time before “44 Minutes” to express heartfelt thanks to everyone for letting them play, and long after the rest of the band had departed, Mustaine lingered onstage after “Holy Wars” to shake hands and congratulate fans.

Setlist: Dialectic Chaos, This Day We Fight, Wake Up Dead, Skin of My Teeth, Head Crusher, A Tout Le Monde, She-Wolf, Tornado of Souls, 1,320’, In My Darkest Hour, Sweating Bullets, Hangar 18, 44 Minutes, Trust, Symphony of Destruction, Peace Sells. Encore: Holy Wars.

Review: Get Up Kids

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City music scene, Kansas City Star

(Above: The Get Up Kids perform “Martyr Me” at the second show of their two-night stand at the Record Bar in Kansas City, Mo.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Nearly a year to the date after reuniting, the Kids are still alright.

Homegrown heroes the Get Up Kids capped off a two-month tour opened their dual-night stand at the Record Bar Friday night in front of an energetic crowd. Both shows benefit the family of the late Recycled Sounds owner Anne Winter.

No one in the band mentioned Winter during their 80 minute set. Instead they dashed through 20 songs that encompassed their decade of glory, inspirations and a couple new numbers.

The night started with a frenetic, nonstop explosion through “Holiday,” “I’m a Loner Dottie, A Rebel” and “The One You Want.” After slowing things down with “Valentine,” the Kids kicked into a new number.

“Your Petty Pretty Things” doesn’t deviate from the sounds and themes that made the hometown band famous around the world, but has enough wiggle room in its three and a half minutes for the band to kick it into high gear during the outro and ride the riff together before abruptly wrapping up. That energy was channeled into a powerful reading of “Come Clean.”

The band was lined up four across with the drums in the back of the corner stage. Keyboard player James Dewees was pushed so far to stage left that it seemed like he faced out the windows and into the parking lot more often than into the crowd.

As usual, Dewees was the band’s not-so-secret weapon. He shined an acoustic duet of “Campfire Kansas” with guitarist Jim Suptic on lead vocals, but Dewees’ most interesting contribution came on “Keith Case.” The second new song of the night, “Case” appeared out of a left turn from “No Love.” Driven by Rob Pope’s fuzz bass, Dewees applied a shimmering sci-fi synth line that makes the sound stand out in Kids’ catalog. Later, Dewees’ classic piano riff formed the bridge from “Holy Roman” into “Mass Pike.”

Although the Record Bar was full, there was still plenty of elbow room. The faithful throng delighted in throwing back frontman Matt Pryor’s words with same energy they were delivered. “Act and Action” erupted into one of the biggest sing-alongs of the night until “Don’t Hate Me.” The atmospheric “Walking on a Wire” kept slowly building layer by layer until both the crowd and the band took it through the roof.

In lieu of an encore, the band went straight into their cover of “Close To Me.” The Cure’s  1985 hit was obviously a big influence on the band, but the Kids nearly manage to one-up their heroes with Ryan Pope’s buoyant drum line propelling the song.

The set ended at midnight with the final words to “Ten Minutes” ringing out: “Everything will work out fine.” So far, it has.

Setlist: Holiday; I’m A Loner Dottie, A Rebel; The One You Want; Valentine; Your Petty Pretty Things (new song); Coming Clean; Woodson; Out of Reach; No Love; Keith Case (new song); Red Letter Day; Campfire Kansas; Holy Roman; Mass Pike; Act and Action; Walking on a Wire; Close To Me; Beer For Breakfast; Don’t Hate Me; Ten Minutes

Review: Widespread Panic

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: Widespread Panic jam with DJ Logic at a 2008 show in Charlotte, N.C.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Call it hippie-hop. The surprise appearance by DJ Logic late into Widespread Panic’s sprawling set at the Midland Theater Tuesday night set both the evening and the audience on its ear.

Singer John Bell may have been claiming “this ain’t no nightclub” during the jam band’s faithful cover of the Talking Heads song “Life During Wartime,” but Logic’s turntables and the mood of the room said otherwise.

Logic’s scratching added another texture to the Georgia-based jam band’s already expansive palate. As the evening’s wild card, he pushed and challenged the Georgia-based jam band to meet his challenge.

Percussionist  Sonny Ortiz responded by soloing around a loop that Logic provided. Keyboard player JoJo Hermann sprinkled some ‘80s synth sounds into his normal B3 repertoire. The result was a jam/rap hybrid somewhere between Snoop Dogg and Ratdog.

The timing couldn’t have been better. The sextet was three hours into their set and had just wrapped a marathon performance of “Hatfield” when Logic -– who was in town for his own engagement at Crosstown Station -– and his turntables rolled out of stage left. Based on the legend of Fort Scott, Kan., Native Charles Hatfield, the song was the biggest moment so far. With the house lights up for the chorus, the crowd enthusiastically sang along.

As the band made its way from “Hatfield” into “Fishwater,” the crowd predicted the number and erupted. What had been bob-and-weave dancing before turned into some serious getting down. After several minutes of “Fishwater,” the group suddenly doubled the tempo kicked into the Heads number. Panic covered the Heads song “Papa Legba” in their first set, but thoroughly assimilated everything but the signature guitar riff into their own monolithic sound. “Wartime,” however, felt and sounded like the second coming of “Stop Making Sense.”

Although nothing topped their half-hour with Logic, there many other memorable moments throughout the night. A marathon reading of “Diner” primed the pump for “Hatfield.” Hermann channeled Billy Preston during a medley of the instrumental “Disco” and the song “You Should Be Glad.” Earlier in the night, he applied Stevie Wonder’s clavinet sound to “Worried.”

“Barstools & Dreamers” started with a slap bass and slide guitar intro and drew the first signs of fervor. Bell unleashed a guitar solo in that number that sounded like his instrument was strung with barbed wire. The instrumental “Party at Your Mama’s House” was the product of acoustic and slide guitars, slap bass and buoyant percussion. It felt like sipping lemonade on the back porch then kicking a soccer ball around on the beach.

Tuesday night was the band’s first two shows in town, and the Midland was far from sold out. Although the floor was packed, there were acres of empty seats in the balcony. Panic probably could have packed the house by playing a one-night stand, but brevity and efficiency seem to be less important than passion and ability.

When the band finally said good night, they had been performing for nearly four hours (including a 40 minute intermission). Anyone wanting more would have to wait another 20 hours until the start of tonight’s show.

Setlist:
Better Off, Little Kin; Worried, Gradl; Barstools & Dreamners; Jack; Lil’ Drums; Papa Legba (Talking Heads cover); Party at Your Mama’s House; Ribs and Whiskey. Intermission. Let’s Get Down to Business; Disco;  You Should Be Glad, Diner; Hatfield; Fishwater (with DJ Logic); Life During Wartime (Talking Heads cover, with DJ Logic); drum solo (with DJ Logic); Fishwater (with DJ Logic). Encore: Nobody’s Loss; Fixin’ to Die.

Morris Day makes up for lost time

by thedailyrecord, posted in band feature, Kansas City Star
(Above: Morris Day and Jerome riff on Abbott and Costello in this scene from the 1984 film “Purple Rain.”)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

The original members of the ‘80s funk band the Time, including Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Jesse Johnson, will have an album of new material out within the next year if Day has his way.

“The original members get together when we can,” Day said. “It’s getting to the point where we can put something new out within the next year.”

After dropping three classic albums in the early ‘80s, the band briefly reunited in 1990. A group appearance at the 2008 Grammys kicked off the latest reconvening, Day said.

“What happened was we’ve been getting together and doing tracks for fun,” Day said. “It so happens Jimmy Jam is chairman of NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), the company that does the Grammys. They found out he was an original member of the Time and thought we needed to come out together. So we did that, which lead to a string (of shows) in Vegas at the Flamingo, then we decided to keep on going.”

Just don’t expect Jam, Lewis, Johnson or any new cuts on Morris Day and the Time’s current tour.

“We’re holding up on that (playing new cuts). We’re going to launch it in a way that makes sense at the time,” Day said. “I do know we sound even better than the old records. You’ll be surprised how good everybody looks and sounds. There are still a few original members. We still have Jellybean (Johnson) on drums and Monte (Moir) on keyboards. “

In 1980, Prince culled the best musicians from local Minneapolis bands Flyte Time, the Family and Grand Central to be in his pet side project, the Time. Although the Time’s 1981 debut album featured Prince on most of the instruments, the other musicians gradually had more input.

“On the first record, Prince played a lot of the instruments, but I played drums,” Day said. “Every time he was in the studio, I was down there with him working just as much. We cut the tracks together. With each album, the musicians played larger roles. You can see it from all the spin-off careers. Everyone became very efficient in the studio.”

Jam and Lewis made their name as producers working with Janet Jackson. The pair brought in Jellybean Johnson to help produce Jackson’s 1989 hit “Black Cat.” Jesse Johnson also worked with Jackson and has written music for several movies, including “The Breakfast Club,” in addition to recording as a solo artist.

“I knew we had something special right away from the first song the band had to learn,” Day said. “When we played our first big show at the 20 Grand in

08-24-2009.ngl_24MorrisDay_Product.GH72M5BFB.1
Day performs onstage in Ft. Worth, Texas in August, 2009.

Detroit, I started out with my back to the crowd and I could hear the people going nuts. Then after the show I saw the response from the musicians and people into music and knew we had something special.”

The Time found their biggest success after appearing in “Purple Rain,” which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

“When we made ‘Purple Rain’ we weren’t thinking the movie would be a blockbuster, we were just having fun,” Day said. “I’ve only seen once in its entirety and that was at the premier. That said, I think it’s held up well because I always end up running into people who can quote my lines like they wrote the script.”

Unfortunately, the band was no longer intact to enjoy the results.

“What happened was Jimmy and Terry missed a show in Atlanta. They were somewhere producing for S.O.S. Band, missed their flight and because of bad weather couldn’t get out,” Day said. “Because we were signed to Prince’s production company, he fired them. The band never felt the same to me after that. I wasn’t feeling it any more so I decided to start a solo career.”

Day continued to work with Prince, though, appearing in the film “Graffiti Bridge.” Eventually Day realized he liked music more than movies.

“Acting is not an easy gig. It takes a special talent that not just anyone can do it,” Day said. “It takes a lot of memory and concentration, things that don’t come easy to me. I like to work an hour, hour and a half, and be able to go into the studio at my leisure.  The musician has more control over life than an actor.”

After a lengthy absence, Day returned to the big screen for the “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” in 2001.

“That’s an interesting scenario, because apparently (director) Kevin (Smith) wrote the script with us in mind before he contacted us,” Day said. “It was a good experience. I had teenage kids at the time, and they just thought of me as the guy who dropped them off at school. But after ‘Jay and Silent Bob’ so many kids were coming up to me. It set young eyes hip to what I do.”

(Note: This article was written in advance of a scheduled concert by Morris Day and the Time on Nov. 6, 2009, at the Midland Theater in Kansas City, Mo. Unfortunately, Day cancelled the concert hours after the piece was submitted. It is published on The Daily Record for the first time.)

Review: Snoop Dogg with Method Man and Redman

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star
 (Above: Snoop Dogg performs a medley of old hits on Nov. 6 at Harrah’s Voodoo Lounge in Kansas City, Mo.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star
The revue that brought rappers Snoop Dogg, Method Man and Redman to the Voodoo Lounge on Friday was called the “Wonderland High School Tour.” The promoters should have inserted the word “reunion.”

Hip-hop has turned the corner as a genre. Its former disposable nature and willingness to discard any artist who dared to fall behind a trend, regardless of their past successes, has shifted to establishing legacy artists.

Despite releasing new –- and very good –- material, the three artists were more than happy to trade on their old numbers for most of the evening’s performances.

The sold-out crowd couldn’t have been happier.

After opening with a trio of cuts from his new album-length collaboration with Redman, “Blackout! 2,” including the excellent singles “A-Yo” and “City Lights,” sometime Wu-Tang Clan MC Method Man announced his intentions.

“We want to take this back to when hip-hop was good,” he declared, before launching into Redman’s 1992 song “Time 4 Sum Aksion.” That was followed by Meth’s signature song, the 1993 Wu-Tang classic “Method Man.”

A couple hours later, Snoop Dogg echoed the sentiment. Asking the crowd who came to hear the “classic stuff,” he beamed when the audience erupted in screams.

Snoop opened his 80-minute set with “The Next Episode.” The five-piece backing band added muscle and intensity to Dr. Dre’s nimble arrangements. The hits “P.I.M.P.,” originally recorded with 50 Cent in 2003, and 1993’s breakthrough “Gin and Juice” followed, sending the audience into ecstasy.

Snoop was so enamored with his early ‘90s, Death Row heyday he brought out Lady of Rage to deliver her part on a song from “Doggystyle,” Snoop’s debut album, and her one hit, “Afro-Puffs.”

Rage has been missing in action for better than a decade, but everyone sang along to her hit like Newt Gingrich had just announced the Contract with America. Snoop was all smiles, slinking around the stage and working the crowd as Rage took the spotlight.

The Death Row glory days connection was reinforced when Snoop paid tribute to 2Pac with a performance of “Hail Mary.”

There were some concessions to newer material. “Riding in My Chevy” was well received, but the magnificent “Drop It Like It’s Hot” was tethered to a cover of House of Pain’s 1992 hit “Jump Around.” Why did Snoop feel he needed to attach his song to a one-hit wonder? Also a mystery is why Snoop chose to ignore his upcoming album except for a quick plug at the end of the set.

At any rate, “Hot” was the finest musical moment of the night. The full band fleshed out the bare-bones album arrangement, adding deeper bass and bigger bass. The performance gradually built in intensity until both band and crowd alike were flat-out rocking.

The biggest problem with Snoop’s set was his over-reliance on back-up MCs Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. Their solo turns took time away from other song Snoop could have performed and their backing role was the equivalent of Garrett Morris delivering the news for the hearing impaired on Saturday Night Live.

A medley of “Deep Cover,” “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” and “B— Please” went off like a flash pot. A delirious crowd devoured every beat, recited every syllable and danced furiously. It was the hip hop equivalent of “Jump” or even “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Snoop closed with another crowd-pleaser: “Who Am I? (What’s My Name?)”

Snoop’s laid-back delivery and contentment to stroll and swagger across the stage stood in contrast to the kinetic energy of Method Man and Redman. The pair barely stood still throughout their hour-long set, delivery Wu-Tang favorites, solo cuts like “Bring the Pain” and “You’re All I Need To Get By” and the obligatory tribute to deceased Wu-Tang member Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

The duo was backed by frequent Wu-Tang producer Mathematics and DJ Nice and scored points with the pro-cannabis crowd by performing weed anthems “How High” and “Part II.” Marijuana was a reoccurring theme of the night. A pair of sheriffs camped on either side of the club entrance and the beginning of the night and a lingering presence later in the night quashed many would-be smokers. The dense clouds produced by the overhead smoke machines created enough cover for the rest.

The evening kicked off promptly at 8 p.m. with the only performer who wasn’t tied to the 1990s. Devin the Dude provided an hour of rhymes about women and weed. His base lyrics and laconic delivery found many fans in the crowd but were no match for what followed.

Review: Mutemath

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: Mutemath drummer Darren King does the monkey at the Beaumont Club on Oct. 16, 2009.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

The Beaumont Club has had many colorful adjectives hurled its way through the years, but “percussive” has probably never been one of them. It’s puzzling, then, that Mutemath drummer Darren King decided to rap his drumsticks on the rafters near the conclusion of Mutemath’s 100-minute show on Friday night.

Balanced on a bass drum held aloft by the crowd, King beat on the metal beams before swinging back onstage like a primate and joining half the band at his proper drum kit to conclude the night.

It took both the quartet and the crowd a while to reach that point, though. For the first half of its show, Mutemath was restrained to a fault, drawing warm applause but little dancing or movement. The audience seemed content to stand and take in the spectacle and see where the music would lead them.

And what a spectacle it was. With the drums set off at extreme stage left, a huge semicircle video screen and bank of lights dominated the setting, the stage looked like Pink Floyd and band sounded like an angular U2, heavy on the Eno.

Mutemath were at their atmospheric best on “Stare at the Sun,” a hypnotic number from their 2006 debut. Like many of their songs, it deals with the search for greater meaning and the uncertainty in those discoveries.

“You Are Mine” made great use of the screen by playing grainy black-and-white film loops behind the band. As singer and keyboard player Paul Meany sang about love, the images blurred the lines between devotion and obsession. On “No Response,” King stood in front of the screen a played a set of illuminated electronic drum pads that set off light cues.

King had the flashiest role, but bass player Roy Mitchell-Cardenas was the band’s secret weapon. Switching between electric and upright bass, his instrument was the only one that consistently carried the melody and existed beyond adding texture. Utility man Greg Hill was the jack of all trades, alternated between guitar – his primary instrument – keyboards and percussion.

After about 30 minutes of foreplay, the band slowly started gaining speed. It started during “Noticed,” when Meany abruptly quit singing and the crowd picked up the song on cue. That led into the bright pop of “Typical,” and a sea of smiles. The main set ended with an insistent reading of “Burden” that found the band stretching out. The powerful performance sounded like it somehow morphed from the single into the 12-inch remix before wrapping back up with the chorus.

After a break and the slight “Pins and Needles,” the band picked back up where it left off with “Spotlight,” which found Meany spontaneously jump up from behind his keyboard and dancing around the stage. “Reset” featured a long instrumental introduction and had been going for nearly 10 minutes when King started dancing on the ceiling. By then, no one wanted to come down.

Setlist: The Nerve, Backfire, Chaos, Clipping, No Response, (unknown song), Stare at the Sun, Electrifying, Armstice, You Are Mine, Peculiar People, Noticed, Typical, Burden. Encore: Pins and Needles, Spotlight, Reset.

Review: Robert Randolph and the Family Band (2009)

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: Robert Randolph and the Family Band examine the “Man in the Mirror.”)

By Joel Francis
The Kasnas City Star

As the temperature dipped into the low 60s Saturday night at Crossroads, Robert Randolph and his family band mounted a two-front war: against the elements and against early onset hibernation in the crowd.

Pedal steel virtuoso Randolph and his six-piece band immediately conquered the weather. Opening with the buoyant “Good Times (3 Stroke),” Randolph frequently jumped out from behind his instrument to hop around like his own hype man. That proved more than enough to get the blood flowing.

For whatever reason, the band had more trouble winning over the audience. The third-full venue was populated with people who would rather converse and take their pictures on cell phones than dance and listen. The only times the crowd was engaged was when Randolph gave them something to do, like clap or sing. Everything else was background music.

When the night’s first Michael Jackson tribute – “Man in the Mirror,” delivered gospel-style by Randolph’s sister Lenesha Randolph – failed to rouse the crowd, Randolph segued into a John Lee Hooker boogie. Inviting dozens of ladies onstage to shake their hips did the trick during the number, but once the song was over it seemed everyone wanted to talk about what or who they saw onstage.

“Nobody” offered plenty of participation during the chorus and several encouraged call-and-responses.  For a moment it seemed like everything would gel, but mic problems capsized “Gilligan,” scat-vocal number about the Minnow’s castaways played on a square Bo Diddley guitar, and the crowd grew restless with the ensuing jam.

Finally, after 75 minutes onstage, Randolph got the crowd on board. “I Don’t Know What You Come To Do” had plenty of cues to clap and stomp along and the audience joyously obliged. That bled into “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That,” which teased the riff to “Whole Lotta Love” and featured an organ sound straight out of “96 Tears.”

The second Jackson tribute went over better than the first. Sliding into the melody of “Rock With You” after a brief encore break, Randolph, who has been playing MJ songs long before the King of Pop’s passing, gave the crowd a forum to both sing and dance. The night ended with “Roll Up,” an unreleased number similar to what Randolph had been serving all night. This time everyone was up for it.

Randolph’s upbeat music rocks the middle ground between gospel and funk, and his songs are basically vamps and choruses. His band can ride a groove into the sunset, but when the organ player leaned into his B3 with some gospel chords the performance kicked up another level.

Wearing a silk do-rag, pink tie, dress shirt, black vest, plaid shorts and knee-high black nylon socks, Randolph looked like a cross between LL Cool J and a middle infielder.  If he was frustrated by the distracted crowd, Randolph didn’t show it. He grinned from ear to ear all night, dancing in his seat under the pedal steel or two-stepping across the stage behind a six-string.

When the parade of ladies left the stage after “Shake Your Hips” several of them planted a kiss on Randolph’s cheek. Lost in his playing, Randolph never looked up or acknowledged the gesture. He was wise to ignore the adulation from a crowd that gave little more than lip service for most of the night.

Setlist: Good Times (3 Stroke), Deliver Me, Man in the Mirror, Shake Your Hips, Black Betty, Nobody, Das EFX, Gilligan, I Don’t Know What You Come To Do, Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That, (Encore) Rock With You, Roll Up

(Below: Paper setlists are so passe. Photo by Joe Hutchison.)

RR-setlist2009-09-26

Keep Reading:
Robert Randolph and the Family Band at Voodoo Lounge, 2008

Review: Cross Canadian Ragweed

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star

(Above: Cross Canadian Ragweed show off their new song “51 Pieces.” What’s with the Raiders shirt on an Oakie?)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

The television show “CMT Crossroads” found a niche by pairing seemingly disparate artists like Taylor Swift and Def Leppard or Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello for a one-hour performance. With their blend of arena-ready country channeled through classic rock radio, Cross Canadian Ragweed could fill a show all by themselves.

The Oklahoma-based quartet preached to a half-full Crossroads Friday night delivering nearly two dozen tracks from across their 12-year career and several songs from their just-released seventh album. Singer and lead guitarist Cody Canada played like a character from the latest edition of “Guitar Hero,” flipping between Eddie Van Halen’s finger-tapping technique, the heavy rhythm riffs inspired by Angus Young and subtle finger-picked solos a la Mark Knopfler.

Although it’s fun and easy, the congregated faithful weren’t playing spot the influence. They were too busy dancing in bliss, rocking to the music, hands raised, hallelujah. Their following is so loyal Canada could toss a lyric to the crowd and get it back twice as loud, but even he was impressed when the boisterous bunch sang along to material released just 10 days ago.

The high points of the two hour set came from opposite ends of the spectrum. “Anywhere But Here” opened like the country cousin of “Panama” and benefited from the extra muscle the band put into the extended reading. When snippets of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” appeared, it was less a cover than an assimilation.

Canada’s three-song solo acoustic set showed off his songwriting and storytelling chops. “Lonely Girl” was inspired by his sister while new number “Bluebonnets” was written for his four-year-old son. The trilogy of acoustic numbers was followed by a three-part medley Canada dubbed “The Trifecta,” which swaggered from rock to blues before ending with another new cut, “Pretty Lady.”

Bass player Jeremy Plato gave Canada a smoke break by handling lead vocals on two songs. His voice was a nice change of pace but too many bass solos – including two in the final three numbers – bogged the energy a bit. Ditto for the drum solo that preceded “Number.”

Ragweed’s set ended with guaranteed crowd pleasers “Carney Man” and “Late Last Night.” For “Time To Move On” Jonathan Tyler, who led the first act on the bill, joined the quartet on guitar. The night ended with a new song that felt old. Although it wasn’t officially released until Sept. 1, the crowd went ballistic for “51 Pieces” based on the opening lines of the story that introduced the number.

Lucero got sandwich billing between opener Jonathan Tyler and Northern Lights and Ragweed. The Memphis-based quartet sounds like the E Street Band via Uncle Tupelo and front man Ben Nichols sounds like Jay Farrar after too many cigarettes and way too much whiskey.

Their one-hour set was heavy on fan requests and included “Kiss the Bottle,””Raising Hell” and new material like “Darken My Door.” Although Lucero weren’t the band most of the crowd came to see, they did a great job of firing up the sizable swarm in front of the stage.

Setlist: Sister, Alabama, Burn Like the Sun, Mexican Sky, Deal, To Find My Love, Hammer Down, 42 Miles, Soul Agent, Anywhere But Here (including Won’t Get Fooled Again), Drag, drum solo, Number, (acoustic set) Let the Rain Fall Down (unsure if this title is correct), Lonely Girl, Bluebonnets, The Trifecta (including Pretty Lady), Carney Man, Time to Move On (with Jonathan Tyler), Late Last Night, (encore) 51 Pieces

Review: Lee “Scratch” Perry

by thedailyrecord, posted in Concert review, Kansas City Star
https://youtu.be/5Qt0zn3etX8
(Above: The eccentric Lee “Scratch” Perry give a tour of his Black Ark studio in Kingston, Jamaica. Perry produced reggae greats Junior Murvin, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Max Romeo, U-Roy and many more at Black Ark before it mysteriously burned to the ground.)

By Joel Francis
The Kansas City Star

Halfway through the third song of the night, Lee “Scratch” Perry ordered the band to halt. He wasn’t feeling it from the crowd, and reggae can’t be performed without the proper energy. After admonishing the audience and getting the desired feedback, Perry and his four-piece backing band resumed the number.

The request may have seemed more reasonable had it occurred hours earlier. The hundred or so fans who populated the Beaumont Club Sunday evening had patiently waited through two bands and an overlong DJ set. As the clock tipped toward Monday, they had a right to be tired.

Fortunately, both the crowd and Perry were rejuvenated by the time-out. The 73-year-old reggae legend delivered over an hour of his favorites and four songs by Bob Marley, one of the scores of reggae greats Perry has produced throughout his five-decade career.

Marley’s songs were nearly unrecognizable. Perry didn’t own them as much as deconstruct the numbers, turning them into springboards for his chanted verses and call-and-response choruses. “Kaya,” a number Perry co-wrote and produced with Marley closed the night, while “One Drop,” a number Marley wrote and recorded alone, concluded a trio of interpretations.

With scores of albums to his name, Perry had more than enough original material to draw from. “Roast Fish and Cornbread” came from his heyday in the late ‘70s, while set opening “Secret Laboratory” hailed from a decade later. The playful “Pum Pum” came from last year’s collaboration with “Party Hard” rocker Andrew W.K.

Although Perry’s arrangements are similar, Lionized, the four-piece Maryland band backing him, did a good job of mixing textures and varying tempos. They knew how to push both Perry and the crowd for maximum effect.

Lionized got 40 minutes for themselves before Perry took the stage. They were preceded by local DJ FSTZ, who spun dub, trance and techno for 70 minutes. 77 Jefferson took the stage when the sun was still up with an upbeat 40-minute set.

The diminutive Perry took the stage at 11 p.m. carrying a suitcase and wearing enough bling to make Flavor Flav and Lil Jon blush. Rings decorated every finger and multiple bracelets adorned each wrist. Mirrors and amulets were stuffed into every surface of his cap and spray-painted work boots. More than a dozen charms dangled around the microphone head.

The reggae equivalent of Sun Ra, Perry has claimed to be from outer space at various times throughout his career. He proved it a couple times on Sunday night by dumping a bottle of water over his cap-covered head and right shoe while dancing what looked like the hokey pokey during “Roast Fish and Cornbread.” Later in the set he flicked his lighter and licked it with his tongue.

The small crowd negated any sightline issues – there was more than enough room for everyone on the dance floor. Sound was good, but clarity isn’t Perry’s aim. He mixes everything into a large, murky soup. Although instruments were discernable, his voice wasn’t. Drenched in artificial echo and natural patios it was hard to make out what he was saying.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out what Perry wanted, though. Jah and love, sure, but also lots of dancing and movement. Once Perry threw down the gauntlet, an unspoken agreement was struck: You give me what I want, and I’ll give you what you came for. Although it took longer than either anticipated, both sides ultimately got what they wanted.

Setlist (as written, though not performed in this order): Secret Laboratory, Inspector Gadget, Jungle Safari, Roast Fish and Cornbread, Jah Live, Sun is Shining, One Drop, I Am A Mad Man, Devil Dead, Wait Inna Babylon, Kaya, Pum Pum