Halloween Concerts Provide Unusual Covers, Inspired Performances

Everyone knows by now that Phish presented The Rolling Stones‘ Exile on Main Street in its entirety for their “musical costume” on Halloween. Featuring the incredible Sharon Jones on vocals, along with the necessary horns, the performance is deserving of the immediate praise it received. But what about the rest of the holiday shenanigans across the nation?

Some instances of Halloween’s madness may not warrant a complete set list posting, but they are worth mentioning. At New Orleans’ Voodoo Music Fest, Drive-By Truckers took the stage with a version of KISS‘ “Strutter” in homage to one of the headlining bands of the festival. The Radiators brought their annual masquerade ball to Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Fine Line Music Cafe, where they sprinkled their show with their scariest songs and covers like The Who’s “Magic Bus,” David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” Eddie Bo’s “Pass Out the Hatchets,” and Roky Erickson’s “I Walked With A Zombie.”

The Disco Biscuits were joined by Glitch Mob, Orchard Lounge, and Holy Fuck at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre for a night that was probably weird enough without any kind of high-minded musical costumes, but the Biscuits broke out a  first-time-played cover of Smashing Pumpkins‘ “I Am One” for good measure anyway. Meanwhile, at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, The Avett Brothers dressed as The Three Amigos and treated the audience to a jaw-dropping show full of rare songs and the unique addition of drums.

One of the most publicized and anticipated Halloween concerts in recent memory unfurled with majestic grandeur in Philadelphia, as Pearl Jam captained a farewell party for one of the oldest arenas in the nation. The Spectrum will be demolished soon, but Pearl Jam did their best to beat the demolition crews to the punch, treating fans to more than 40 songs that lined themselves up in devastating fashion. The band kept the Halloween histrionics to minimum, preferring to cloak themselves in rare songs and celebratory camaraderie. The show featured the live debuts of Bugs (a date-appropriate oddity from the Vitalogy album), Sweet Lew (an outtake from the Binaural sessions that surfaced on the rarities compilation Lost Dogs), and Devo’s Whip It (complete with the band in Devo costumes). A large donation to one of the band’s charities resulted in the first performance of Out of My Mind in 15 years, and a large portion of the show featured the Philadelphia String Quartet. I could write volumes about the show, and I wasn’t even there, so if this paragraph has piqued your interest, I’d recommend checking out the set list and downloading the show. It should be available at Etree very soon.

Here’s a collection of set lists and notes from some of the more interesting performances last night, along with links to recordings where available.

All shows occurred 10/31/09.

Gov’t Mule at The Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA (download)

The band performed a wide array of Rolling Stones songs for the first set, and the show featured guest multi-instrumentalist Steve Elson.

Set 1 (with Jackie Greene): Under My Thumb*, Monkey Man*, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)*$, Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’*$, Angie*, Ventilator Blues*$, Shattered*$#, Wild Horses, Slave*$, Gimmie Shelter*$, Play With Fire, Paint It Black, Bitch*$, Brown Sugar*$

Set 2: Steppin’ Lightly, Broke Down On The Brazos, Railroad Boy > Monday Mourning Meltdown > Forevermore, Frozen Fear > Brighter Days > Blind Man In The Dark$

Encore (with Jackie Greene): Goin’ Out West$(w/Peter Gunn Tease) > Bang A Gong$ > Goin’ Out West

* 1st Time Played
$ with Steve Elson
#with Matt on Lead Vocal, Danny on Bass & Jorgen on Drums

Widespread Panic at Austin Music Hall, Austin, TX (download)

Band Member Costumes: Sunny Ortiz – skeleton; Todd Nance – breast cancer awareness; JoJo Hermann – The Pope; John Bell – Vincent Van Gogh; Dave Schools and Jimmy Herring – cowboys/Brokeback Mountain

Set 1: Waitin’ for the Bus* > Chilly Water > Rock > Chilly Water, Trouble, Gimmie% > You Got Yours, Give, Mama Told Me (Not to Come), Red Beans (58 min)

Set 2: Come as You Are# > Bowlegged Woman, The Last Straw, Holden Oversoul > Jam > Vampire Blues, Imitation Leather Shoes > Drums > Bust It Big > Pigeons, Lake Of Fire@ > Henry Parsons Died (92 min)

Encore: This Masquerade^, Postcard, Flat Foot Flewzy

*ZZ Top, first time played
%with Norwegian Wood tease
#Nirvana, first time played
@Meat Puppets, first time played
^Leon Russell, first time played

Umphrey’s McGee at Los Tortugas Dance of the Dead, Groveland (Yosemite), CA (photos)

Band Member Costumes: The band wore mashed-up costumes to complement their Monster Mash-Up theme:
Jake Cinninger (guitar) – George Harrison Ford
Ryan Stasik (bass) – Bret Michaels Jackson
Brendan Bayliss (guitar) – Captain Kirk Hammett
Joel Cummins (keys) – Dirty Harry Caray
Kris Myers (drums) – Rod Stewart Copeland
Andy Farag (perc) – Wizard of Ozzy Guillen

Set 1: JaJunk% > 2×2 > Q*Bert > 2×2, Cemetery Walk, Padgett’s Profile, All In Time%%, Cemetery Walk II, Sweet Sunglasses*

Set 2: Jazz Odyssey > Nothing Too Fancy > Hangover > Night Gambler** > Nothing Too Fancy, FF > Professor Wormbog^, JaJunk, Mulche’s Odyssey, Land of Wappy$

Encore: 40’s Theme, Nemo’s Fat Bottomed Good Times$$

% with Smooth Criminal/Heartbreaker jam
%% with Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ jam
* mash-up of Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics), Sunglasses at Night (Corey Hart), and Electric Feel (MGMT)
** mash-up of The Gambler (Kenny Rogers), Night Fever (The Bee Gees), and Rapper’s Delight (The Sugarhill Gang)
^ with Bill Kreutzman on drums
$ mash-up of Wappy Sprayberry, Land of Confusion (Genesis), and Seek & Destroy (Metallica)
$$ mash-up of Nemo, Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen), and Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin)

moe. at Washington Ave. Armory, Albany, NY

Many of the show’s songs were selected via fan voting.

Band Member Costumes: The band wore the uniforms of the Cobra Kai dojo from the film The Karate Kid.

Set 1: The Ghost Of Ralph’s Mom, Godzilla, Farmer Ben*#, You Can Call Me Al**, We Got The Party^, George, Echoes

Set 2: Stash, meat > Eyes Of The World > Echoes, Rebubula > Dark Star > Rebubula

Encore: Fuck Her Gently^^, Don’t Fuck With Flo, Crab Eyes

# Last Played 3/02/05
* with Werewolves Of London, The Munsters (theme), The Adams Family (theme), and Powerhouse teases
** Jim on piccolo bass & Al on trumpet
^ Jim on acoustic
^^ only Al (acoustic) and Chuck

Perpetual Groove at The National, Richmond, VA

Band Member Costumes: The band dressed as various characters from John Hughes films, and performed musical selections from the films throughout the night.

Set 1: Space Paranoids, TSMM > Harmonium > TSMM, At the Screen, Cairo, Oh Yeah, Mayday

Set 2: Teakwood Betz (Fakeout) > Weird Science > Teakwood Betz, Three Weeks, Speed Queen > Blitzkreig Bop > Speed Queen, Don’t You Forget About Me

Encore: Lost Connection, Twist and Shout

Allman Brothers Band & Widespread Panic Raleigh Review on Glide Magazine!

My review of the October 11, 2009 Allman Brothers Band/Widespread Panic show at Walnut Creek is now up at Glide Magazine’s Hidden Track Blog! Go here to read and see Dave Rogers’ amazing photos!

World Beer Festival, Durham, NC, October 3, 2009

Beer aficionados and assorted revelers of all types were treated to gorgeous weather, a historic setting, and an awful lot of beer, food and music at Durham, NC’s World Beer Festival, which took place on October 3rd. Upwards of 4000 attendees sampled over 300 beers from over 150 breweries – everything from local brewing mainstays, such as Foothills and Big Boss, to exotic brands from around the United States and the world. This was my first beer festival of any kind, and given my recent infatuation with craft beer, I felt like a kid turned loose in an amusement park.

All About Beer, a world-renowned magazine based in Durham, couldn’t have asked for a better day to throw their hometown festival. A nearly cloudless 80-degree day lent itself to a noon start and plenty of thirst. The $40 entry fee quickly became a bargain, as waiting beer booths covered the entire outfield of the historic Durham Athletic Park. I got right to it, first tasting Weeping Willow Wit from Mother Earth Brewing out of Kinston, NC.

Situated in the still-recovering eastern part of the state, which was ravaged by floods in 1999, the organic brewery – which started brewing just weeks ago – hopes to make a name for itself amidst a struggling local economy. They could put Kinston on the map, because the Weeping Willow withstood a host of challengers to stand as my favorite light, summery beer of the day.

As the music of Dub Addis provided a pleasant reggae atmosphere, I found myself not knowing where to go next. I made some tasting choices at random, like Fort Collins (CO) Brewery’s Chocolate Stout (nothing to write home about) and Deschutes Brewery out of Bend, OR, whose Mirror Pond Pale Ale met my approval as a beer that could be enjoyed on a regular basis. Alas, I was forced to savor the few sips I had, as their beers are not available in North Carolina yet.

After a few stellar examples of styles like Whites (Weeping Willow, Hoegaarden), Pilsners (Moon River out of Savannah, GA) and Pale Ales (Mirror Pond, Thomas Creek’s Up the Creek IPA), I began to reach out into the realm of big flavor. I tried two “smoked” beers, which was a style that I had never had before. Holland, Michigan’s New Holland Brewing boasted an impressive list of beers, but I was urged to try their Charkoota Rye Smoked Doppelbock Lager. The immediate blast of smoky flavor and savory texture was like nothing I had ever tried before. I then gave Rogue’s Chipotle Ale (Newport, OR) a try for comparison. While a perfectly good beer, the Chipotle couldn’t match the complexity and wallop of the New Holland selection.

Soon after a few more tastes of some heavy hitters, such as North Coast Brewing Company’s Brother Thelonious (from Fort Bragg, CA, which carries a swingin’ 9.3% ABV), Atwater Block Brewery’s remarkably unique Vanilla Java Porter, and Allagash Brewery’s Black Belgian-Style Stout (Detroit, MI), food beckoned. The festival boasts a selection of local food that makes deciding what to eat very tough. I eventually passed up Rudino’s, Sitar India Palace, and Revolution in favor of the best bargain at the event – a two-dollar soft taco from Chubby’s. 2009 has been a big year for Chubby’s in the Raleigh/Durham area, and the restaurant has become a much-discussed favorite since the two locations opened. I found their basic chicken and rice taco to be fresh and perfectly sized, as it did not leave me with an overly “full” feeling at all.

I quickly traversed the booths in search of sweet, light, after-meal beers, as the jazz-funk sounds of Funkuponya replaced the reggae vibe with slick, frantic instrumental jams. I found the sweet beers in spades, and experienced some of my most memorable tasting with R.J. Rocker’s Son of a Peach Wheat Ale (Spartanburg, SC) and Founder’s Cerise (Grand Rapids, MI). Where the Son of a Peach balanced mega-peach flavor with a classic wheaty, unfiltered taste, Cerise simply bombards the drinker with many levels of cherry flavor, from sweet to tart. Son of a Peach is more drinkable than Cerise, which is almost a “novelty” beer in my opinion, but both were highlights of the day.

I couldn’t attend a beer festival in October without trying some of the seasonals on tap, and I fell in love with Magic Hat’s Roxy Rolles (Burlington, VT). Out of the tap, this beer is probably the best amber ale I have ever tried. Nutty, with a malty caramel side, it also has a hoppy bite that makes it perfect for the fall. Speaking of Autumn, Terrapin Beer Company – one of the leaders in the southern craft beer market out of Athens, GA – offered their Pumpkinfest seasonal just in time for October, and it was smooth, spicy, and delectable. A special surprise was Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Christmas Ale (Cleveland, OH). I was hesitant to try a winter warmer on such a warm day, but the chance at such a unique beer was irresistible. I was shocked at how accessible the beer was. It wasn’t a heavy beer, as I had expected, and the flavors were simply accentuated and presented, immediately imparting a holiday spirit via cinnamon and honey flavors. The Christmas Ale was one of a handful of beers that I considered tasting twice.

In the festival’s handy guide, I marked the beers that I tasted. This reference proved invaluable when recounting the day, as there were some beers that just didn’t make much of an impact on my memory. I barely remember trying Big Boss‘ Monkey Bizz-ness Farmhouse Ale (Raleigh, NC), and they are a beloved favorite of mine. Another one of my favorite breweries, Abita (Abita Springs, LA), offered their Andygator Dopplebock, which I had never tasted. I was underwhelmed by the mild nature of the beer, though in the beer’s defense, I like to be tested a bit more. Adventurousness aside, Andygator is a perfectly fine and strong Dopplebock. It just isn’t doing much beyond that. At least Abita offered something that isn’t available in stores in my area, unlike New Belgium Brewing. I was looking forward to trying one of the prolific Colorado brewery’s many special releases, but they only offered beers that are already available in every grocery store around.

I don’t know if I’m biased because I have lived in the south all of my life, but I thought the Southern brewers shone the brightest at the event, followed closely by the Michigan contingent. Michigan scored every time I sampled the state’s wares – Atwater Block, Founders, and New Holland would be a boon to any state’s brewery lineup. Aviator Brewing Company’s Hot Rod Red (Holly Springs, NC) changed my perception of Irish Red Ales forever, and Big Boss’ Harvest Time Pumpkin Ale lived up to the hype I had been hearing. Thomas Creek, out of Greenville, SC, could soon be a force given their tasty, wide variety of styles and likable artwork and t-shirts, and Moon River has a similarly fun-loving vibe that comes through in their beer. Red Oak, a draft-only brewery in Whitsett, NC (just minutes from my home), scored big points with their Battlefield Bock. It’s not often I get to the brewery to try their special brews, so it was a real treat.

It’s as tough to convey the atmosphere and celebratory nature of the World Beer Festival as it is to explain the difference between a good “tasting” beer and a beer that can be consumed en mass. Festival favorites like Founder’s Cerise, New Holland’s Smoked Rye Doppelbock, and Atwater Block’s Vanilla Java Porter are perfectly good to inspect, analyze, and marvel at, but there’s nothing like Deschutes’ Mirror Pond Pale Ale or Mother Earth’s Weeping Willow Wit when it comes to drinkability. If you’re looking for a place to indulge your wildest and basest beer fantasies, you might find nirvana in October at the old ballpark in Durham.

Mike Doughty – New Album, Duo Tour

The first full week of October 2009 will be an exciting one for Mike Doughty and his fans, as the now-grizzled songwriter unveils his sixth “solo” release and embarks on a 31-date tour with band mate Andrew “Scrap” Livingston. The album, titled Sad Man Happy Man, will be released October 6, and the tour begins a couple of days later in Pittsburgh, PA.

The tour, another in a series of “Question Jar” tours that finds the eloquent Doughty fielding all manner of questions from his audience, features the duo format of Doughty on guitar and vocals along with Livingston on bass/cello.

Tour Dates:

• 10/08 Club Cafe Pittsburgh, PA
• 10/09 Club Cafe Pittsburgh, PA
• 10/13 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, OH
• 10/14 The Ark Ann Arbor, MI
• 10/15 Schubas Chicago, IL
• 10/16 Schubas Chicago, IL
• 10/17 Shank Hall Milwaukee, WI
• 10/18 Blueberry Hill St. Louis, MO
• 10/20 Zanzabar Louisville, KY
• 10/21 3rd & Lindsley Nashville, TN
• 10/22 Melting Point Athens, GA
• 10/23 Eddie’s Attic Atlanta, GA
• 10/24 Evening Muse Charlotte, NC
• 10/25 Grey Eagle Asheville, NC
• 10/27 Arts Center Carrboro, NC
• 10/28 The Southern Charlottesville, VA
• 10/29 The Birchmere Alexandria, VA
• 10/30 Sellersville Theatre Sellersville, PA
• 10/31 Le Poisson Rouge New York, NY
• 11/12 Iron Horse Northampton, MA
• 11/13 Regatta Bar Cambridge, MA
• 11/14 Stone Church Newmarket, NH
• 11/15 One Longfellow Square Portland, ME
• 11/17 Higher Ground Lounge Burlington, VT
• 11/18 Revolution Hall Albany, NY
• 11/19 Westcott Theatre Syracuse, NY
• 11/20 Castaways Ithaca, NY
• 11/21 Town Ballroom Buffalo, NY
• 11/22 Mountain Stage Charleston, WV
• 11/24 Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center Harrisburg, PA
• 11/25 Recher Theatre Towson, MD

Fans can already hear two songs from the album at Mike Doughty’s website: “You Should Be Doubly Gratified” and his cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Casper the Friendly Ghost.”

Album Review: Assembly of Dust – Some Assembly Required

The many parts and pieces that comprise Some Assembly Required snap together in a truly satisfying way, save a few bum edges. Featuring special guests on each song, the album wins in the personnel department, but it’s hard to tell if the guests – John Scofield, Tony Rice, Grace Potter, Mike Gordon, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and Richie Havens among them – were simply shoehorned into existing songs or if they had input into the recording and songwriting process. The album is unbalanced in quality and pacing, yet the band still comes out of the whole affair stronger than ever.

Some of the songs sound tailored for the attending musician, like the majestic introspection of “All That I Am Now,” which is urged into the mystic by Richie Havens’ prophetic voice and forceful guitar work. Others sound like typical folk-rock fare from AOD leader Reid Genauer, but with extra icing. The expansive rock number “Pedal Down,” for instance, features Zach and Andrew Gabbard of Buffalo Killers, but you’d hardly notice the difference unless you’re a huge Buffalo Killers fan because their contributions mesh so well with what AOD is already doing with the song.

Most numerous on the album are the songs that probably already existed but are jazzed up with bonus instrumental work, like David Grisman’s subtle mandolin work on “Cold Coffee,” Mike Gordon’s bio-mechanical bass on “Arc of the Sun,” and Keller Williams’ elegant guitar work on the rootsy “Second Song.” “High Brow” is right in the wheelhouse of moe. guitarist Al Schnier, who simply accentuates the song’s shimmering roots-pop with a tasteful solo and gritty, distorted rhythmic strums. The upbeat “High Brow” is nestled among a handful of the album’s less engaging songs, which makes it a key player in the listenability of Some Assembly Required.

The overall success of the album is somewhat inconsistent, evidenced by adjacent tracks like “Borrowed Feet,” in which John Scofield’s liquid guitar lines seem a bit out of place within the song’s dark edges, and “Revelry,” where the dueling acoustic guitars of Martin Sexton and Tony Rice perfectly lend a classic, CSNY-type sound to the song. Truly forgettable moments are few and far between, but they glare prominently because of the album’s frustrating pace. “Light Blue Lover” doesn’t live up to the promising inclusion of Tony Rice and Grace Potter, and the dobro work of Jerry Douglas is pretty much the only redeeming quality of “Leadbelly.” Theresa Andersson can’t salvage the plodding, ill-timed “Straight,” and the album-closing track “You Lay the Dust,” while sweet in meaning, does little to reward the listener for making it to the end.

Some Assembly Required doesn’t quite live up to the lofty bar set by its dazzling guest list, and it’s not Assembly of Dust’s best album by a long shot. However, it is still one of the strongest roots rock offerings of the year, and Genauer’s songwriting shines as always. All of a sudden, Assembly of Dust has a catalog that is growing more interesting and varied  by the year. It is a testament to the band that even when there are too many cooks about, the master chef’s vision still shines through in the finished product.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Album Review: Massive Attack – Splitting the Atom EP

Massive Attack’s new full-length release is coming in a few months, and this EP is the ultimate teaser. Each of the four tracks on Splitting the Atom features unique vocal contributions from the likes of Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), longtime contributor Horace Andy, Martina Topley Bird (Tricky), and Guy Garvey (Elbow). Two of the tracks are remixes that precurse the release of the actual album version, which makes this EP an even larger harbinger of anticipation. The songs are mighty fine, especially the title track – which sounds like Leonard Cohen fronting Gorillaz – and the woozy Christoff Berg remix of “Bulletproof Love,” where the music oozes  under Garvey’s spooky vocals like a sludgy, electrified river. If this EP is any indication, Massive Attack’s new album is going to be well worth the lengthy wait.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Austin City Limits Broadcast Schedule Announced

Now in its 35th year, the dependable PBS program Austin City Limits returns with another stellar lineup of music.  Beginning October 3rd with Dave Matthews Band, the series will air 14 episodes that feature the expected array of underground heroes, worldwide superstars, and eclectic oddities. DMB, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Kenny Chesney, Pearl Jam, Allen Toussaint, Them Crooked Vultures, and Willie Nelson garnered hour-long episodes, while other episodes are split between bands of similar artistic ilk. One of these episodes features the current touring bill of Andrew Bird and St. Vincent, while another brings together multidimensional folk-rockers Okkervil River and iconic singer/songwriter M. Ward.

The schedule for the upcoming season:

October 3, 2009    Dave Matthews Band
October 10, 2009    Ben Harper and Relentless7
October 17, 2009    Kenny Chesney
October 24, 2009    Andrew Bird / St. Vincent
October 31, 2009    M. Ward / Okkervil River
November 7, 2009    Elvis Costello / Band of Heathens
November 14, 2009    Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel
November 21, 2009    Pearl Jam (see info about an on-campus simulcast here)

November 28, 2009 – January 2, 2010: Encore episodes from the ACL archives

January 9, 2010    Allen Toussaint
January 16, 2010    Mos Def / K’Naan
January 23, 2010    TBD / Heartless Bastards
January 30, 2010    Steve Earle / Kris Kristofferson
February 6, 2010   Madeleine Peyroux / Esperanza Spalding
February 13, 2010    Them Crooked Vultures

All info about the show, plus info about upcoming tapings, can be found at AustinCityLimits.org.

Album Review: Yonder Mountain String Band – The Show

“Out of the Blue,” the strongest song on YMSB’s The Show, leads off the album, and false hopes abound in the song’s galloping rhythm and focused songwriting. The Show quickly becomes a real head-scratcher for YMSB fans with song number two – “Complicated” – which shares more than just a name with the horrible Avril Lavigne song. Vocalist Jeff Austin sounds strained and unnatural, and the music is strangely unremarkable given the band’s past songwriting successes. Unlike their last studio effort, which was a polished and engaging album that subtly moved the band beyond the trappings of bluegrass, The Show just tries to be too different. “Steep Grade Sharp Curves” is one of their finer recent efforts, but that’s about the extent of it. The modern country stomp of “Fingerprint” sounds like it was written to appease the merch-buying masses, and the experience declines even more from there. I could go on about how each track – from the incredibly boring “Honestly” to the sappy “Dreams” to the intolerable “Isolation” – is equally dissapointing as the album goes along, but there’s no need to pile on. YMSB is a great band that made a pretty significant miscalculation here.

Rating: 4.9 out of 10

Album Review: Volcano Choir – Unmap

Unmap is the rare record that excites by premise alone: pair indie-folk king Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) with the equally esoteric Wisconsin post-rock band Collections of Colonies of Bees, and let Vernon’s arresting voice glide over the band’s mesmerizing, cinematic sound collages. That tantalizing prospect doesn’t even begin to describe the music found on Unmap, though. While the first single, “Island, IS,” perfectly marries those elements into one of the best tracks of the year, the rest of the album is more exploratory and less commercially accessible. Inexplicable vocal harmonies wind in and out of glimmering organic ambience, elegantly experimental rhythms form the basis of ghostly lyrical ruminations, and disparate influences like blues and musique concrete coexist within the same track. The manner in which sounds enter and exit is often surprising, even jarring, and those who get this album based on “Islands, IS” are either in for an enjoyable avant-garde experience or a major disappointment. The group is at its best when investing time in wide, picturesque swaths of instrumental and vocal bliss, such as on the kaleidescopic “Still” and the sweeping “Husks and Shells.” Those tracks, along with “Islands, IS” and the immersive “Seeplymouth” serve as highlights on the very enlightening musical expedition that is Unmap.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Album Review: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe – Brother’s Keeper

Karl Denson spent more than a decade at the top of the jazz-funk-jam heap, and his band Tiny Universe became legendary for non-stop funk frenzies that tested the limits of time and space. On Brother’s Keeper, it’s clear that he’s trying for more sophistication, continuing to focus on his own vocal stylings while offering new songs with a touch of mass appeal. Denson’s craggy voice and the band’s stalwart wall of funk are intact, but his measured attempt to bring the music to a wider audience stops the party in its tracks. Unfortunately, there’s a stylistic tug-of-war that ensues on this album, and the conflict never resolves itself. On one side, there’s the immeasurable instrumental talent of Denson and his band, which includes longtime cohorts Chris Littlefield (trumpet), Ron Johnson (bass), and Brian Jordon (guitar). They’re allowed plenty of room, especially on the title track. But the song structure and slick production tug against the band’s desire to burn down the studio with fiery solos and hammering funk grooves, and some of the songs leave a lot to be desired lyrically (and I’m being nice there – I laughed out loud at some of the lyrics). Even the album cover seems like a less than graceful attempt to shoehorn Denson into the adult contempo/R&B market. With several numbers on the verge of R&B cheese and few memorable highlights, you might want to keep this album away from your ears.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10