Reviews
A common misconception about funk music is that the style is all nostalgia and not contemporary. Many of the founders of the form are still performing today such as George Clinton, George Porter Jr., Leo Nocentelli, or Art Neville. Though the founders are still a big part of the funk scene its best to think of funk as a sensibility rather than something definitive or solidified.
Indie supergroup Mister Heavenly released one of the most underrated albums of 2011, and if we’re lucky, they just might do it again this year.
If musical jams are your thing, a quick rising band, TAUK has all the jam, jelly, marmalade and preserves to suit any jamband fan’s tastes as witnessed on their LP, Homunculus. If the genre is rock, fusion, jazz, bluegrass, country, classical, rap, pop or psychedelic; musicians produce a “jam” for whatever their genre may be.
I found this album pleasant to listen to and enjoyed the talent expressed within it. Oberhofer is named after Brad Oberhofer, the front man and founder whom is originally from Tacoma, Washington. Brad moved from Washington to New York City to attend New York University to study music composition. The band Obehofer formed in 2008 to perform Brad’s compositions. Brad writes and records his own music and had formed a band to perform with.
Rockin’ Americana stringband, Eric Lambert & Friends (ELF), featuring acclaimed guitarist Eric Lambert, along with Dan Rogers on bass, and Pat Fiddle on mandolin and fiddle, will be performing live at a Chicago suburban historical landmark on Saturday, April 20. ELF debuts at Two Brothers Roundhouse, located at 205 N. Broadway Street in Aurora, IL, performing three hours of music, beginning at 9 pm.
Recently I had the special opportunity to see the legendary Toots and the Maytals, just a couple of blocks from my house at the Fox Theater in Boulder CO. My work thus far with Grateful Web has been mostly reviewing jam-bands, taking notes on their instrumentation, and reporting commendable jams. So, as you could imagine, this was a much different experience than I was used to.
Horns and go, “Step Inside” insists immediately. The tune takes a nostalgic turn near the end, riffing on some old jazz, but it’s largely a characteristic overture for Kings and Queens – a slight shift from the early days of John Brown’s Body has taken form here, albeit grounded firmly in roots from the same tree.This band hasn’t rested on its early-dub laurels in passing years (see Amplify); no exception here.
When Lotus comes to Boulder, Colorado, the streets are just a bit more abuzz. People standing in front of the Boulder Theater are giving off a charge of excitement, and there’s a stimulating, magnetic sense in the air that tells us of what’s to come.
On an otherwise nondescript Thursday night at Shine, local band The 100 Percent made the most of their 45-minute set. Packing in nine soul-soaked original tunes that had the crowd cheering and clapping, often before the song was even complete, the band displayed chops that show they have what it takes to differentiate themselves in the oversaturated Boulder music scene.
