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Midwest
Regional Report
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Edited by Todd Justus &
Tim Ward
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Folks, we'd like to thank you for your submissions and for giving
us a head's up about the shows you're playing out there in the heartland.
Please keep it up!
This month's column features reviews of hookah, The Big Wu, Rebecca's Statue, and OAR, and our own Todd Justus pitches in with a Galactic review. I caught that show as well, but I thought I'd make Todd do all the work. We'll see you at the show. Tim and Todd
In Case You Missed It SnoCore Icicle Ball '01: Galactic, Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, Lake Trout, 2/3/01 by Todd Justus Columbus, for all if its shortcomings, is a town that certainly knows how to handle its buzz. A pre-show buzz, that is, the interest generated before the fact. In a city that will practically go on strike if hookah doesn't schedule a monthly gig at The Newport, it's often difficult for other acts to come in and steal the hometown thunder. This winter's SnoCore tour, however, had a few things in its favor. First of all, it had been a solid month since hookah's 12/30 Newport blowout, meaning the natives were restless and ready to groove. Contributing to this restlessness was the fact that hookah was touring down south, leaving the Columbus kids that would make the drive to Pittsburgh, Indy or Cleveland at home on a Saturday night. And most importantly, word about the SnoCore tour was spreading. I mean, you don't put Claypool and Galactic on the same bill and not expect people to be mesmerized. As SnoCore's Icicle Ball blew East like an uneasy weather pattern, people in Ohio started getting calls: an old college roommate in Denver caught the Fillmore show and is quitting her job to jump on tour; a cousin in Minneapolis having a "life-changing" experience; your old friend in Chicago asking if he can sleep on your couch because, dammit, the show at the Riv was just that good. So the buzz was in full effect. If you didn't have your ticket prior to the day of the show, well, you weren't getting in. The line of those with tickets stretched far north on High Street, and it was hard to go 15 feet without encountering a group of five that all needed tickets. And it was like 20 degrees outside, making us anticipate getting in and getting on with it even more. We arrived about 20 minutes into Lake Trout's set. I had learned while doing some pre-show reconnaissance (I called two friends that were at the Chicago show - it's not like I had satellite photos or anything), that Trout wasn't probably what I was expecting. "Non-phatty," as my friend Phil put it, or Phat-Phree. But in the time it took me to walk into the front door, say hi to a few people, and move to the edge of the floor, I was completely hooked. These guys do things that will make any fan of improvisation foam at the mouth. Extended loops, break beats, brass, percussion...they were so cool - so goes the saying - that they should have been British, not from Baltimore. It was like they took all of the best things from some of my personal favorites - Radiohead, Pavement, et all - and put a unique spin on the whole package that could twist from Doors-like Eastern themed blues organ to unreal techno beats at the drums. And they were really "in" to it, too, which always adds to my enjoyment of the show. I rarely give a ringing endorsement to band after seeing them play for 30 minutes, but I can unashamedly give heavy props to Lake Trout. If they're in your neighborhood...hell, if they're in your part of the country, go check them out. As people caught their breath from Lake Trout, talk instantly shifted to Claypool. Les is that rare animal in music that has established a tested reputation in one genre but is still able to branch out. He earned instant jam credibility through Oysterhead, but I suspect that many current jam band fans evolved with Les through his Primus days and are happy to see him dabble in our world. With every show, Claypool's pedigree seems to stand taller, and he has the chops to back it up. Informal polling in the audience suggested that half of the fans were there for Galactic, but the other half were strictly there for Les, and the Frog Brigade DID NOT disappoint. Many hoped for, and received, the Taxman opener that bounced into his now-signature take on Sgt. Peppers. While many fans were unfamiliar with a large portion of the material, Claypool held the audience captive throughout the set that featured visits to Pink Floyd and Sausage material. And nearly as entertaining as the music was Claypool himself, who strutted and hopped and exchanged banter with the crowd from the first note of Taxman through his slap-bass solo to close. Not only is Les a great musician, but he's an entertainer as well. And the Frog Brigade is soooo tight, it seems like they've played together for the duration of their careers. Keep en eye on Claypool and the Brigade; I suspect we haven't heard the last from them. Claypool's fierce set left the crowd weak like a boxer that has sustained a series of body blows. We were on the ropes, waiting, begging practically, for Galactic to deliver the vicious uppercut to knock us out and back into the cold night. Galactic showed that they came to play, and snatched up the crowd's attention instantly while weaving through complex instrumentals before Theryl took over on vocals. And while Theryl kept me smiling and dancing, I was anxious for Galactic to get back at it. It didn't take long, as after Theryl left the stage the deep funk exploration began and the entire crowd seemed to float along as if swaying in an underwater current. I went up to the balcony at one point to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me and sure enough, everyone - the bouncers, the bartenders, the tapers, the spinners - seemed to be swaying helplessly. The jams seemed to spiral out of control into a spacey haze before being sucked back in by the band. Members of Lake Trout joined in late in the set, and Stanton showed why he has the reputation he has through deft work behind the kit. And as someone that was impressed by Lake Trout and floored by Claypool, I found myself riveted to every note and hoping that somehow when Galactic finished, Lake Trout would come back out and start the entire cycle over again. I, like many people, left the show exhausted and really, really impressed. Educated fans gathered outside The Newport and called The Icicle Ball the Show of Year, and it was only the third of February. A truly magical experience, thanks to three bands that are undoubtedly the real deal.
The Big Wu, 1/26/01 By Zebbo Ahhh, the Barrymore...sold out way in advance....what's the next step in Madison? Oscar Mayer Theater? is that the one Trey played in his solo tour? How big is that place? Anyways, here's the set list for this show:(Umphrey's McGee opened) Set 1 Set 2 E: Tell Me Something Good, All Good It was a great, great show; this was the best show of the 4 day run IMHO. I really think there's some gems here. Gibson Girl, 2PC>Shoot the Moon>2PC, Jazz88, Senergy, Funky Bug, Kensington, Werewolves, and Tell Me Something Good were all UNBELIEVABLE! i would rank all these versions as candidates for best versions ever. Gibson Girl had a huge jam, the sound was killer, and for the record, Andy played his ass off all night, starting with the extra funkelicious Gibson and ending with the gospel rave jam of All Good, Miller was dropping bombs on me. Good Lord! 2PC>Shoot the Moon>2PC took the first version of these from 10-21-00 and blew it away. The segue sequence is very natural to begin with and add a truly inspired band, focused on the groove and you got yourself a winner. This sequence was some of the best jamming I've seen the wu perform, ever. Get the tapes and see what I'm talking about. Jazz 88>Ride Mighty Glory>Jazz 88 was very interesting. Great transition and a nice surprise segue. Random note: The band right now has a great sound, it's a little different that even what they were playing on WYE. I've always had a huge fondness for a category of songs i call Wu Funk. i throw Spam, Red Sneakers, Funky Bug, Tell Me Something Good, and the Kangaroo jam in there among these. Now, it seems that this Wu Funk sound is beginning to permeate a lot of other songs. I repeatedly told folks that this is about as funky as white boys get. Witness the Gibson Girl opener, whew; that's what I'm talking about! Way to turn heads, guys! The second set opened with Southern Energy, they started the song with a short piece of music taken from the middle jam and then moved into the opening lyrics section. Very cool, as long as the smooth intro stays in the rotation as well, it should be a welcome change in my estimation. Great jam and gorgeous lighting from Robert Hubanks! Is this guy something special or what! he can also pound beers with the best of them as well! Funky Bug jammed hard, around 14 minutes, by one lister's estimation. Kensington>Midnight Rudy was truly cool, a little awkward segue but nonetheless the jam before the segue was very interesting, totally original, I'm proud of that. Another note was the hugely funky Werewolves. if you weren't shaking your ass like never before, I don't believe you had a pulse! Tell Me something good's jam was so good, and All Good drove everybody into a frenzy. During the all good jam, I tried so hard to wake Brandon up, but to no avail. The jam, by the way, actually caused me to lose my breath for the first time during a concert since Primus in 94. Thank you! We strolled on out of the Barrymore with big smiles. Madison was the best. Two shows next time! Pretty please!
The Big Wu By Zebbo The Vic.sold out! Way to go, House of wu and all the wusters and umphreaks who packed the place! It was a great night for the band. Here's the set list, a co-show with Umphrey's McGee playing first: Minnesota Moon, Boxing Day, Silcanturnitova, Take the World By Storm>House of Wu, Kangaroo, Straight through the Ear, Pinnacle, Handle the Spam, SOS, Big Love, Oxygen>Red Sky>Could You Be Loved E: Big Railroad Blues House of wu was contagious, Kangaroo jam was one of the best of the night, and there was a huge roar as the band pulled back into the chorus! Pinnacle was stellar as well. The real meat of the show was the Oxygen>Red Sky>Could You Be Loved. All three has huge jams in there. Red sky featured an Andy Miller bass solo with some slap technique of the finest order! The Vic was going nuts; Miller blew the roof off the place with that display! Jason then worked the band into Could You Be Loved with his guitar lead. Lots of bodies movin' down there! Big Railroad blues was a great encore choice! Basically, the show was good. It may have been overshadowed for me just by the fact that playing to a sold out Vic was really happening. I still cannot believe it. Still sinking in. Way to go Big Wu. It's all good and we're reaching the level we deserve in the Midwest.
Of a Revolution (OAR) By Joel Berk Fresh off a sold-out night at the HOB with Hello Dave two nights earlier, OAR hit Chicago again for their first all-ages how in the Chicago area. Through trading and word of mouth, OAR has developed a huge Chicago-area high school fan base. The lobby was packed with kids waiting for the doors to open at 6:30. There was talk of new Bob Marley covers and of what the set would be. The dance floor was packed when the opening band, Tippler Contingent(www.tippler.net), hit the stage promptly at 7:00. Their 45-minute set got the crowd dancing early. After a short break, OAR took the stage opening with a reworked cover of Simon and Garfunkle's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)." This flowed into an energetic "City on Down" which really got things going. Following a great "Here's to You," the boys played an awesome version of "Nightshift." Towards the end of "Nightshift," the familiar bass line of Bob Marley's "Stir it Up" could be heard. The crowd went nuts! Other highlights included "About Mr. Brown," "About an Hour Ago," "Hey Girl," and "If Only She Knew." They ended with "That was a Crazy Game of Poker." This just KICKED ASS. OAR played with so much intensity that the crowd couldn't contain itself. A mosh pit broke out with everyone jumping around and crowd surfing. It was all good fun until people started getting others involved against their wishes. It got out of control. A fight broke out during Marc's rap and he verbally broke it up. This went on for 20+ minutes. Returning for an encore, OAR played a great version of "Favorite Book of Poetry" and ended exactly on time at 10:00. Overall, the show was a huge success and we all hope to see more all-ages shows in the future. If OAR comes anywhere near your town, check them out. You won't be disappointed.
Have YOU Heard Rebecca's Statue? By Rusty I never thought I would become a groupie following a band around from place to place. In fact I've spent a fair amount of time making fun of my younger sister who has been known to quit jobs to follow Phish around. Oh sure, I've caught a few Dead shows, and make my share of concerts, but I thought I was long passed the bar scene. But lately I've been finding myself tracking down the band Rebecca's Statue every chance I get. For those of you who haven't heard of Rebecca's Statue, they are a Chicago based eclectic jam band. Self described on their web site (www.thestatue.net) as a mixture of urban blues, jazz, world beats, funky pop, lyrical folk and more, this five man band rocks. Rebecca's Statue consists of five multi-talented musicians. Lead vocalist Mike Grill delivers deep, heart felt lyrics, often rooted in the blues. He continues along that vein adding harp to a few of the numbers, as well as strumming away on his guitar. Bass guitarist Chris Gangi (also of the bluegrass band Cornmeal), is no slacker either. Although he currently only plays bass for Rebecca's Statue, he also plays a variety of other stringed instruments and has been a studio musician, a job noted for the skill it requires. Drummer/percussionist Marshall Greenhouse brings with him much jazz influence, and an obvious respect for Panic's Domingo. With cowbells mounted and true energy, his unique style set the pace for this enthusiastic group. Dave Glines brings to the group a sense of calm with his laid back mannerisms as he delivers a mixture of creative guitar riffs and mellow vocals, and newest member Ben Nusbaum on keyboards rounds out the group nicely. Together this band delivers a fun, energetic, awe inspiring show. Their music gets heads bobbin' and feet tappin'. With songs like my personal favorites "Heart of the Son" and "Back Street Mary" and the crowd pleaser "Simple Times", you won't be able to keep still. Mix that with a good blues number and a couple of jam sessions and you have a perfect set. I recently caught the band (Sat. Jan 6th) at the Waterloo Tavern in Chicago. There, Rebecca's Statue delivered their usual mood grovin' performance. Filling up a mere hour because things got started late and Shag had to start on time. Still it was enough time for me to get my fix and for the band to pick up a few new fans. But, where are the jam band fans? The fans of Phish, the Dead, Panic and the like. This is your type of band and you're not coming out to hear them. Haven't you heard about them yet? What's the problem? I really need to know because I look around at these shows and I just don't see enough of you. Hence the reason for this article. You need to check out their site, listen to some clips and come out and groove. You won't be disappointed. On Thursday, Jan. 18th they gave an awesome 45 min. performance at the House of Blues. One of four bands, they stole the show. It's just too bad that more of you weren't there to check them out. Look for them on the list below. They play the Chicago area regularly and are definitely worth the price of beer!
ekoostik hookah By Jay Romero (rider143@hotmail.com) Last year I spent the New Year's weekend down in the Florida Everglades with Phish and about a million alligators. This year I decided to go reptile free and hop on the ekoostik hookah Holiday Tour. My first stop was in Columbus at the Newport Music Hall. I made sure to get there early because I had a feeling that the show would sell out. Sure enough I saw some friends in line that told me they sold out Bogart's in Cincinnati the night before. Around 9pm I went inside and found myself a spot for the Javier Mendoza Band who opened the show. Apparently some of the members of Javier's Band were too sick to make the trip to Columbus. Javier and the bass player did a duet show that made it hard to believe there were only two musicians onstage. It was a great way to begin what was to become a fantastic weekend. ekoostik hookah hit the stage right around 10pm. The opening tune was one of my favorites, "Old Montana Red Dog." After hearing the boys begin the night by letting loose the Dog, they followed with a strong version of the much beloved "Hookahville." "Godspeed" was next up and that is fast becoming one of the tunes that I most look forward to whenever I go to a hookah show. Even my mom likes "Godspeed." "Day by Day" gave us a chance to hear Sharon Katz sing harmony, which is always a very good thing indeed. A really groovy version of The Band's "It makes no difference" went into a new Dave tune called "Raging River." hookah seems to be springing new songs on us nearly every time I see them. To put it mildly."Raging River" Raged! My favorite Ed McGee song "Treehouse" was next. The vocal harmony that hookah does at then end of that tune is amazing. Watching Dave on the keys during "Treehouse" is like watching one of those pinwheels you used to have as a child. The faster the music spins, the faster his hands bang on the keyboards. Before too long his hands are merely a blur even if you are right in front of him! Cliff Starbuck gave us his funky Cliff style version of the old bluegrass tune "Little Maggie." There is nothing like hearing and watching Cliff sing. I have seen hookah many, many times and I have never failed to see a big grin on Cliff's face when it is his turn to sing lead. His voice is strong and as the song progresses it becomes more difficult for Cliff to not smile. Watching the talented bass player is in and of itself worth the price of admission. "Utopia" got everyone wound up again before Ed closed the first set with a strong, powerful version of "Alexander II." The sound in the Newport was fantastic and the band was in great form. I headed out to the lobby in search of an ice-cold New Castle to quench my thirst. Returning to my spot on the balcony, I settled in for the second set. hookah led off with "Surround," which basically shook the floor where I was standing. I love it when the bass is turned up so that the song becomes something you feel as much as something you listen to. "Dumpster" was one of those tunes that I always had to ask someone what the title was whenever I heard it. After hearing the bone crushing jams in this complex instrumental for the last several months I now know "Dumpster" when I hear the opening few notes. Pulling one out of the old hat with "In the Clouds" was the next tune. As a matter of fact, I thought I recognized the song but I really don't think I have ever heard it played live. Needless to say, it was a rare treat for me. "Springtime Again" is one of those Ed tunes that starts off sort of slow and beautiful and finishes with Ed wailing on his guitar! This particular version made me wish for spring all the more. Dave took up the acoustic guitar and began the very personal ballad "Ohio Grown," which led into "Loner." My favorite part of any hookah show has to be when the crowd sings along. Much of the reason I dig this band so much has to do with the lyrics. Dave and Ed are extremely talented songwriters and the music they write speaks to me, and the thousands of other hookah fans out there in ways that no one else ever has. "Loner" is one of those tunes that Dave occasionally stops singing for a bit and smiles at the audience. On cue, the crowd takes up the singing duties and the energy in the room is incredible. It must be really amazing for an artist to stand on a stage and listen to a throng of devoted fans singing his own words back to him! "Loner" often gets split into two segments with something else in between. Tonight it was the original bluegrass favorite "Grass" which was one of those tear your hat off kind of jams that got the audience bouncing up and down before a nice segue back into "Loner." One of my new favorites is "Moonstone." I was pretty sure that "Moonstone" would end the set given the response of the crowd. Once again, hookah fools the crowd and launches into a ripping version of Deep Purple's "Hush." After more than 10 minutes of listening to Steve Sweney put his guitar through tricks that would have had Richie Blackmore shaking his head, the show ended and the crowd went crazy. The roar of the crowd was like nothing I have ever heard before. It was so loud from people screaming that I had to cover my ears! Just when I wondered what they could do to top off a night like this one, they came back out and began to tune up for the encore. If Richie Blackmore would have been shaking his head at "Hush," the encore would have turned another legendary guitar player named James Marshall Hendrix into an immediate hookah fan. At first some of the younger folks around me didn't quite know what they song was and one of them leaned over to ask me. I smiled and said "just listen for a minute, you'll figure it out pretty quick." Just about then hookah went into the chorus and Sweney went into a flurry of electric guitar notes. The kid next to me looked over and said, "Jimi Hendrix? Dude, Jeez is there anything they can't do?" I started looking for my jacket toward the end of "Foxy Lady" and was really rather surprised to hear the beginning of "Caribou." I had seen them do this one acoustic before, but rarely electric. Eric Lanese was in good voice this night and he belted out the Colorado ballad that all hookah fans seem to love. Everyone has their favorite songs, some like the down home feel to the Dave Katz tunes and some really come to the show to see the Ed McGee poetry in music. But everyone loves a good "Caribou." Peace, Love, and Music, Jay Romero
Notable Dates OHIO: 2/20/01 Doug Wood, Wright State U., Dayton INDIANA: 2/20/01 Left Undone, Bluebird, Bloomington ILLINOIS: 2/19/01 Ben Harper, Assembly Hall, Champaign MICHIGAN: 2/20/01 Smokestack, Magic Stick, Detroit |
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