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Sunday, January 13, 2008
Galactic grooves with guests in St. Pete
Posted by Wade Tatangelo on Sun, Jan 13, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Galactic feat. Mr. Lif and Boots Riley (of The Coup)
w/Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Sat., Jan. 12, Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg
Photo of me and Boots Riley (left) by Phil Bardi.Â
New Orleans funksters Galactic made the boldest move of their decade-plus career with From the Corner to the Block. The new disc spotlights acclaimed underground rappers on the majority of tracks, reducing the jam band circuit luminaries to backing players. Galactic brought two of these emcees, Mr. Lif and Boots Riley (of The Coup), on stage with them Saturday at Jannus Landing and audience members witnessed a dynamic mash-up of styles resulting in a show more consistently engaging than any of Galactic’s recent performances at the outdoor St. Pete venue.
After the 2004 departure of vocalist House Man (Theryl DeClouet) Galactic performed instrumentals exclusively. Drummer Stanton Moore led his band mates through Second Line stomps and serpentine grooves that often were gripping but occasionally meandered — their three-hour performances prone to feeling like audience endurance tests. Not the case Saturday.
Galactic opened the show with a pair of taut instrumentals and then were joined by the dreads-and-glasses sporting Mr. Lif. A consummate party-starter, he had the crowd chanting along with him to the refrain of “hip hop.†But when it came to spitting verses, Lif’s flow was hair-trigger rapid, riding over — rather than through — the music. While a bit jarring, this kept Galactic on target and the members of the crowded courtyard locked in on both a visual and sonic focal point.
Riley’s star turn came later in the show and The Coup rapper sounded like he had been performing with Galactic for years. His vocal delivery at one with the groove, Riley brought out the best in the band, Moore’s precision playing paving the way for thick, spot-on sax and keyboard flourishes. The emcee’s rhyming supple but as forceful as a kick drum blast when he challenged the crowd with socially conscious lines like “We like free speech / But we like free clubs.â€
Despite being a NOLA band inspired by the work of Crescent City funk heroes The Meters, Galactic's most evocative instrumental of the night had its roots in rural Mississippi — a heavy Delta blues in the style of “Shake “em on Down†led by the fiery bottleneck work of guitarist Jeff Raines. Lif and Riley both jumped back on stage before the show ended with the finale being a searing cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song†over which the rappers took turns spitting.
Singer Grace Potter also sat in with Galactic during the evening. Moore and Ellman (on harmonica) joined Potter’s band the Nocturnals during their opening set for a rousing cover of Dr. John’s “Right Place Wrong Time†that made for an interesting blend of Southern rock and Big Easy grease. Don’t get me wrong, Galactic can hold its own, but on Saturday, at least, the collaborations left the greatest impressions.
Comments (12)
Showing 1-12 of 12
"Singer Grace Potter also sat in with Galactic during the evening." That's it? Were you in the Tamiami watching football and missed it? How about: "Singer Grace Potter, writhing on the stage in a flimsy dress, belted out a steamy 'Whole Lotta Love'. Gave me a hardon."
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I hate to admit this but I was on a bathroom/beer run (in the Tamiami) during her Zep cover, only catching the very tail end and so couldn't write about something I missed. But the people I spoke with echoed your assessment of her performance. If Grace & co. return to the area I plan to write a feature on 'em. I was there for the entirety of their opening set and dug it — a stylish Southern rock update that's much needed these days.
Wow. Thats a nice afro. I love it. And the sideburns and molestache! I am a facial hairphile, and I give it 2 big thumbs up.
you can find my review here http://www.thegonzojournal.blogspot.com/ google ranks my reviews higher then this if you type galactic st petersburg. this will be in jambase, jambands.com or another one, cause creative loafing wont let me write for them.... yet!
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