The Next Round - Episode 13: Soulive

Alan Evans of Soulive and Playonbrother is my guest this week. We had a great chat backstage just prior to the second Wednesday of Bowlive V.

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Unfortunately, I came down with a debilitating cold after the show, and neglected to post a review of the concert. So here goes:

Even if the Allman Brothers Band calls it quits (apparently just a rumor, by the way), New York music lovers have nothing to fear.  With Bowlive having just celebrated its fifth year, the unstoppable organ trio of Soulive have proven that they are quite capable of handling the mid-March NYC concert scene.

The band tore into "So Live!" to start the set, but lamentably, Neal's clavinet wasn't working.  Thankfully, Eric Krasno's muscular guitar was enough to fill the void until the issue was solved.  Sometimes Krasno sits back and plays fluttery, melodic stuff, but this wasn't the case during "Dig."  This was white hot funk played with "Fuck with me, I dare you" attitude.  That's not to say Kraz was the only one hitting it hard.  Alan was pounding his kit with enough power that he busted right through one of his toms during "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," the second part of a Beatles medley beginning with "Eleanor Rigby."  The drum was switched out seamlessly, and then Evans relinquished his throne to special guest Joe Russo.  It was interesting to note the differences in their technique, Joe playing the pair of Krasno tunes, "76" and "Up & Out," with a more pronounced bass pedal stomp than Evans' syncopated style.  The band invited Jon Cleary and Mark Rivers out to finish the set with its only vocal performance, Cleary's blue-eyed soul singalong "When You Get Back."

For set two, I relocated to the VIP area beside the stage.  With no house speakers facing me, the sound wasn't as clear, but the view was ridiculous.  It was as if I were a member of the band or at least a documentarian capturing the onstage workings of a show.  From my vantage point, I was able to see just how much work Neal does.  We all know he can lay down a phat bassline with his left hand while delivering a smoking Hammond solo with his right, but he was also operating a cluster of pedals on the floor with his feet.  Once Susan Tedeschi joined them, he assumed the role of the bandleader, clapping out the tempos of songs so that everyone would be on the same page.  I'd never listened to Tedeschi before, an oversight that I've been delightedly correcting ever since.  I had no idea she could churn out the Family Stone-style funk of "Butterfly" and then turn around and nail the troubled blues of "It's So Heavy."  At one point in the set, I looked back between the amps to see Russo on congas, proof that when Soulive's onstage, you just wanna join in.  They reinstated Jon Cleary for a cover of Betty Wright's "Clean Up Woman," the set-closing highlight of the night.

After a brief huddle, the band (minus Alan, who let Russo take over) returned with another special guest, Tash Neal of the London Souls.  Following a gospel-inspired take on "Turn on Your Lovelight," the show wound to its end with Junior Wells' "Little by Little," allowing all three guitarists to trade licks into the night.

Robert Randolph, Lee Fields, & Some Very Special Guests Drop in for Night 2 of Bowlive IV

Celebrating their fourth Bowlive residency at Brooklyn Bowl, Soulive definitely set the bar high with Friday's mammoth show.  After two sets of jamming with special guests Robert Randolph and Lee Fields, the trio embarked on a surprise third set featuring two members of the Allman Brothers Band.

Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds kicked things off with a lengthy set of soulful rock 'n' roll.  After an opening salvo from the seven-piece band, singer Arleigh Kincheloe sauntered out from backstage to lead them on "The Long Way."  At first glance, Kincheloe recalled Carly Rae Jepsen, with her petite frame and brunette bangs.  The comparison stopped as soon as she opened her mouth.  Her bluesy vocals accented by howls and shrieks assured that she would never be caught dead singing "Call Me Maybe."  There is no "maybe" in that voice.  Tugging at her sheer blouse and gold necklaces, Sister Sparrow gyrated her narrow hips as she sang every song like it was her last, including a cover of "Back in Black."  Kincheloe is not the only musical member of her family though.  Her cousin Bram manned the drumkit, and her brother Jackson impressed everyone with his harmonica solo, "Bulldozer."  The Dirty Birds closed with "Road Trip," which ended with an a cappella and handclap breakdown.  Without the blast of the horns, Arleigh's amazing voice was spotlighted even more.  After almost an hour onstage, Arleigh informed the crowd, "We're all in for a treat tonight.  I cannot wait to be on the dance floor with all of y'all."

I had no idea how big the treat would be.  I'd seen Soulive with Karl Denson in Central Park, and even caught Krasno's solo show at the Slipper Room, so I figured I should go to at least one of the eight Bowlive shows this March.  I decided on Friday's show with Lee Fields and Robert Randolph because I'd never been in town for Randolph's annual Thanksgiving shows at the Bowl.

The trio hit the ground running with the deeply funky "El Ron," which they followed with a sparkly "Dig."  Listening to the tunes in this order, with "El Ron" unearthing its nasty groove and "Dig" priming the rockets for space exploration, the songs should have swapped names.  But what are titles to instrumental music, anyway?  "Dig" dug right into "Rudy's Way," with Krasno making that pained bulldog puppy face he does when he's really feeling it.  Another Get Down! track, "Uncle Junior," came next, culminating in some keyboard sounds from Neal that resembled the Psycho shower scene.  Soul singer Lee Fields then joined the band, along with Dave Guy on trumpet (I don't know that he sleeps; just goes from show to show every night.) and Mike Buckley on tenor sax.  Looking sharp in a silver suit, Fields showed off each aspect of his wonderful voice over the course of three songs: his power in the black anthem "We Fought for Survival," his sensitivity in "You're My Weakness," and his melodic soul in a cover of Otis Clay's "Trying to Live My Life Without You."  I can't wait to see a whole show from him.

"We're really glad you didn't go home," remarked Alan when the band returned almost forty minutes later.  "So glad you could join us for set 2 of 3," he added, holding up three fingers for all to see.  This was going to be a long night.  After Soulive played one of their classic cuts, "Aladdin," Robert Randolph, donning a Mardi Gras mask, took a seat behind his pedal steel guitar beside the drums.  He charged right into the intro of "Foxey Lady," with Alan taking vocal duties.  Randolph's high-energy "Ain't Nothing Wrong with That" came next, forcing the crowd to dance and clap along.  Lee Fields returned for a medley that included "Sex Machine" and Funkadelic's "I Got a Thing," but the real highlight of the set was a stretched-out "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" that had Randolph playing his guitar with his tongue.  Talk about tasty licks.  Mike Buckley also dropped a furious sax solo in the song's second half.  As they continued to jam, the hip-hop elements moved to the forefront, and Randolph took the opportunity to spit some Das EFX lyrics.  "They Want EFX" led into an instrumental "Crosstown Traffic," a track on which they'd collaborated for the Break Out album.

Now almost 1:30am, Soulive started their third set with "One in Seven."  After they'd established the blueprint of the song, an unannounced Derek Trucks appeared to help them build it into something really special.  All the evidence could be found in the smile on Neal's face as he watched Eric and Derek trade lines during the song's final section.  But Trucks split that cab he took from the Allman Brothers' gig at the Beacon.  Warren Haynes emerged from backstage, and took the reins for a soul-drenched "Thrill is Gone" and his own "Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday."  Robert Randolph came forth yet again, this time accompanied by trombonist Saunders Sermons, for blues standard "The Sky is Crying," which saw all four guitarists creating a gumbo with each of their distinct flavors. Neal even conducted Alan to lessen his volume so they could listen to the four at work.  At its end, Alan stated, "We've got one last song.  Gotta go home and get some rest.  We've got shows to play tomorrow."  Perhaps it was the tease of "Them Changes" in Sister Sparrow's "Too Much" that inspired the final number, but whatever the reason, Buddy Miles' infectious ditty got the full, funky treatment here, with smiles gleaming on every band member.

My weekend schedule has been screwed up immensely by the late night, but what a way to screw it up.  Let me know how the remaining nights go.  Friday's will be hard to top.

SISTER SPARROW & THE DIRTY BIRDS - 03.08.13 - BROOKLYN BOWL (57 minutes, 36 seconds)

SET -

Intro > The Long Way / Why Did You Do It* / Make It Rain / Every Road / Another Ride > Back in Black > Dirt / I Want to Take Ya* / Bulldozer > Too Much > Them Changes (tease) > Too Much / Road Trip

SOULIVE - 03.08.13 - BROOKLYN BOWL

SET ONE (47 minutes, 44 seconds) -
El Ron / Dig > Rudy's Way / Uncle Junior / We Fought for Survival / You're My Weakness > Trying to Live My Life Without You

SET TWO (1 hour, 18 minutes) -
Aladdin / Foxey Lady / Ain't Nothing Wrong with That / Instrumental* / It Sure Feels Good* > Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine > I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing > Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine / Instrumental* / Papa Was a Rollin' Stone > Instrumental* > They Want EFX > Crosstown Traffic > Previous Instrumental*

SET THREE (1 hour, 3 minutes) -

One in Seven / The Thrill is Gone / Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday / The Sky is Crying / Them Changes

*I need help with the names of these.  Full review with photos to come later.

Eric Krasno & Friends Debut Several Songs at the Slipper Room

While you may know him as the guitarist for Soulive and Lettuce, Eric Krasno has also been making headway as a solo artist since 2010's Reminisce.  Last night at the Slipper Room, Eric and a few of his friends unleashed a set of new tunes in the intimate venue.

Starting later than the scheduled 8pm, Krasno took the stage with Warren Haynes' bassist Ron Johnson, the Blind Boys of Alabama's keyboardist Peter Levin, and the Dap-Kings' Eric Kalb on drums.  From the opening instrumental cut, the band locked in with each other, with Johnson taking care of the bottom, Levin chirping along on a stack of Nord Electro 2s, Kalb finding the pocket, and Kraz soloing, eyes closed, on top.  Permanent grins on Levin's and Kalb's faces remained for the entire set.  For the second number, a spirited cover of Ike & Tina Turner's "You Got What You Wanted," they were joined by Warren Haynes' vocalist Alecia Chakour and TAB's James Casey on sax, percussion, and vocals.  "This is our first time playing any of this stuff," admitted Krasno, taking lead vocals on the debut of "Jezebel."  The microphone he was using muddied the quality of his voice a bit, so that could take some of the blame, but it was clear he's a better guitar player than a singer.  He's definitely not bad, but in comparison to his astounding fretwork and Chekour's powerful vocals, it's evident why he usually enlists guest vocalists on his albums.

After "Blood from a Stone," which boasted a groovy wah-wah solo, Krasno announced to the crowd that he wanted to play "something familiar for you."  Ironically, their rendition of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" ended up as the night's biggest letdown.  As I mentioned, Alecia Chekour had chops, but her boisterous, diva-like riffing drowned out the band.  The soulful supporting vocals by Casey could barely be heard amidst her showboating.  Thankfully, she was able to pull back a little by the time they turned in a funked-up version of Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home."  New song "Torture" was one of the best of the night, a blues romp with a solo that had Eric teetering on the edge of psychedelia. 

After an hour+ set, the original foursome returned to play "76," a scorcher from Reminisce.  Again, the instrumental bookend exemplified how well these cats could play together.  For the first time performing these songs, they were incredibly tight.  While JamBands.com had expected additional guests to sit in (I spotted Neal Evans in the back of the house.), it probably would've gotten too cramped on the narrow stage, already congested with just six.  Eric declared genuinely, "This is really fun.  I hope we're gonna keep doing this too."  Here's to hoping it's soon, and that Chakour shows a little more restraint next time.

Because most of the songs are new, any setlist help is appreciated.

ERIC KRASNO & FRIENDS - 02.06.13 - THE SLIPPER ROOM (1 hour, 14 minutes)

SET -
Instrumental* / You Got What You Wanted / Jezebel / Blood from a Stone* / You've Really Got a Hold on Me / He Can't Please You* / Can't Find My Way Home / Torture / Move Over / Unconditional Love*

ENCORE -
76

Soulive and Karl Denson Play a Quick Set

I went to Summerstage today to see Soulive play with Karl Denson. I've had mp3s by the goateed saxophonist for ten years now, and I was introduced to Soulive five years ago, when I worked with the Evans brothers' brother. This was right when they released No Place Like Soul, adding Toussaint the Liberator to their lineup as vocalist. Purists rejected the new sound and Toussaint moved on, which was a letdown for me because I found him to be quite a welcome addition. Admittedly, I've never been a huge jazz fan. I can appreciate it, but it's not something I listen to frequently. I'd never seen Soulive or Karl Denson, so now was the time.

The line to get into the event was long, likely due to opener Riq & Rah (Black Thought and Rahzel). I caught some of their performance, but mainly had to listen in line as they covered recent hip-hop songs like "Hip Hop is Dead" and "Otis." "If your friends are out there now, wave goodbye to 'em," informed the security guard who let our batch of the queue inside. I made my way in just as they took things way back with Slick Rick's "Children's Story." Their set ended with the last verse of "The New Style" in a tribute to Adam Yauch.

Soulive and Denson took the stage modestly, and then dropped a bomb on the crowd, with what would possibly be their funkiest song of the night. Guitarist Eric Krasno played with an intensity that suggested he was fighting inner demons, and Neal Evans spun sonic spiderwebs with his Hammond B3. Karl then traded out his sax for a flute, and they played the title track off their collaborative EP Spark! that comes out on Tuesday. The release is a tribute to jazz guitarist Melvin Sparks, but I'm not sure if the songs are covers or just similar in sound to his work. Song three featured an amazing saxophone solo by Denson (Maybe it was the funkiest?) and some slick drumwork by Alan Evans, who holds his drumsticks in the traditional grip, making it appear so effortless.

After three jazzy workouts, the final song was a misstep in my opinion. It began with some ominous bass keys and flute, but then Krasno started sprinkling Moroccan guitar riffs into the mix, causing the groove to sort of unravel. Amping up the licks with Hendrixian distortion towards the end of the song seemed a last ditch effort to bring it back together. It would've been less of a disappointment if they had played another song after, but those 37 minutes were it. It burned bright at the start, but before you knew it, it fizzled out and was over. Spark indeed.