If I were to give this show a one-word tweet-sized review, the word of the night would be WAI-YOOOOOO! Throughout the call-and-response filled evening, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and John Brown’s Body brought the glory of Jah to Landsdowne Street.
This was my first time seeing GPGDS, and they certainly had their beats and their pacing neatly packaged. They took the stage while I was still stuck in the long, cold line to get in. However, you could hear the band clearly from outside and they had the people in line rockin’ pretty good. This was particularly impressive given that the line consisted of 300 people whose mood ranged from annoyed at best to bitter at worst, so to rock a crowd like that definitely takes some big energy in your songs. Once inside, the sounds took full effect. The band’s thick beats and rock-reggae hybrids held sway over the bulk of the crowd as strongly as any opener I’ve seen in a long time. The most impressive part of their act was simply the range of tempos. Some songs had traditional reggae beats, some were faster rock and roll beats with a reggae feel, and one song featuring straight up double-time was essentially ska. They shifted gears effortlessly, and the pacing worked out great. A semantics geek might point out that for a band called “Dub Squad” they barely played any dub, but I don’t consider that to be important. Like Duke Ellington said, “If it sounds good, it is good.” And GPGDS music sounds great by any name.
Headlining the evening was the indefatigable John Brown’s Body. This was my second time seeing them since the band shook up their lineup and sound in 2006. I am happy to report that their songs and live show are as fresh and vibrant as ever. There’s something subtly reassuring about seeing a band you’ve been seeing for twelve years who haven’t lost a step at all and are possibly better than ever. Lead singer Eliot Martin kept the crowd engaged with call-and response throughout the night and had his trademark dreadlocks flying to all corners of the building. I really liked bass player Nate Edgar’s riffs, too. He clearly had a new idea going on each song even though the songs themselves weren’t too differentiated. The horn section was the other standout. Nothing too complicated, but they were crisp and engaged, and answered the bell come solo time. A lot of times in bands like this, where the horns are a sideshow, you can see them get lazy on stage, but not here.
The unsung hero of the night who definitely deserves some props was the sound engineer. He did a fantastic job adding all sorts of effects to everything, especially the horns and the vocals. A lot of well-timed reverb and delay effects on Martin’s vocals gave the songs an enticing dub-like character. He picked his spots and added the emphasis on the right lines as opposed to just leaving the effects switch on all night. On the second song of the night, “33 RPM,” he switched the vocals to a different effect that was something akin to a digital talk-box, and it worked great. Later on in the show, Martin mentioned that the engineer had some confidence issues and asked the crowd to give him some love to boost his confidence. This took me by surprise, since I had already made a note to mention how good he was.
The night proceeded on with many tunes off of the newest album Amplify, and the energy level stayed high right up until the last note. The coat check rush claimed half the crowd before the encore, but, oh well; more room for the rest of us to get down! I was psyched to see how many people JBB brought to what is by far the biggest club that I have ever seen them at. In addition to being a good club act, I have to say that JBB is the absolute ideal band to play at an outdoor festival between 3PM and 6PM. There’s something about JBB reggae and sunshine that makes them inextricable from each other. Seeing them tonight made me think about some of their daytime sets at Berkfest that were environmentally perfect. If you ever have the chance to see JBB outdoors, don’t miss it. For now while it’s winter, there is still no question that JBB can bring the much needed heat indoors as well.
DOWNLOAD: John Brown's Body - Give Yourself Over (MP3) or Follow us for more John Brown's Body MP3s (Twitter)
Ugh. Paste’s profile of Free Energy made me kind of hate them. So does your review. It’s this unctuous defense of good-time rock-and-roll ("we’re just here to party, and we’re awesome!") that seems more self-serving than fun-loving.
by beth on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.41 pm from the entry: Foreign Born + Free Energy - The Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY; Mar. 12, 2010)
that inescapable feeling you are referring to, is that like when you hear something and you could have sworn you heard it before because of the nostalgic catchy quality? or is is like when you’ve heard a band exactly like said band?
great post by the way!
by paul on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 03.15 pm from the entry: The Novel Ideas - "The Sky Is A Field" - Borrow It
Whoa! I had no idea she was enegaged. You would never know with the way she behaves! Wow!
by art on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.48 am from the entry: Nikki Darlin and John McCauley: 1+1=1
This comment stream is so meta. Great review Kelly.
by chris on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 07.50 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
no prob. The whole album is excellent, combining some of the harder sonics of Los Angeles with the meat of his debut and obviously difficult to summarize in only 50 words… 
I’d say it’s on par with the debut, but better than Los Angeles.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.23 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
By the way, I really liked the mp3 posted. Thanks.
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “Picture yourself coasting your bike past space funk palm trees, homeless harpists, vintage video arcades, electronic drum circles, and 60s psychedelic singers who’re waiting for the bus. Cosmogramma is kinda like that if someone suddenly tripped you just as you’re starting to enjoy the ride. But in a good way.””
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
Awesome review of the JBB boys and well deserved! We were lucky enough to tour with them in the US and NZ. Their live show is phenomenal ... I know I’ve already said it but ... Awesome!