I Do Stuff…

First show of the year!  It is a shame that it took 4 months for this to happen, but it finally did.

Not long ago I got an email update from the State Theatre about the Soulive show in late April and got excited.  Way back in 2004 was the last time I saw them at this great local venue.  Over the last few years the band lineup has gone through many changes, most notable with vocals provided by Reggie Watts and Toussaint on vocals.  They also had a rotating horn section which sometimes included Sam Kininger on sax.  I was excited to find out that it was going to be only the three piece for the evening.  Even the opening act was Eric Krasno spinning records for the crowd.  Often they would bring up members from the opening act to sit in for a few songs.

Soulive, copyright Alex Leary

Jeremy and I got a late start and didn’t arrive at the club till almost a quarter to 10, parking proved to be the biggest issue for us arriving late.  Once that was squared away we meet up with a friend of Jeremy, Ben, and talked with a few other concert goers before the show started.  Now and again I would turn my attention to Eric on stage doing his thing and just couldn’t get into it.  He released a mixtape a few months ago that I got and it was alright.  I found his flow on stage to be a little lacking, he didn’t seem to know where the crowd was going and didn’t want to lead them either.  As a result the song selection was all over the place and I couldn’t make sense of it.

The pre-show conversation in our group quickly fell apart and just as we broke the house lights went dark and Soulive walked on stage.  They opened with a few classic hits and jammed out for a while.  In support of their new album Rubber Soul they covered several Beatles songs including Come Together and I Want You (She’s So Heavy).  Eric really took the lead on all the covers and made them very dark and twisted.  If you ever saw the movie Across the Universe I thought he would have been perfect to play some of the parts, just that weird dark feeling throughout the songs.  Neal and Alan tried to breath life into them but the weight of the guitar was to heavy for them to overcome.  Eric certainly nailed the cover of She’s So Heavy.

Near the end of the set they played Lenny and Tuesday Night which are always good and brought the funk back something fierce, getting the crowd going again after the Beatles.  For an encore Do It Again made its appearance in proper form, when you have an energetic crowd this can be a good song to end with.  Even though it was a Saturday night about half the crowd was already gone and most of the energy for Do It Again walked out with them.

Eric Krasno, copyright Alex Leary

I thought the shows was good but not spectacular.  I loved the three piece from yesteryear but I thought their playing was a little lacking.  Each member is a great musician in their own right with side projects they focuses on.  Collectively they needed more practice as a group before the tour started which was evident.  Eric wants to take things down a dark path.  Alan looks like he is desperate to break out and do some solos but his fingers can’t keep up while Neal is just sitting there at the drums.  He has his moments of brilliance but it was like he was waiting for the others to catch up to him and they never did.  He would take control at times but it is hard for one man to carry this group.

After the show Jeremy and I hanged around to get a soundboard recording from the show.  For years they have offered these CDs to those willing to fork over $20 and wait about 30 minutes.  For once we decided to do it and plopped down $20 each for the recording.  Popping the CD in to listen on the way home we were shocked by what we heard, garbage.  It sounds like an analog signal coming off the board into their CDR machine was way to hot.  The show was completely overloaded and un-listenable.  I am not upset at the price so much as the quality.  The recording is amateur hour at the Apollo and I expected better from the band.  One of the tapers released his recording and it is a million times better than the “official” recording.  Needless to say I will never be buying one of their live recordings and in the future will tell everyone to stay away, its a waste of your money.

Only other thing of note all night were the bitches.  You know who you two are…..

Show Starts at 10:20 pm
01. Hat Trick
02. El Ron
03. Turn It Out
04. I Know You Got Soul
05. Come Together
06. Something
07. Eleanor Rigby
08. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
09. Lenny
10. Flurries
11. Bubble
12. Tuesday Night’s Squad Part 1 >
13. Tuesday Night’s Squad Part 2
Encore starts at 12:00 am:
14. Do It Again

House Lights on at 12:12 am

The New Mastersounds marquee

I was very excited when I found out the New Mastersounds were coming back to town.  I saw them in early January up at the 8×10 and it was a great show.  A small club nicely packed with people that danced the night away to rhythmic beats.  So when I saw they where playing a slew of shows in the area I jumped at the chance to see them at the State Theatre.  They were playing the 8×10 the following night, but I decided to hedge my beats and catch the show closer to home on a Thursday.

Just like the first show at the 8×10, tickets were only $12 (playbill), a steel for any show, and with that ticket price it didn’t take much arm twisting to get Jeremy interested.  After the show in Baltimore I got a few albums and let him listen, he was hooked.  Then when I found the set posted on the Archive I gave him a copy to enjoy and for me to reminisce.

After a long week I was looking forward to the Thursday night show to let loose and have a little fun.  We arrived at what turned out to be real early.  The website and ticket both said music started at 8:30, but when we walked in the venue it was completely empty.  Obviously others new something we didn’t at the time.  The opening act, Higher Hands, was not even close to taking the stage when we arrived.  So it was already late before the show even began.  I felt bad that we arrived so early and had to sit and wait but there was nothing I could do about it.  There was no one else to talk to and my limited reserve of cash quickly plowed through the $6 Guinness I was drinking.  We did however spent a lot of time joking on the DJ spinning before the show started.  I thought the first guy was pretty good at time, there was a good 20 minutes during his set that was banging.  At times his buddy would jump in and twist a knob, literally that was all he would do.  We joked “Thanks for saving the day, you really had my back with that knob twist.”

The New Mastersounds

When Higher Hands finally took the stage at 9:40, the venue started to fill in, at least now people were on the dance floor and not just milling around the bar.  I have seen them several times before and they are……well, alright.  They need to refine their sound a little more, work on some new songs, and ditch the singer.  If they can do that they would be much better.  But to their credit they got the audience energized for a night full of funk.  After a short intermission and some more music by the DJ’s, this time by DJ JMack’s partner.  Finally the house lights went dead and the band walked on the stage.

There was not to a whole lot of fan fair.  Of course the audience cheered, I for one was all to happy to get the beats rolling and bring me back to life.  There was just no pomp and circumstance.  Each member casually walked over to their instrument, greeted the crowd and it was on after that.  For the first few songs I was sitting at our table on the side, tapping my foot.  By the third song I couldn’t take it any longer and I needed to get up and dance.  Their shows are filled with such energy it just makes you want to get on your feet.  For about the next hour and a half I danced my ass off into the wee hours of the morning.

The band didn’t take the stage till about 10:40 so

I was expecting a late show, just didn’t think it would go as late as it did.  As the night went on they played several of their hits and a few from their new album Ten Years On that is not yet available in the states.  By the end of the night I was ampped and ready for more.  The show didn’t end till 12:40 but I didn’t care, even if it was a school night and I had to be up early the next morning for work.  I could have danced for another hour easy.

This is the second time I have seen New Mastersounds and I will continue to see them because of their high energy levels.  They have this driving beat that makes you want to get up and dance to some funky stuff.  I am hoping they will return early next year for another US tour.

The New Mastersounds
State Theatre – Falls Church, VA
November 5th 2009

show start 10:40pm
show ends at 12:40am