Author Archives: Andrew Patton

Thursday @ Woodlands: Souljazz Orchestra

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Columbus gets a rare treat as Toronto’s Souljazz Orchestra comes to Woodlands Tavern on Thursday night. After multiple Canadian and World tours, the 10-year old band is wrapping up its second American tour, in support of their recently released fourth full-length album Solidarity. This, their second album on Strut Records, sees the band continuing to expand its Afrobeat sound, a path begun on 2010’s Rising Sun. While that album was a more subdued, spiritual affair, however, the new record feels like a marriage of their increased musical base with the intensity of their earlier albums.

Featuring a wide range of collaborators from the diverse Toronto music scene, Solidarity brings forth a fiery mixture of Afrobeat, jazz, soul, tropical, and reggae stylings. Opener “Bibinay” sets a strong Afrobeat base for the proceedings, but the album then takes a hard left turn on “Kelen Ati Leen,” which is one of many Afro-latin hybrid smokers on the album. The horn-laden breakbeat funk of “Conquering Lion” is a highlight here, as well as the sultry singalong “Kingpin.” The tempo only really slows down for album finale “Nijaay,” leaving behind a trail of sweat and a destroyed dance floor. The horn and rhythm sections do plenty of work here, but the “vintage keyboards” of Pierre Chrétien are also a cornerstone of the band’s sound, driving songs like the Latin burner “Ya Basta.”

Opening Thursday’s show is Brooklyn Afrobeat band Zongo Junction (click the link for a download of their new single). The band draws on inspiration from Fela, but also acts like the Talking Heads and Sun Ra. Their debut Thieves was released in 2010, and a new album is planned for 2013.

Doors for this internationally funky double bill are at 9pm, and the cover is $10.

Listen to/download Souljazz Orchestra’s “Cartao Postal” below and stay tuned after the jump for more videos of both groups.

Continue reading

Columbus concert calendar: December

Feel free to add any shows or openers I’ve missed in the comments. And don’t forget the Hype threads in the Friendship Farm. Also, head to the Columbus DIY Messageboard for info on lots of DIY shows coming up.

DECEMBER
Sat, 12/1:
AP & Howlin’ Moons EP release @ King Avenue 5, acoustic release @ RPM
Mary Halvorson Quintet @ Wexner Center, 8pm
roeVy, Rob de Large @ Newport
Queen Tribute @ Bluestone
Kyle Sowashes, Fox Japan, The Cabdrivers @ Tree Bar
Get Right @ Skully’s
Robert Ellis w/ Jesse Henry and The Kitts 7pm, Alwood Sisters, Tin Armor, City of Brass 10pm @ Rumba
Old Hundred, Andrew Graham and Swarming Branch, The Harlan Twins @ The Summit
Mike’s Wilson, Happy Dagger, Jonathan Burgess @ Cafe Bourbon Street
Sleep Fleet, The Weight Of Whales and Far Away Strays @ Kobo
The Garrison & Blatant Finger 6pm, Womder Twin Powers 9pm, Mr Gnome 11pm @ Woodlands
Heatwave @ Ace of Cups
Evan Oberla Project @ Brothers Drake
Halfway to Nelsonville w/ Nick Tolford & Company, The D-Rays, and The County Pharoahs @ Rollerbowl Lanes (Athens)

Sun, 12/2:
Lamb of God, In Flames, Sylosis @ LC
R. Kelly @ Vets Memorial
Kepi Ghoulie + the Easy Pieces @ Tree Bar

Mon, 12/3:
Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Happy Chichester @ Rumba

Tue, 12/4 aka Super Tuesday:
Smashing Pumpkins @ Newport
Other Lives w/ *Indians* @ Basement
Patrick Watson, Mike Wojniak @ Wexner
The King Khan & BBQ Show @ Ace of Cups
Emily and The Complexes, New Tooth, The Awful Nothings @ Kobo
8mm @ Double Happiness
Clash Of Titans 5 w/ Mannie Fresh @ Skully’s
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Tuesday @ Ace of Cups: King Khan & BBQ Show

Though Mark Sultan‘s June Columbus show was plenty entertaining, Mr. Sultan’s return on Tuesday promises even more rock ‘n roll value as he reprises his role in the King Khan & BBQ Show!  Canadian legends Sultan (aka BBQ) and King Khan have reunited to conjure another garage/punk/doowop/etc party and have set out on a late fall jaunt through the Midwest and East.   No new music is available yet, but if the above video is any indication, these two are ready to make beautiful magic together again.

Contributing to their Columbus shindig will be local openers Day Creeper and Tight Bros.  Admission is $10 at the door and here.

More video evidence after the jump: Continue reading

Jeff Mangum announces 2013 tour

Jeff Mangum announced a string of 2013 tour dates today, including a January 14th date at Southern Theatre.

Today, Jeff Mangum announced a new run of tour dates beginning January 9 in Buffalo, NY and wrapping up February 16 in North Adams, MA. Support will include Tall Firs, Briars of North America and the Music Tapes. A portion of the proceeds for these shows will benefit Children of the Blue Sky, which aims to place orphaned Mongolian children with foster families. A full list of Jeff Mangum tour dates and all up-to-date ticket information can be found at GroundControlTouring.com.

Of Jeff Mangum’s return to performing live, RollingStone.com said, “Few dared to expect it, but Jeff Mangum is back, and the music world is immeasurably richer for it.” Spin.com offered “Five Reasons Why Jeff Mangum is Magical” saying, “For two generations of listeners who grew up with Mangum’s intimate voice coming through the headphones, alone in that peculiar sound-world he conjured and feeling they were its sole inhabitant, this is the moment they’ve all been waiting for.”

Upcoming Jeff Mangum Tour Dates:
Jan 9 Buffalo, NY Asbury Hall at Babeville
Jan 10 Pittsburgh, PA Carnegie Music Hall
Jan 11 Cleveland, OH Ohio City Masonic Temple
Jan 12 Detroit, MI Redford Theatre
Jan 14 Columbus, OH Southern Theatre (Read on for the full schedule) Continue reading

Thursday @ Woodlands: Alan Evans Trio/Jive Turkeys

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Thursday night marks quite the epic jazz/funk party at Woodlands Tavern.  Headlining is the Alan Evans Trio, featuring drummer Alan Evans of Soulive.  His trio is rounded out by Beau Sasser on organ and Danny Mayer on guitar, and they churn out a groove reminiscent of Soulive while also carving out their own spin on the modern organ trio.  They recently released a new album entitled Drop Hop on Royal Family Records, and have complemented that release with the above 45 on Middletown, OH funk label Colemine Records.

Opening are the Jive Turkeys, Colemine’s in-house funk band (and bearing no relation to the defunct Columbus rock outfit).  Admission is $10 and doors are at 8.

Keep reading for a bonus Wu-Tang remix from label head Terry Cole: Continue reading

Dolfish – “I’d Rather Disappear Than Stay the Same”

MP3: I’d Rather Disappear Than Stay the Same

As always, it’s great to see a local name on a national press release (though there’s no mention of Max’s time here in town). The first full-length release from Dolfish is entitled I’d Rather Disappear Than Stay the Same and is scheduled for release October 30th on Afternoon Records. More deets from the press release:

Dolfish is the moniker of 23-year-old Cleveland born songwriter, Max Sollisch. His debut EP, Your Love is Bummin’ Me Out was released on vinyl last December by Minneapolis based Afternoon Records (Pomegranates, John Vanderslice, The Poison Control Center) and met with great praise by taste-makers My Old Kentucky Blog, Daytrotter, and You Ain’t No Picasso, among others. Your Love is Bummin’ Me Out’s lyrical wit and lo-fi production gained comparisons to folk heroes Daniel Johnston, John Darnielle and Neil Young while it’s concise songwriting (5 songs in 8 minutes) yielded comparisons to Ohio-based rockers, Guided By Voices and Times New Viking.

For the first proper Dolfish LP, Sollisch enlisted like-minded label-mate Patrick Tape Fleming (The Poison Control Center) to produce the album in the living room of a friend’s apartment in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Recorded and mixed to 1/2″ tape in just 5 days, I’d Rather Disappear Than Stay the Same features a backing band of all Iowa musicians whom Max had only met upon arriving in Des Moines to record. Tracked live with little overdubbing, these 12 songs were rarely rehearsed more than a hand full of times by the all-Iowa, all-star backing band giving the record a spontaneity and rawness rarely achieved on a studio album.

Track Listing: Continue reading

Saturday @ Ruby Tuesday: Heroes of History

MP3: A Quarter Werewolf
MP3: Two Heads

Saturday’s Heroes of History show at Ruby Tuesday will be their last for the foreseeable future. Drummer Kyle Forstrom is moving to Tacoma, WA for a new job, putting the band on infinite hiatus. Before that happens, however, the band has planned a send-off show with friends The Exceptionals and MOVEHOME. The show starts around 10 (post-Crew game).

The Heroes’ sci-fi garage metal has filled a special place in my heart for much of the last eight years. Though the hiatus quickly approaches, I am comforted by the band’s plans to release multiple albums of recently (and not-so-recently) recorded material. Number one on that list is Thunder and Lightning, recorded by Mike “Rep” Hummel at a late night Used Kids session. The album (which includes the two MP3s above) is 14 fast and loud songs, both old classics and new tunes. Their usual topics (zombies, werewolves, death, etc.) are front and center, and Hummel has given the tracks the right dirty crunch. Though you will be able to buy a Thunder and Lightning CDR at the show, look forward to seeing a wider release of this and other Heroes albums in the (hopefully) near future.

Video: The Right Now – “He Used To Be”

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In April, Chicago’s The Right Now released their second album of sultry retro-soul, Gets Over You.  Produced by Sergio Rios (of Orgone), the album is 9 tunes that drip with emotion both unleashed and restrained.  Around the same time they released a RSD-exclusive 7″, and last week they debuted the above video from that 7″ that showcases the warm, horn-laced production and the pipes of lead singer Stefanie Berecz.  Along with JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound (among many others), ample raw soul is pouring out of Chicago these days.

Columbus will get two chances to see The Right Now this summer: Thursday, July 19th @ Columbus Commons (paired with The Floorwalkers in the Downtown Live “Midwest Rising Stars” feature), and Friday, July 20th at The Jazz & Rib Fest.  The band’s full summer schedule is below: Continue reading

Tonight @ Ace of Cups: Mark Sultan

Stream: marksultan.com

From his website:

MARK SULTAN is back. A long-time fixture in the garage-rock scene since fronting infamous Montreal punk band, The Spaceshits. Further projects like Les Sexareenos, BBQ, Mind Controls, The King Khan & BBQ Show and The Almighty Defenders helped spearhead the modern garage-rock and doo-wop movement. These days he is best known as the ‘BBQ’ half of The King Khan & BBQ Show or as a member of The Almighty Defenders. He often shirks recognition and credit but make no mistake, he is THE VOICE. A hitmaker.

This show will be a one-man garage band party.  The local openers are clever pop stalwarts Day Creeper and the garage punk of The Utopiates. Admission is $5 for a fine Friday bill.

Wednesday @ The Basement: JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound

MP3: Everything Will Be Fine

On Wednesday night, Chicago’s JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound will return to Columbus to play the Basement. They are touring in support of Want More, their second album and first on hometown Bloodshot Records (Lydia Loveless, Justin Townes Earle, ETC.). In the sometimes crowded field of modern funk/soul bands, JCBUS manages to stand apart with their approach that meshes old school gutbucket soul with rock ‘n roll energy (a style they sometimes refer to as “post-punk soul”). While their debut tended to jump around a bit between various ideas and approaches, Want More seems focused on their own take on vintage soul storytelling and party-starting. The fact that a Wilco cover (see video above) fits seamlessly into this collection is a testament to the heart and soul they apply to their material.

While they continue to evolve with their recorded output, JCBUS has also been a live force to be reckoned with for some time (including their role in the Numero Eccentric Soul Revue that appeared at the Lincoln Theatre in 2009), as JC Brooks’ soul-shouting antics lead the show with rock solid support from the Uptown Sound rhythm section.  There is no (listed) opening band for the show Wednesday, so the band will have plenty of room to stretch out and put on a fiery soul spectacle.  Doors are at 7pm, admission is $12 at the door.