Dirty Dozen Brass Band
August 30th, 2007
Thursday at the Square
Lafayette Square
Buffalo, NY
Source: audio-technica 4041's > Segue Dogstar Silver XLR > Edirol UA-5 [Oade P-mod] > Creative Nomad JB3 [44.1]
Config: DIN Location: right of SBD, ~ 8 ft high
Transfer: JB3 [usb] > PC > CDWAV > FLAC
Recorded & Transfered by: Seth Nochajski & Keith Januszak
01.
02. Ain't Nothin But A Party
03.
04.
05.
06. What's Goin On?
07. >
08. When the Saints Go Marching In
09. Fire on the Bayou >
10. Unclean Waters
11. Use Me
12. Sex Machine
13. What's Happening Brother?
14.
15. Red Hot Mama
16. My Feet Can't Fail Me Now
17. Dirty Old Man
*w/Eric Crittenden on alto sax,
note:
disc split between tracks 8/9
http://www.dirtydozenbrass.com/
Never For Sale
please support bands that allow taping by buying merch. & attending shows
The Benevento/Russo Duo opened
http://www.beneventorussoduo.com/
http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/gusto/story/152397.html
A bold pairing
Keyboards-drum duo opens for Dirty Dozen Brass Band
By Jeff Miers NEWS POP MUSIC CRITIC
How often do you get to see a tuba player covering a funk band’s bass lines, and really making the thing swing?
How often does a New Orleans horn ensemble offer its French Quarter funk following an avant-garde keyboardsdrums duo’s take on modern improvisational music? How often do you see kids partying and dancing to “When the Saints Go Marching In?” Not often enough.
Thursday found what just might’ve been the boldest, most experimental pairing of a Thursday at the Square season that has been pretty experimental in general.
The Benevento-Russo Duo opened for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and though the turnout was small in comparison with many of this summer’s Square gigs, those who were wise enough to attend on Thursday were amply rewarded with music that acknowledged no borders, niches, races or creeds. It was just all good, whether it was a way-out-there take on early ’70s fusion, or a deep-in-the-pocket reading of contemporary New Orleans funk.
Openers Marco Benevento and Joe Russo are known to jam-band fans through the duo’s pairings with, among others, Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. There is a temptation to lump these two in with the rash of bass player-less groups littering the alternative music scene, but that temptation must be resisted. In fact, keyboardist Benevento and drummer Russo are after something else, something a bit more nebulous, certainly more abstract.
What exactly is it? Well, it’s not jazz, though it clearly has elements of that form. It’s not really rock, though it rocks, to be sure. It can’t be pop, because there are no vocals. I’d hesitate to call it the blues, though the blues informs it, naturally. I suppose it would suffice to say that it’s a refreshing take on all of these things.
Keyboardist Benevento takes old-school keyboards — what appeared to be a Fender Rhodes electric piano and a Hammond organ — and runs them through guitar player’s effect pedals, one of which appeared to be the Moog corporation’s invention, the Moogerflooger, which does more cool and crazy things to an instrument’s signal than I can possibly list here. Benevento modifies his tone and his harmonic information in real time, kind of like a high-priced London deejay might finesse his club mixes. Meanwhile, drummer Russo plays along with drum tracks when he feels like it, freely switching between rock bombast and well-schooled, free-form jazz playing at will. The result is often simply stunning, and, dare I say it, unique.
The band’s interpretation of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” stands as a useful case in point. Here, Benevento messed with the melody, reharmonized the chords and suggested rhythmic twists that were grabbed and carried by Russo. This is unusual and unusually beautiful modern music.
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band plays a more antiquated style of sound, and it was impressive how easily the crowd fell beneath the group’s sway following the outer-space suggestions of the Benevento-Russo Duo.
The tuba playing itself was enough to boggle the mind, as the dude manning the albatross- like instrument laid down some serious funk lines, many of which would’ve made both Jaco Pastorious and James Jamerson proud. The baritone sax player laid down sexy counterpoint to the tuba throughout, and trumpet, trombone, tenor sax and electric guitar offered stunning counterpoint as the group dug deep into its rather timeless sound.
R&B this was, mostly, though played with the grease and grit of the Meters and the grace of a second-line marching band.
When the group brought up Buffalo’s own funk-meister Eric Crittenden to join in on alto sax, the place erupted. Crittenden accorded himself quite well, and was granted a pair of solo spotlights for his trouble. This was just a real rush, a true treat.
REVIEW
WHO: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
WHEN: Thursday night
WHERE: Lafayette Square
jmiers@buffnews.com