The best moments of Soulive’s last visit to Vermont, in April of ‘08 occurred when the core trio had the stage to themselves and ripped it up without interruption for over thirty minutes, reminding what a powerful band they’d become in their (close to a) decade together. The high points of the Halloween run at Higher Ground exceeded even that altitude.
Soulive opened the Friday show with a clutch of classic sounding tunes, including “Rudy’s Way” and “Turn It Out”, that demonstrated how, after all the experimentation with horns, vocalists, and turntables etc over the years, the threesome had distilled their musicianship to its earthy essence. The phrase ‘diamond-hard’ comes to mind to describe the mix of rock and funk emanating from the group via Neal Evans’ keyboards (hear that swooping and diving bass) and his brother Alan’s big, quick drums.
And that’s not to mention the ever-widening skill of Eric Krasno on guitar. He’s emerged as the star of the group, flicking off flinty rhythm patterns that catch fire in solos that remain pithy even as they turn into elongated statements of melodic improvisation. Krasno was at his peak during the opening night’s second set devoted to their latest record Rubber Soulive (Royal Family Recordings). His touch on the gentle reading of “In My Life” bore even more fruit as the threesome immediately segued into “Eleanor Rigby,” extending the bittersweet mood. To compare and contrast, Krasno absolutely cranked when it counted on “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).”
All this action more than compensated for a first set that, apart from the novelty of Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule The World,” stalled with the emergence of opening act Nigel Hall. The vocalist’s unctuous demeanor accompanies a derivative singing style based on Stevie Wonder and James Brown and the tribute to the latter Saturday night found Hall even more imitative. Fun as it might’ve been for Soulive, complete with a three-piece horn section, to masquerade as the band in the tightest of formations, backing The Godfather of Soul, “Superbad” and “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” didn’t allow for the exploratory jams that informed
The Beatles material the prior night. Closing with Archie Bell & The Drells’ “Tighten Up “almost made up for it though.
But again, the first set Saturday in the Higher Ground Ballroom scorched even hotter than the preceding night. Whether it was the celebratory atmosphere in the fully packed venue (with twice as many costumes as the night before) or the feeling of collective satisfaction from the latest extended visit to Vermont as a well-established haunt over the years, Soulive sounded at once dirtier and more sophisticated than ever.
Consequently, that was hardly a surprise that, in these days of take it for granted encores, the fans (both nights), having been whipped into a frenzy, chanted the band’s name to bring them back out for more music. The devotion music lovers’ show for Soulive is growing in proportion to their own musicality; a rare dynamic indeed, but one that should inspire the band and their audience as time goes on.
