Show Review

Galactic has nothing left to prove. In the past decade, the future-funk six piece has gone from playing small after-hours dives in New Orleans to playing prominent slots at such prestigious festivals as Fuji Rock, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and Bonnaroo. They have played with just about every major act on the circuit and have introduced many diverse up-and-coming bands, artists, and DJs to their fans by bringing them along on tour. And these days, with positive reactions from critics and diehards alike for their latest album, the Dan the Automator produced Ruckus, Galactic finally has a studio album that has captured their essence in a way that should stand the test of time. The album and corresponding tour are an adventure in defying convention and going against the grain. The band broke their previous mold for recording and delivered an intentionally understated yet intricate audio experience. But if Ruckus is a skeleton, Galactic’s live show is all muscle. Their stage show these days is an adventure in "maximizing minimalism" – bringing the depth of their live sound to the polished tracks on their new record, with a hearty dose of old favorites thrown in. And that was the case as Galactic swung into Washington DC for two memorable nights at the 9:30 club. The first night was good, but the second night was one of the best shows of the tour, and quite possibly the year for the little band that could. It’s true - Galactic has nothing left to prove, but on this Saturday night in DC, they still played with the conviction and desire that has made them the premier draw that they are today.

Gramercy, Louisiana’s own Louque opened the night with a hot and cold set of hip-hop flavored grooves, led by the acoustic and electric guitar of Dustin Louque (pronounced "Luke"). They call their musical style "faya" and describe it as a blend of street music, instrumentation, dancehall, and Caribbean. The best way to visualize their sound for the uninitiated is to think what it might sound like if Ben Harper was leading Soulive, who were playing a reggae cut off their remix album with a guest lyricist. Sometimes this meeting of styles can work, but most often such collaborations can seem forced and fail to hit the mark dead-on. With that in mind, it’s not that Louque was bad – on the contrary, they had some songs that hinted at a groundbreaking way of melting different genres together. I think it was more the crowd’s reaction (or lack thereof) and their less inspired numbers that made their set seem to drag a bit. Dustin Louque was on all night - his Louisiana influenced harmonies brought a great deal of soul to the table and the whole band seemed to be having fun, truly savoring their first night opening for Galactic. But Louque’s new album, So Long features their distinct style – check it out if you’re a fan of original takes on the hip-hop model.

After a half hour of downtime for the stage preparations, Galactic was ready to take on DC for the second night in a row. Right before their set, the house lights went down and a huge video screen was turned on. As if there was any doubt, the screen proceeded to inform the crowd that "We will have you shaking your ass momentarily." And with that, Galactic’s drum demigod Stanton Moore and company took the stage to the hypnotic groove of "Doomed." The whole format for Galactic’s live shows has been mixed up and enhanced by the addition of the Ruckus tunes, and the band has made significant strides towards delivering more of an experience than just a recital. From the opening notes of "Doomed" it was apparent that the video screen and lighting were going to be an incredible addition to the space funk that the band delivers. The stage was cast in a blue light and the screen featured flowers blooming open and closing to the beat of the music. With a second-long stop, the band continued into "Truth Is Out" and Theryl "Houseman" de’ Clouet made his first appearance of the night, dressed in one of his best Saturday night zoot suits. I immediately noticed that there were two different elements at play here; not only did Houseman come out for the second song (the band has traditionally played four or more songs before he joins them), but he wasn’t alone. Ms. Teedy Boutte was also going to sing tonight, as she has been for the whole tour. The album has several sultry female vocals on it and Boutte, hailing from New Orleans and from a family very involved with the city and its music, was a natural choice to reproduce the loops and harmonies live.

After "Truth…" and a by-the-book version of "Never Called You Crazy" came a wonderful performance of Ruckus favorite "Bongo Joe." Saxophonist Ben Ellman laid down his instrument for a bit and played with some loops on an Akai sampler while axe-man Jeff Raines took his acoustic guitar to add subtle accentuation to the laid-back and dreamy groove of the song. Another tune off the new album, "Moil" was next (actually, interestingly enough, it’s after "Bongo Joe" on the record as well) and was the highlight of the first set for many. The effects on Ellman’s saxophone created a vortex of energy and the rest of the band geared up for a high-tempo funk freefall. "Moil" always impresses me live and this version was no exception. Houseman returned for his anthem, "Villified" and then reached into Galactic’s impressive book of cover songs to pull out Skynyrd’s ode to playing with handguns while drinking whiskey, "Saturday Night Special." Houseman is always animated on stage, but this song is a true pleasure to watch his hand gestures and the emotion on his face as he belts out lyrics like "Handguns are made for killing…ain’t no good for nothing else." Longtime staple in the repertoire, "Hangnail" was good this evening, although I’ve heard a few better ones where Raines and Ellman sound more up front in the mix. "Mercamon" was quick but enjoyable, with Stanton Moore’s gritty drums run through a bunch of equalization levels and filter sweeps, perfectly accentuated by some great bouncy bass from Robert Mercurio. "Chicken Pox" and "All Behind You Now" were full of energy and crowd reaction, prompted on by Ellman’s use of a small pen-like camera to aid in the video projections. "Shibuya" was a natural to close the set, as it is the track that defines the over the top energy that Galactic thrives on and really causes the fans to dance into a frenzy. This time, it seemed to have a little extra Saturday night "uumph" and wrapped up the first set with the promise of good things to come.

After a half-hour or so, the band again took the stage for a good performance of "The Beast" before switching gears early in the set. Again, Houseman and Teedy Boutte made their way on to the stage and in the spotlight of the party for "Bittersweet," a song that encompasses everything that the new Galactic record stands for. Boutte’s voice danced with Houseman’s and really added depth and subtle texture to the song, especially on lines like "Rain is falling hard into the river…time is slipping in between the cracks." The laid-back stagger of "Uptown Odyssey" followed – this song makes me think about driving down Carrolton Avenue in New Orleans on a sunny day and watching the sunlight poke through the canopy as the streetcar rounds the river bend. It’s a perfect ode to New Orleans Uptown area and has great punctuation by Ellman and keyboardist Richard Vogel. Vogel proceeded to really step up on "Go Go" which features a phenomenal organ line that he works for everything he has. Again, he and Ellman lead the harmonies and gave Moore and Mercurio’s solid foundation some intricate harmonies. The next tune was "Paint", a seriously mellow number that served as a good transition piece, with its abstract lyrics and downbeat but funky and very urban feel.

Houseman’s biggest tune of the night, "Change/Reform", was next and he had more than a few people that night ready to refashion and rectify based on his sly lyrics. "Hoss" really sounded wonderful and "Doublewide" was superb, eventually leading to a bass solo by Robert Mercurio that featured teases of some famous bass lines, including the low end from "Good Times"/"Rappers Delight" and "Clear my Throat."  Mercurio, a DC native, seemed to be showing his family and friends just how well he could shake the room. These bass jams were followed by one clear highlight of the night, as Boutte came out (without Houseman) to sing the lead on "Whole Lotta Love" and absolutely hit it dead on. Boutte has some serious pipes, and she had the room under her control! A slightly uninspired rendition of "Kid Kenner" followed and then the set closers, "Tiger Roll>Space Headz March" had heads bobbing and asses shaking all around the 9:30 club. Ellman tends to take the lead on these songs, as his effected sax hypnotizes the room with an intoxicating rollercoaster of sexy brass sound. The band encored with the seminal "Blackbird Special" and then their take on Bob Dylan’s "Rainy Day Women" which had the audience chanting along with Houseman that "everybody MUST get stoned."

This night was a good one for Galactic and was warmly received by all the fans in the crowd. Some people thought the band featured too many songs off their new album (all but 2 of the 13 tracks were performed), but most understood that this was simply the next stage in the evolution of the group. The multimedia aspects of the show were all top notch and the band delivered the goods to DC for the second night in a row. After the show, I talked with Robert Mercurio for a bit and he was very excited to see some younger fans in the crowd, as he always sees that as a sign that the band is growing and reaching new ears. Well, this time around, the band certainly won over many converts and, even though they have nothing left to prove, showed DC why they are always ready to proceed to maximize the minimal and bring the Ruckus.

SETLIST

I:Video Intro, Doomed, Truth Is Out, Never Called You Crazy, Bongo Joe, Moil, Villified, Saturday Night Special, Hangnail, Mercamon, Chicken Pox, All Behind You Now, Shibuya

II: The Beast, Bittersweet, Uptown Odyssey, Go Go, Paint, Change/Reform, Hoss, Doublewide*> Whole Lotta Love, Kid Kenner, Tiger Roll>Space Headz March

E: Blackbird Special, Rainy Day Women

* w/ bass solo (Rapper’s Delight and Clear My Throat teases)

All photos by Robert Massie. Please visit jampics.com for more of his work.

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