Galactic 2/07/2004

One of the strengths of the current jam band movement is that the large majority of prominent national acts believe in the power and cohesiveness of all types of music. They push the boundaries, mix styles, extend verses on-the-fly, and facilitate intermingle tones and harmonies without trying to follow any strict guidelines. What’s more, anyone trying to define themselves too much seems to fall short; the phenomenon of micro-branding styles into different sub-categories doesn’t seem to have a place in this scene. Electronic music, for example, seems to have suffered greatly in the last few years because of this specific problem – it wasn’t enough to call it “techno” or “electronica”, it had to be “micro tech house” or “intelligent drum and bass.” Luckily, the vibrant jam scene doesn’t seem to have a problem with “wannabe Webster’s” pigeonholing every band, genre, and sound onto a tidy shelf. One thing’s for sure: with bands like Galactic around, anyone keeping tabs on the definition of the current state of the sound better use a pencil.

From album to album and tour to tour, Galactic has developed and redeveloped both their actual music and all the aspects of their live show to constantly reshape the direction and scope of their efforts. From the addition of a guest vocalist or lyricist, to the showcasing of new styles performed by up-and-coming supporting acts, Galactic’s “Freezestyle” winter tour has become one of the season’s signature sessions. On a snowy Sunday night, the band arrived at Cleveland’s Odeon, ready to celebrate the last date of the 2004 Freezestyle tour and guitarist Jeff Raines’ birthday with another definition defying throw down.

Although the majority of dates on the two month long winter theater tour featured support from stripped-down Austin, Texas outfit Drums &Tuba or Soul Coughing front man Mike Doughty (save for a couple nights in Denver with moe. and a hometown gig with Eric Lindell), Cleveland was treated to a pleasant set from openers Addison Groove Project. They kept things funky and showed off a more seasoned side than the last time I saw them, fully embracing the qualities that an opener for Galactic should exhibit. Brendan Mcginn seemed to lead the more appreciated numbers; his work on vocals, trumpet, and guitar went a long way in giving the band its signature elements. Keyboardist Rob Marscher’s notes danced on the solid foundation built by drummer Andrew Keith and Bassist John Hall. A fairly experienced band (with 6 years of summertime touring under their belt), the boys from Boston presented their pleasant combination of exploratory funk, jazz fusion, and rock to a growing, buzzing crowd for about an hour.

Locals know that Cleveland doesn’t get a great show at a great venue every weekend, but when it does, the fans show up in droves. Although the show wasn’t an official sellout, the place was packed. Galactic took the stage with the same video introduction they used during their fall tour - named the “Ruckus” tour after their new album, the Sanctuary Records released Ruckus. The house lights dim, and “welcome” is projected in several languages on a giant video screen while abstract voices and sounds alert the crowd to the impending onslaught of funk. By the time the “We will have you shaking your ass momentarily” marquee was projected, the crowd was already frenzied without the band having even played a note. The energy level in the crowd didn’t seem to dip all night long. The first set, in particular, seemed really well balanced and the band sounded to be in top form – everything you’d expect from the last show of the tour.

The fans who hadn’t caught a show since last year’s Freezestyle tour realized quickly that the format of Galactic’s shows has changed dramatically in the last few months. The band used to warm up the crowd with instrumentals and then have their lead singer, Theryl “Houseman” de’ Clouet take the stage for three or four songs. Although it was the classic formula for Galactic’s live shows, their past two tours have had a more energetic approach. The songs off Ruckus have opened up the band’s format by allowing Houseman to seamlessly enter and exit the mix with more high energy songs. This was evident from the start of the evening, as Houseman made his first appearance for some nice work on “Truth is Out” and “All Behind You Now”.

The fall tour had a female guest vocalist named Ms. Teedy Boutte, who served as a refreshing “Yin” to Houseman’s pimped-out “Yang.” The band must have enjoyed the addition of her sweeping voice, because, although Ms. Teedy was unavailable, they decided once again to interject a female presence into the mix. This time Galactic choose to welcome San Francisco based vocalist Latrice Barnett, whose credits include studio and tour work with such R&B legends as Sade and India Arie. The sultry siren settled perfectly into Galactic’s testosterone fueled pace, as she clearly showed the Cleveland crowd that she wasn’t just another husky-timbered diva with no substance. Her soaring crescendos had the ability to spark new life into songs that some members of the crowd may have heard one hundred times before.

Yet, Barnett also brought a refined classic feel to some of the Ruckus tunes. Perhaps this is why she feels like the perfect fit for Galactic; their true strengths lie in “familiar innovation” – new rhythms and harmonies that sound classic from the start. For “Uptown Odyssey ” she even clipped an alto saxophone on the strap around her neck and started building melodies around baritone sax man Ben Ellman’s funky low end. Drummer Stanton Moore energized the band with fancy percussion work, even taking the time in a mini solo during “Shibuya” to show the audience exactly why he’s on the cover of Modern Drummer magazine this month. His driving stutter-step beats defined the second half of the first set, highlighted by a nice “Root Down” and “Bakers Dozen”.

The set break was short and featured a soundtrack courtesy of 2002 Freezestyle tour alums “Triple Threat.” Soon, the band was reinvigorated and ready to keep the heads bobbing and the hips shaking. After a fast start out of the gate for set two, Houseman and Barnett really turned the energy up for “Bittersweet” and the crowd was relishing in their soulful delivery. Houseman brought out a cake for Jeff Raines to blow out while guest lyricist Mike Hardy (one of the band’s stage techs) did his traditional end-of-the-tour freestyle during “Sweetback.” and, besides taking a lighter or two to the head, looked and sounded pretty “fly for a white guy.”

The second set progressed into the cosmic-funk portion of Galactic’s catalog, as “Tiger Roll > Space Heads March” captivated the audience and blew a few minds of the uninitiated. Raines took some time to enjoy his birthday with a few ripping solos, but seemed to be a little subdued overall. Bassist Robert Mercurio laid down a short but sweet solo in the middle of “Doublewide” then turned things over to the West Coast’s secret siren, Ms. Barnett. She really had time to shine as she took the lead for “Whole Lotta Love” and turned Zeppelin’s lusty rocker into a funky, soulful scorcher. Houseman delivered another powerful performance to close the set with the classic “Change/Reform” and the band left the stage with him giving props to Cleveland for pushing the energy higher and higher throughout the show.

The crowd’s reaction demanded another song, and the band returned with fan favorite “Hamp's Hump”. Barnett again took to her saxophone, and this time even had a short solo. The added depth, although nothing extravagant, made this version extra special, and some extended jamming took the song to some fresh places. A perfect cover of Dawn Penn’s reggae-infused “You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)” ended the set with Barnett crooning “I’d do anything to stay boy” while falling and praying on her knees. After the show ended, Barnett told me that she “felt a wonderful vibe all night from the crowd’s energy.” Well, I for one thought she was the catalyst for most of what had transpired, and the cheers from the crowd as she left the stage indicated I wasn’t alone. With her help, Galactic had closed another successful Freezestyle tour, once again proving that their various methods of focusing on the delivery rather than the definition liberate their music, their fans, and their live show. And, with the band returning to the studio for a few months to again tweak and tune their musical expression, any definition-focused fan better have their eraser ready.

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