They did all different "kinds" of music their own way. I heard some rock, tango, punk rock, country, acid jazz, etc. and stuff that doesn't have a genre. Very fun and had me dancing a lot.
The first set was just under 50 minutes. I was excited for the 2nd set because I saw some congas and percussion set up. After about a 30 minute setbreak Skerik told us this next thing is "The Bandalabra Orchestra". They had a special set with Jessica Lurie on alto sax, Cochemea Galstelom on baritone sax and Elizabeth Pupo-Walker on percussion. And, it wasn't just a little sitin, it was pretty much the whole, long set. I think it was about 1.5 hours, ending at around 1:15. It was well worth the next day tiredness, which wasn't so bad. I still had my adrenaline rush because I got the bandalabra CD. It's great.
That 2nd set was one of those special things that if you live in NYC and go to jazzfest every year, you get periodically. It was phenomenal. They would take turns starting pieces and they would be killer.
Reggie Watts was invited to sit in on vocals toward the end. That was good, but I was glad they did one more and gave us an instrumental for the final piece. The drummer hadn't started one yet, so we finished with an awesome intense one.
I also need to mention the cool, trippy lights that were going on the 2nd set. They had them on the band and the audience - it was little specks of red light that looked like it was crawling on people. I don't know how to describe it, but it was very cool. A lot of the lights added to the music, which I don't say very often.
http://www.facebook.com/SkeriksBandalabra/info
About
Skerik,
the enduringly saxophonic, punk jazz iconoclast is joined by three of
his fellow Seattle hometown's most revered players: Andy Coe on electric
guitar, Evan Flory Barnes on upright bass and Dvonne Lewis on drums.
Biography
Skerik,
the enduringly saxophonic, punk jazz iconoclast is joined by three of
his fellow Seattle hometown's most revered players: Andy Coe on electric
guitar, Evan Flory Barnes on upright bass and Dvonne Lewis on drums.
In Skerik's words, "I've always been inspired by Fela Kuti and Steve Reich, which sparked the idea to start a band built around rhythmic and minimalist concepts. It's not about soloing so much as creating a polyrhythmic weave with the four instruments. Music that is danceable but also interesting to listen to."
A bold assertion, but one for which the music bears witness. Together, the quartet syncopates and snakes, floats free and snaps tight with hypnotic afrobeat rhythms, minimalist canons and improvised harmonics. There's a duality that demands listeners both dance and get lost in the sound.
On Bandalabra’s debut album Live At The Royal Room, captured at the band's first public performance, the foursome head into the deep unknown, creating music in the moment for over 60 minutes straight. Halfway through the evening, they hit upon the illest of psych grooves, appropriately dubbed "Beast Crusher." Here the visceral and cerebral become one, and Skerik's Bandalabra is born a fully realized vision.
In Skerik's words, "I've always been inspired by Fela Kuti and Steve Reich, which sparked the idea to start a band built around rhythmic and minimalist concepts. It's not about soloing so much as creating a polyrhythmic weave with the four instruments. Music that is danceable but also interesting to listen to."
A bold assertion, but one for which the music bears witness. Together, the quartet syncopates and snakes, floats free and snaps tight with hypnotic afrobeat rhythms, minimalist canons and improvised harmonics. There's a duality that demands listeners both dance and get lost in the sound.
On Bandalabra’s debut album Live At The Royal Room, captured at the band's first public performance, the foursome head into the deep unknown, creating music in the moment for over 60 minutes straight. Halfway through the evening, they hit upon the illest of psych grooves, appropriately dubbed "Beast Crusher." Here the visceral and cerebral become one, and Skerik's Bandalabra is born a fully realized vision.
Description
New record LIVE AT THE ROYAL ROOM available now: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/skeriks-bandalabra-live-at/id504140041
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