Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe – Terminal West – Atlanta
Karl Denson brought his Tiny Universe to Terminal West in Atlanta on Saturday, December 3rd, and raged through a set that combined old favorites, new songs and surprising covers. Joining him on this tour was guitar legend Jimmy Herring. To say that this is just about the best funk-rock-fusion band touring right now still doesn’t do this band justice. The amount of energy they generate onstage could power a small country.
Opening the night was Atlanta’s own Voodoo Visionary, a five-piece funk band comprised of Dennis Dowd (keys), Jimmy Lynch (bass), Scott MacDonald (vocals), Mac Schmitz (drums) and Mike Wilson (guitar). They may have only played a short opening set, but they absolutely brought their A-Game and, judging by the comments from people around me, held their own and impressed the hell out of the crowd. Scott MacDonald’s vocals were a great thread tying the band together. However, when he left the stage during the instrumental song “Gunk,” the band really got a chance to show their chops with each member really getting a chance to let loose. I’m not sure if the song is improvised or not, which is a great testament to how tight this band is. If you see them on a lineup, by all means make time to catch them.
After a break to reset the stage, it was time for the Tiny Universe to take over. Karl D entered wearing his usual suit and carrying a saxophone and a flute. This iteration of the Tiny Universe consists of Alan Evans (drums), Seth Freeman (guitar, steel guitar), Chris Littlefield (trumpet), Chris Stillwell (bass), David Veith (keys) and DJ Williams (guitar).
Launching right out of the gate with openers “Power Soul” and “Boogaloo,” KDTU made it clear they came to throw down and get bodies moving. Karl showed why he is the go-to guy for world-class bands such as The Rolling Stones as he blew extremely potent sax riffs but also was perfectly fine just getting into the music the rest of the band was playing. Everyone in the Tiny Universe gets a chance to shine and show off their chops. This is a band where each member could easily front his own group. Chris Littlefield especially got chances to show off both on trumpet and flugelhorn. One thing I liked was Littlefield’s ‘Do Epic Shit’ bracelet that peeked out of his shirt sleeve now and then. He damn sure did that night, many times over, trading solos back and forth with Karl as well as generally holding the groove throughout the night. Karl, Chris and guitarist DJ Williams got to show off their dance moves during “Boogaloo” as they all tried out various moves during the song. After a few more songs I was pleasantly surprised to hear a cover of the Jeff Beck tune “Come Dancing.” They ripped through it with Karl once again just tearing it up on the sax.
The set continued running through other KDTU standards and included a great instrumental cover of David Bowie’s 1975 hit “Young Americans.” This was again another chance for KD and Chris Littlefield to set the crowd off with their alternating horns.
Shortly after was one of the highlights of the night for me, a fantastically funky cover of the 1973 Steely Dan song “Show Biz Kids.” This has always been one of my favorite Dan songs thanks to the constant funky backbeat, and KDTU not only did it right but somehow shoehorned some extra funk into the rhythm, thanks in no small part to the perfect syncopation coming from Evans and Stillwell on drums and bass respectively. Jimmy Herring got a chance to shine many times during the night, but I really liked his contribution on this song especially.
The main show closed out like many others on this tour with a roaring rendition of “Satisfied” and after a short bit of thunderous chanting from the crowd at Terminal West, they took the stage for an encore of “NYC”. They stretched this out to an almost 1am show finish that left Atlanta happy, worn out from dancing and still wanting more.
If ever you get a chance to step into Karl’s Universe, make it a point to do so. It’s fantastically funky in there, and you will never want to leave.
Check out the tour info for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe on their website: http://karldenson.us
Videos courtesy of Barry2theB Videos and UnknownVincent.
