Jam Cruise 22: Day 2 (Sunday, February 8)
[Thanks as always to the amazing Jam Cruise photographers for their tireless work!]
Sunday presented a full day of music – and the broadcast of the Super Bowl in the theater. it was a day full of music, activities, and football.
Hard to imagine a better choice to open the Jam Cruise Pool Deck early Sunday afternoon than Charlottesville’s hard-working Kendall Street Company, a dynamic quintet having lots of fun in and amidst their great chops. Songs such as “Marijuana Time Warp” and “Hot Tub” were an indication of that fun, and their final OG tune “Cars” drove right into “Road to Nowhere,” which of course became “Boat to Nowhere.”
In the Black & White, participants in the Masters Camp at Sea were rehearsing their parts for “Blue Sky” (theme is Jamming on The Allman Brothers). I also met Mary Hernandez of Music Masters Collective, the upstate New York program that puts on a variety of education programs, most prominently Roots Rock Revival. We will have an upcoming feature about them!
Meanwhile, Mihali had gathered up about half the musicians on board for a Pool Deck rave-up, so good, with Adrian Tramontano powering it from his drum kit. Smokin’ hot!
We caught most of the theater set by Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. This was, for me, the best set I’ve heard from Karl in five or six years. Everything was perfect, especially vocalist Danielle Barker, one of the best female vocalists I’ve heard. Kanika class. She tore it up on the song “I Believe.”
Karl was lit up, especially when K.C. fans gifted him with a gorgeous leather Chiefs jacket. He wondered if he should just keep it on and sweat like Holly Hunter in Raising Arizona. He mentioned his love for football, the great respect he had after seeing Parlor Greens, and the notion that he should steal some of Cimafunk’s moves.
They crushed a tune called “Apparently Not” with Danielle, then a superb Afrobeat song with solos from Karl, trumpet player Ricio Fruge, and Rashon Murph on synths. They closed with a great jammin’ “Funkin’ for Jamaica” (Tom Browne). We went to the cafeteria, and what was spinning? Tom Browne’s original version!
This was my first encounter with that Chalk Dinosaur creature. Two creatures, actually: drummer Nick O’Hallaron and John O’Hallaron on vocals, keyboards, guitar, and production. They threw down one massive dance party, and it was simply impossible not to move with them. HELL, YES.
Jam Cruise queen Annabel Lukins Stelling introduced the next act, someone outside the normal jam purview: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and his fine band, especially keyboard master D’Vibes. It was a solid set of funk blues with several great teases: “Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples” (Parliament) and “Doin’ It to Death” (Fred Wesley an The J.B.s).
It was time to dig in to the massive Diggin Dirt vibes in the B&W. You cannot see the band unless you are right up front, but the sound in the room was the best I’ve ever heard. Start to finish, this was spectacular, with songs from throughout their career, opening with “Queen Dub,” waltzing through the riotous “Milkman,” and rocking “Mac & Cheese.” Word was out, and the place was packed!
Vocalist Zach Alder invited up guitarist Jimmy James of Parlor Greens, “the Jameses,” as he called him, for a wild “Shakey Ground.” James would return later – with Chali 2na! – for a great romp through “Monorail.” They closed their set with their spot-on homage to James Brown with “Cold Sweat,” famous Southern love song “Mississippi Queen,” and the group’s favorite jam “Krunk Funk II.” SIMPLY BRILLIANT!
And the night was just getting started! If anyone tells you they attended Dumpstaphunk in the theater but they’ve heard better sets from the New Orleans heavyweights, THEY ARE LYING. PERIOD. THE END. Dumpsta hit it so incredible hard; the first 25 minutes alone were the stuff of legend: “I’m Gonna Make It > Justice > ???” They slowed it down a bit for the love song “Where Do We Go from Here?” I’d lay blame clearly with Tony Hall on bass and Deven Trusclair on drums, as great a rhythm section as you will ever hear.
Alex Wasily, trombone, and John Michael Bradford, trumpet, deserve an entire article of their own. The two sound like a four-man horn section, so powerful, and the they wander the stage with abandon, really upping the onstage vibe with great accents. Equally important is the wonderfully positive cheerleading they do throughout the set, encouraging crowd response for their band members and even more so for guest players. THIS IS THE WAY!
Vocalist Rebekah Todd brings so much to the stage, her voice intertwining with Hall’s and with Ivan Neville’s. Nigel Hall was the first of a string of amazing guests, and he helped send “We Gotta Turn This Thing Around (We Gotta Help These People Out)” skyward. Next up was Skerik to blow a world of sax on “Living in a World of Pain.” Guitarists Ian Neville and Ari Teital was superb all set, and music director Ivan Neville danced over all his keyboards and sang with that healing deep-down soul. Benny Bloom (Lettuce) helped rock “I Wanna Get High on You.”
As they launched closer “Everybody Clap Your Hands,” they were joined by Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, the 28-year-old blues superstar in demand on that circuit. His long solo to shut the show down was stunning, about five light years beyond anything he showed on his Pool Deck set. His niche in the blues community is set, but he would be fabulous on the jam circuit. Just sayin’…
And the night was still young! I had hoped to stick my nose into the Golden Jazz Lounge to hear Eddie Roberts’ set, but you know what happen. Sardines aren’t packed that tight (and sardines use lube). I was able to see New Mastersounds bandmates Joe Tatton and Simon Allen on stage, but that venue is simply too small for all that magic. I rolled through the B&W, catching a portion of the killer set by Fireside Collective sounding great, and then Sammi Garett and some other musicians invaded the stage for more goodness, so of course they began with bluegrass favorite “25 or 6 to 4”!
I was focused once again on The Disco Biscuits and headed to the theater a bit early. The set began a few minutes late, and for nearly an hour Bisco took through a bunch of great music, beginning with “House Dog Party Favor.” The set continued to build, as did Saturday’s, for almost an hour. And then it EXPLODED ALL OVER THE THEATER.
Marlon B. Lewis on drums is a force of nature, and he helped to propel the livetronica explosion, with Barber (John Gutwillig) on guitar wailing and Marc Brownstein holding down that nasty bottom. It veered close to their 3 a.m. closing when Barber began singing “I-Man,” and everybody just lost it. Aron Magner was all over his launchpad deck of keyboards and began playing… “I Can see Clearly Now” on top of the raging. THEN “Hot Air Balloon” emerged, and they just wouldn’t quit. The last notes poured out at 3:29. NIRVANA.
And thanks to the young lady in the balcony with the Mays 24 jersey on. I had enough energy to dance in my chair, but she danced for both of us non-stop the entire set. BRAVA.
I wanted to get to Dave Harrington’s Pranksters at Sea in the Jam Room, but…
