I think it was during
this year’s Jazz Fest that I really began to draw parallels not only between
music and the human condition but between music and the human body. I mean, I
dig the the 1-4-5 and a thundering 4/4 beat, but
exploratory, fluctuating rhythms seem more anatomically correct somehow. But in
keeping with the rock ‘n’ roll jones, it’s still gotta have that sweet
driving beat to get ’emoutta
their seats, and on their feet.
Austin, Texas’ GrupoFantasma has
that biological polyrhythm in its veins along with an undeniable beat. The band
launched the new Pole-A-Palooza series downtown this
past Wednesday. The sky above downtown looked like a giant bruise prior to the
band’s set, but that didn’t seem to scare off a crowd of roughly 1,000. That’s
probably the biggest amount of feet to beat the pavement down there at one time
since the 1970s. And with the help of GrupoFantasma, that’s exactly what they did. The group’s blend
of funk, mambo, merengue,
and cumbia had hips going in all directions. Great vibe, great show, great location.
Friday
night and I got to share the bill with The
Broke Down and The New York Vaults.
The Broke Down is anything but and plays the kind of swingin’
rock ‘n’ roll boogie Johnny Reno does when he ain’tsaxin’ it up with Chris Isaak. Croonin’ Kurt’s baritone sounded as good as ever, as did
the cool paring of a rockin’ outfit with a lone
trumpet leading the charge.
The
Vaults added plenty of spectacle to the show with the
fog and lights adding motion to their black-clad minimalist choreography. The
guitars sounded particularly good and I attribute that to a
willingness to opening yourself up to mojo.
Guitarist Von Nortney plays muscle-car rock but his
soul wallows in Muscle Sholes. And he obviously digs the voodoo that they did
so well in the Delta. We have plans to go over to Son House’s Corn Hill crib
and bury some slides in the front yard. We’ll dig ’em
up after a spell, and man, wait’ll you hear us play
then.
— Frank
De Blase
This article appears in Jul 5-11, 2006.
