Galactic 2006 Show Review
Just one day before the Galactic show, Ernie Krivda, local Cleveland saxophone legend, was giving me a lesson. He stressed getting back to the basics. He talked about Jascha Hiefetz, the famous violinist who’d practice the most complicated Brahms tunes at ½ speed. This way, he could “stop and smell the roses” and become more intimate with a work. It was with this sense of the basics that Galactic has tightened its screws from when I’d seem them last almost one year ago to the day. What a year it has been for Galactic and its hometown of New Orleans. They opened up the show with a down and dirty tune called FEMA.
The improvement was all around. Galactic had all the crucial elements to make this show (and likely this tour) include the musical excitement they once generated on a regular basis. Almost immediately, the soup that was last year’s show was back to the chunky stew we all know and love. The extended jams were nicely bridged by tightly written-out parts, often synchronized between multiple musicians. At various times, people took breaks to put extra emphasis on the fact that you could make interesting sounds with fewer than 5 people playing at once. There was great use of well-placed silence.
Each individual also showed improvement. First off, bassist Rob Mercurio increased the complexity of his parts since last I’d seen. While simplicity and fatness of sound has always been his trademark, I think he’s growing in his ability to add more melody to his part. I think he got some extra appreciation from a female fan in the second set that attempted to give a shout out to the crowd, only to find that Ben’s mic was turned off. So, she settled for an ass-wiggle in front of Rob, who followed up later by introducing the next song. Perhaps Ben is grooming him to be the next Galactic front-man?
To the delight of the non-jazz enthusiasts, saxophonist Ben Ellman is spending more time on harmonica, and at the same time is learning to make his own unique sounds with his Selmer Mark VI, a horn that he has only been playing a little over a year now, since the Naked Lady was retired. Rich Vogel kept churning out the vintage sounds of the days of yore with his Hammond B3 and Nord Electro. Jeff Rains, taking a page from the book of Jascha Hiefetz, was in his usual zone, starting off slow with the basics, and by the end of the show firing on all cylinders at a fast speed, but keeping the same tight consistency throughout, rarely dropping a single note.
The groove was in full swing, and the people in the crowd could feel it as they moved in step with the beat, like an Phish show alive with full-voltage electricity. I was especially impressed with the addition of Mike Dillon. He expanded on Stanton’s already intricate percussion patterns. Mike was a great choice for guest musician of the tour, especially already having a rich history with Stanton. Also, it was quite a nice change-up when the two switched and we got to see Mike D on the trap set with Stanton playing Mike’s goodies. I could have left happy when, in the first set, the duo went into a quiet segment of monkey noises, followed by a jam that continued to build until climaxing with the full band playing hard… then, a full measure of rest… then back to playing hard again. Sometimes, the silent parts are just as important as the loud ones, especially when they are back to back. Then, Ben informed the jubilant crowd that they would be back for a second set.
The night was filled with many Galactic classics. They stood true to their roots and brought back the tunes that made us discover them. At the same time, the tunes were re-worked and brought up to 2006. Through all this, there was still the Galactic feel. They weren’t trying to overwork or put on some big bonanza of a light show. It was back to basics. No big production, just great music. Well done.
The improvement was all around. Galactic had all the crucial elements to make this show (and likely this tour) include the musical excitement they once generated on a regular basis. Almost immediately, the soup that was last year’s show was back to the chunky stew we all know and love. The extended jams were nicely bridged by tightly written-out parts, often synchronized between multiple musicians. At various times, people took breaks to put extra emphasis on the fact that you could make interesting sounds with fewer than 5 people playing at once. There was great use of well-placed silence.
Each individual also showed improvement. First off, bassist Rob Mercurio increased the complexity of his parts since last I’d seen. While simplicity and fatness of sound has always been his trademark, I think he’s growing in his ability to add more melody to his part. I think he got some extra appreciation from a female fan in the second set that attempted to give a shout out to the crowd, only to find that Ben’s mic was turned off. So, she settled for an ass-wiggle in front of Rob, who followed up later by introducing the next song. Perhaps Ben is grooming him to be the next Galactic front-man?
To the delight of the non-jazz enthusiasts, saxophonist Ben Ellman is spending more time on harmonica, and at the same time is learning to make his own unique sounds with his Selmer Mark VI, a horn that he has only been playing a little over a year now, since the Naked Lady was retired. Rich Vogel kept churning out the vintage sounds of the days of yore with his Hammond B3 and Nord Electro. Jeff Rains, taking a page from the book of Jascha Hiefetz, was in his usual zone, starting off slow with the basics, and by the end of the show firing on all cylinders at a fast speed, but keeping the same tight consistency throughout, rarely dropping a single note.
The groove was in full swing, and the people in the crowd could feel it as they moved in step with the beat, like an Phish show alive with full-voltage electricity. I was especially impressed with the addition of Mike Dillon. He expanded on Stanton’s already intricate percussion patterns. Mike was a great choice for guest musician of the tour, especially already having a rich history with Stanton. Also, it was quite a nice change-up when the two switched and we got to see Mike D on the trap set with Stanton playing Mike’s goodies. I could have left happy when, in the first set, the duo went into a quiet segment of monkey noises, followed by a jam that continued to build until climaxing with the full band playing hard… then, a full measure of rest… then back to playing hard again. Sometimes, the silent parts are just as important as the loud ones, especially when they are back to back. Then, Ben informed the jubilant crowd that they would be back for a second set.
The night was filled with many Galactic classics. They stood true to their roots and brought back the tunes that made us discover them. At the same time, the tunes were re-worked and brought up to 2006. Through all this, there was still the Galactic feel. They weren’t trying to overwork or put on some big bonanza of a light show. It was back to basics. No big production, just great music. Well done.
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