1/28/07

James Brown Tribute - Aftermath

This was quite the big evening out for fallex and his love this fair night. We don't go out very much anymore. The reasons are many, but generally revolve around the fact that we work too much (no energy), and now own a house (no money). Blah, blah, blah. We started with delicious Italian dinner at Trattoria Strada. Then we caught a birthday roast of Melina's friend (and performer at the underrated Basement Comedy Theatre), Curtis Smythe.

After we'd had our fill of pasta, cream sauces, and humor that would make Bill Hicks blush (a little, anyway), we were off to the Apache Cafe. Located just through the tunnel from Georgia Tech (in the bowels of I-75/85, where 3rd St. dead ends), I'd made my way to this establishment (as Apache Cafe, and as I first knew it - Yin Yang Cafe) many a time to see the likes of Erykah Badu (early days), DJ Mark Farina, Entropy, and many more. Not to mention locally and nationally acclaimed hip hop and techno DJ's (note: I have no knowledge techno or its many permutions, but you may see me dancing my ass off to it, depending on how many adult beverages I've had) - too many to recite (or remember). Anyway, what better place to pay tribute to the man, than a local bastion of african-americanism with tons of history as it pertains to mostly hip hop, but with plenty of funk, poetry, and just an all around atmosphere of grooviness, for lack of a better term.

I think we were at the intersection of White and Bread.


The dj's all represented a little differently. Kemit - an Atlanta staple, spinning hip-hop and jazz for years - was on when we got there and played pretty much all James with some JB's, mixing a little. Next was Sammy B of the Jungle Brothers. Sammy lost the crowd a little mixing in Lil John and other hip hop, but kept it mainly music by, and containing samples of, the Godfather of Soul. Next was Applejac, another staple of Atlanta hip-hop shows. AJ undoubtedly had the best set that we saw, mixing and cutting nothing but James and his infamous bandmates. He admittedly fucked up on the cut a couple of times (once egregiously - but forgivably - at the top of his set), to be understood he's probably nervous just paying tribute to such a great musical talent.

The crowd was into the whole eveing, dressing in plenty of retro disco gear, and we followed suit (see photo of pasty individuals above). as even if you weren't planning on dancing, the spirit of the music took you over. No matter who was spinning, the dancefloor was getting loose the entire time. We stood toward the back, wallflower that I am until the liquor hits. But the alcohol wasn't working fast enough and the music took over. At some point or another, the dancefloor, usually up front toward the stage, took over the entire club. It could have been Cold Sweat, or possibly Papa Don't Take No Mess, but the transformation was evident. Then, just as soon as it happened, the dancefloor resumed its normal size and position, and people took to wiggling where they stood all around them.

The entire evening, films from various concerts played behind the dj's - James Brown's Lost Tapes I believe was one title - and an artist, known simply as W, crafted a chalk rendering of the tributee on stage. As I watched the films in the background, I noticed that James Brown never stopped moving, no matter what. It was the same sort of infection that the groove caused in him that caught several of the would-be bystanders tonight. Anyway the whole show was truly a multimedia extravaganza. The one thing I was surprised to not see, really, was breakdancers. Considering the location, and the fact that James Brown basically invented the breakbeat, I'm surprised a couple of local crews didn't scope it out. Oh well.

Food, comedy, dancing, drinking, and scene.
The evening was a success on all fronts. I was hoping to have more pictures from this event, but there were supposedly no photos allowed except for certain 'media' types. I'll do better next time.

1/26/07

Playlist 1-25-07

Ok, so I never got last week's playlist up. This set by Brett Eclectic will have to do (actually, I play the first cute, hence the un-jhericurlness of it). Also, stay tuned to this site for the review of the James Brown Tribute show that was at Apache Cafe last Saturday (1/20). I was hoping to get some more pictures, but I better just write it and post it, before it escapes me.

Jheri Curl Funk
by Guest DJ - Brett Eclectic of Brothers Funk
Artist Cut
Donald Byrd Lansana's Priestess*
Shiela E. Too Sexy
Prince Dance On
Jesse Johnson Drive Your Cadillac
Rick James Glow^
Vanity & Morris Day Mechanical Emotion
Madhouse 6
Jermaine Jackson Tell Me I'm not Dreaming
Five Star Let Me Be the One
Ready for the World I'm the One who Loves You
Cherrelle O No, It's U Again
Herb Alpert rmx by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis

* requested via blog by Gerry
^ requested via call-in by P.Dub

SHOUTS
The Dude
JT (as always)
Dan and crew working down on Capital Ave.
P.Dub


FunkOn


1/25/07

What's Up With What's Going Down 1-25-07

funky happ's around the ATL...
DateArtistVenue
Each FriBrothers Funk (Cozy Shawn & Brett Eclectic)MJQ
Each TueDJ Cozy ShawnDjango
Fri 1-26 GalacticThe Roxy
Sat 1-27 GalacticThe Roxy
Fri 2-9SouliveThe Loft
Sat 2-10The Dynamites feat. Charles WalkerThe EARL
Tue 2-20Cadillac JonesLive @ WREK
Sat 2-24EntropyThe 5 Spot
Sun 3-4The RootsTabernacle
Thu 3-8Medeski Martin & WoodVariety Playhouse

1/16/07

Couple of Funky Shows this Weekend

Check out the tribute to the one and only musical genius that was James Brown. It's going down this Saturday at the Apache Cafe. It's officially called "The House that James Built pt. 4 - Tribute to James Brown" and features a host of local DJs spinning true funk from James Brown and his entourage (JB's, Maceo, Bootsy, etc.). Below is the flyer. Also, Saturday night is Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk at the Roxy Theatre. I've never seen them, but the Nevilles are notorious for their roots in Cajun funk (Funky Meters, Wild Tchapatoulos, etc.), and with a name like Dumpstaphunk, they've got to be worth a listen.

If you happen to check into either of these shows, comment back with a review if you feel like it. I will be at Apache listening to tons of JB spun on the 1's and 2's.

P.S. I know that I missed "What's up with what's going down" and didn't post a playlist for last week. The WUWWGD hasn't changed much so reference last week's for funky events, and check next week for an update. Also, I wasn't at the show, so I'll get the old playlist (spun by El Dogg and Cozy Shawn) up asap.

1/12/07

The Mighty Hannibal Tonight!!

One night only at the EARL: Atlanta's own seminal soul performer, The Mighty Hannibal w/backing band The Black Lips. And the opening act will be Gentleman Jesse & His Men, featuring WREK's own, Craig Johnson.

Check out a legendary soul singer in one of Atlanta's coziest venues. Doors open at 9:30. 21 and up.

And if you can't make it, hopefully El Dogg or myself will have a review and some pictures from this show. So stay tuned to this space.

Read more about The Mighty Hannibal here and here

1/11/07

Playlist 1-11-07

ArtistSongAlbum
Cold Grits It's Your ThingWhat It Is (comp.)
James BrownLet Yourself GoFoundations of Funk
Billy Cobham PanhandlerFunky Thide of Sings
James BrownThere Was a TimeFoundations of Funk
TemptationsFunky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me OnAll Directions
The Mighty HannibalSomebody in the World for YouWhat It Is (comp.)
Funkadelic Miss Lucifer's LoveAmerica Eats Her Young
The Crusaders Spanish HarlemAt Their Best
Tommy StewartAtlanta Get DownTommy Stewart
Greyboy AllStarsGet a JobLive
Fred Wesley & the Horny HornsFour PlayWhat it Is (comp.)
The JB'sGivin' up Food for FunkAnthology

What's Up with What's Going Down 1-11-07

funky happ's around the ATL...
DateArtistVenue
Fri 1-12 The Mighty HannibalThe EARL
Each SatBrothers Funk (Cozy Shawn & Brett Eclectic)MJQ
Sat 1-13 DJ Greyboy (of Greyboy All Stars)Apache Cafe
Each TueDJ Cozy ShawnDjango
Sat 1-20Ivan Neville's DumpstaphunkThe Roxy
Sat 1-20James Brown Tribute Apache Cafe
Fri 1-26 GalacticThe Roxy
Sat 1-27 GalacticThe Roxy
Fri 2-9SouliveThe Loft
Sat 2-24EntropyThe 5 Spot

Remembering James

This week's Creative Loafing has a nice article remembering the legend that was James Brown. Rather than eulogizing JB in a reporter's words, author Scott Freeman let the people who knew him best tell the story. So the article is little more than a bunch of stories an quips about the hardest working man in show business.
Alan Leeds: "Cold Sweat" was one of the songs where James Brown reinvented the vocabulary of music. Jerry Wexler [vice president of Atlantic Records] told a writer that "Cold Sweat" just screwed everybody up, that it made every musician have to go back to the drawing board. Every musician in the world was saying, "Holy shit, how'd he do that?" Very few figured it out.
Check it out. It makes for some nice reading.

Also for a pretty thorough bio, including some little known facts about the man of a million monikers (including that he had his eyebrows replaced with tattoos in 1991!), check out JB's Wikipedia entry.

Also, Apache Cafe is hosting a James Brown Tribute Show on January 20.

1/8/07

The Godfather is Dead

Well, I'm finding it difficult to keep this blog up to date. And of course, like two days after I create it, the Godfather of Soul up and dies. This would normally be cause for an eulogy, but since I've been so slack, I'll simply make a mention of it.

I never got the chance to see JB perform live, though I've seen Maceo and many of the JB's. By the time I had realized what funk was, JB was rarely performing for the public, and when he did it was a $300 dollar affair in some faraway place. I think his popularity and success bred a certain feeling of contempt for the general public which is ironic, given his meager upbringing. Who can blame him, though, as he is almost single-handedly responsible for the birth and boom of a genre (funk). Not to mention the influences that he's had on other artists and types of music (re: hip-hop). Of course the man loved money, so maybe that was just it.

That is all I've got for now. Feel free to share your JB experiences in the slapbacks section.