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Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears @ La Sala Rossa
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears recently made their fourth visit to Montreal in only three years; that's an impressive amount of shows for any out-of-town band, but for a seven-piece band from Austin, Texas it is almost unheard of. It is also proof that they are willing to do whatever it takes to win over this city despite the complete lack of commercial radio support.
After a 2009 opening slot with the New York Dolls, a headlining gig last winter at Il Motore and two shows at last summer’s Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, this time they took to the stage at La Sala Rossa to testify and win more converts. With no opening band, it was an early start, but the room was full by the time the show started around 9:30.
The show opened with "Livin’ In The Jungle", the lead off track from their latest album, Scandalous. As it does on the record, the song bursts out of the gates with no intro, just a punch of horns, drums and guitars to announce the beginning of something special. The combination of gut-bucket blues, dirty funk, and rock and roll are all there in a beautiful blend that makes this band timeless. With a killer three-piece horn section, two guitars and a rhythm section that could keep it bouncing and swinging in equal doses, this band could easily have been playing the same joints that The Isley Brothers or The Ike and Tina Turner Revue were hitting on the Chitlin’ circuit back in the mid-60’s, or The Stooges and Funkadelic were hitting further north a few years later. Much like all of those bands, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears cannot be placed in one box. They play rock and roll the way it was originally intended, from the gut and without rules.
A few songs later, the band cranked it up another notch with what could be called the “booty suite”. "Big Booty Woman" and "Booty City," a couple of songs about a very particular type of body part on a particular type of woman, played back-to-back, which confirmed what Black Joe likes in his woman and that songs about booty really get a party going. By the end of those two songs, the final few non-dancing holdouts were shakin’ their booty with the rest of us.
Over the next 60 minutes or so, the band would bounce around their catalogue of songs. They relied more on original material this time than at last winter’s Il Motore show (having another full album to pull from will do that for you), but there were a few covers thrown in, including a great version of Robert Johnson’s "Stop Breaking Down," which can be found on the deluxe edition of Scandalous.
The biggest difference between this show and the show at Il Motore a year earlier was the slightly more serious tone. Last winter they seemed to be just playing a show; this show they were trying to make more of a statement. That is not to say that the show was any less fun than last year's; Black Joe was still making jokes with the audience and the band’s tongue-in-cheek, choreographed dance moves let everyone know that they were still there for a good time but they also have something to say about the world that we live in. These Texans know how to blend politics and funk the same way James Brown could. When Black Joe introduced "Jesus Took My Hand" as a song for “all the soldiers fighting in the desert,” he left it at that and let the song do the speaking for him.
To bring the night to a close, the band ripped through an amped-up version of "Sugarfoot," a track off their first album that could be considered their biggest hit to date. Although the room had been dancing all night, this last number really got the room moving (I even saw jazz hands from an older woman who was obviously totally taken away by the song) and was the best way to go out, leaving everyone wanting more. I, for one, definitely fell in to that category and cannot wait for the next time these fellas roll through town … which is rumored to be only five weeks away as the opener for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings at Metropolis.
If the rumor is true, you can make that five times in three years for a seven- piece band from Austin, Texas. A note to our fair city’s commercial radio stations: give them one shot and they will make you a believer. I can testify to that.
-Prince Palu hosts The Go-Go Radio Magic Show on Fridays from 6-8pm
Piknic Électronik Giveaway!
Attention Concordia students:
This Tuesday, April 12th, CJLO and Piknic Électronik will giving away tickets for Piknic 2011. If you're around the Hall or EV buildings keep your eyes peeled and if you spot us, you could get a ticket!
But if you miss us and don't get a free ticket, Piknic Électronik is also offering a special student price from April 13th to May 3rd. During you can pick up passes for $45+tx+sf instead of the usual $65+tx+sf.
The new Piknic season begins on May 22nd and they will announce their programming on May 2nd.
April 8th 2011
Today's news was read and produced by Erica Bridgeman
The stories were written by Erica Fisher, Michael Lemieux and Michael Moore.
The Raveonettes + Tamaryn @ La Tulipe
Last Friday night saw The Raveonettes return to the stage at La Tulipe, celebrating the release of their new album Raven in the Grave. Tamaryn opened with dripping, reverb-infused goth tunes, playing to a mighty crowd of twenty-something music nerds. By the time The Raveonettes took to the stage, the audience was ripe with anticipation.
The Raveonettes started out with some tracks from their new album. Their new sound followed Tamaryn’s gothic cue quite well. The new tracks are different from everything they’ve done before- less indie, more noise. The lead singers, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo, were the quintessential indie poster kids with blunt bob haircuts and sweaty white t-shirts. They were backed by a solid drum duo that delineated the stage into a kind of strange mirror image of itself. The drummers, for the most part, played the exact same riffs on slightly differing kits. The sound was beefy and, just like Tamaryn, dripping with reverb. They played for about an hour and a half, but unfortunately, it seemed the audience only warmed up towards the end of the set. By the end, with the Raveonettes satisfying audience appetites with some of their better-known hits, the kids on the floor were desperate for an encore.
I would definitely recommend The Raveonettes’ new album based on seeing their live renditions of new tunes. I have to admit that I find their early recordings a little too poppy for my tastes, but their new songs seem to embrace a noisier, more experimental aesthetic that could be an interesting departure for them. They played with a sound reminiscent of spaghetti Westerns – sexy and drawling. This approach didn’t evoke any dancing from the crowd, though, so they increased the BPM as the night progressed, slowly enticing the audience into waking up a little more. My only complaint would be that they had long-ish breaks between each song, and tended to wait until the applause died out before starting the next song. This lent a bit of an awkward feel to the flow of the whole show. Even so, by the end, things were flowing well, people were moving, and the hits kept coming.
Check out The Raveonettes’ new album, Raven in the Grave, coming out April 5. It sounds like a gorgeous mix between their older surf rock style and a new fuzzed-out sound that makes for some great booty-shakin’ beats.
-Danielle J hosts Runny Noise on Thursday from 10pm-12am
CSU forced to buy remainder of conference tickets from ASFA
The Concordia Student Union’s decision not to consult with the Arts and Science Federation of Associations will cost them.
When the two organizations bought tickets for Youth Action Montreal conference in January, they agreed to sell them for twenty dollars each. However, due to low ticket sales, the CSU decided to give their tickets away for free. They did so without consulting ASFA, rendering them unable to sell their own tickets. However, ASFA’s logo was still on the posters which said the tickets are free.
ASFA took the ten-thousand-dollars to purchase the tickets from their special member’s association fund, with the intention to return it after the tickets were sold.
After not being able to come up with an agreement, ASFA called a special council meeting for Thursday night. Councillors chastised the union, saying their decision to give away the tickets was premature. It’s typical of students to buy tickets last minute. When VP Finance Ramy Khoriaty suggested that ASFA be given two weeks to sell at least half of its tickets, councillor Michaela Manson argued that they have underwritten their market value, making them unsellable.
Council voted unanimously for the CSU buy the remainder of ASFA’s tickets, four-hundred-and-eighty-three. The cheque will be for almost eleven thousand dollars.
The conference features Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize winner, David Suzuki, environmental activist and science broadcaster, and Stephen Lewis, politician, broadcaster and diplomat. It takes place April 28th at The Palais des Congrès de Montréal.
The CSU will give away the remaining tickets. ASFA will meet next week to decide whether to reimburse students who paid for their tickets.
NATO refuses to apologize for bombing
NATO is refusing to apologize for mistakenly bombing rebel tanks in eastern Libya. The air strike pounded the rebel forces near the port city Brega, killing at least four people and forcing the rebels to retreat.
On Friday, NATO rear admiral Russell Harding claimed that the coalition forces hadn’t been told that the rebels were operating tanks, which had previously only been used by pro-government forces.
The chaos of the friendly fire incident allowed troops loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to advance on the small but strategic town of Ajdabiya. The town helps protect the roads that lead to opposition headquarters in Benghazi and Tobruk near the Egyptian border. Thousands of civilians and fighters reportedly raced out of Ajdabiya after hearing the news of advancing government troops, some insulting NATO as they fled.
The attack further underscored a growing frustration between rebel fighters and the international coalition. According to an opposition spokesperson, an air strike hit rebel vehicles in the same region last week, killing at least 13 people.
Wanted: New Champlain Bridge
An online petition to replace the Champlain Bridge has been started by a network of mayors, businessmen and interest groups in the Montreal area.
Canada’s busiest bridge connects the island of Montreal to the South Shore. Recently reports have warned of the need to repair or replace the aging structure within the next ten years.
Due to its importance for many Montrealers, politicians of all stripes have made the bridge a top priority for the upcoming election with Premier Jean Charest naming it as his top wish for the election.
Recently liberal leader Michael Ignatieff promised a new bridge for the South Shore if the Liberals win the election.
Also earlier this year the Conservative government pledged $158 million towards repairing the bridge. The leaders of the petition say that talk is nice, but what the busy bridge and its over 60 million annual commuters need right now, is action.
Homeboy Sandman in The Limelight
This Saturday in the Limelight we'll be interviewing Homeboy Sandman from Queens NY. He released his third album The Good Sun last year which has gotten praise from Okayplayer and Hip Hop DX.
We had a chance to meet him at the CMJ Music Marathon & see him perform. We'll find out what he's been up to since then so be sure to tune in.
Limelight Saturdays 6pm to 8pm on CJLO 1690AM
April 7th 2011
Produced by Dominique Daoust and Melissa Mulligan
Stories by Jessica MacDonald and Alina Gotcherian
Metro replaces Star of David
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