the spirit music sextet. just a shor review.
anyone who was goes looking for meshell to perform "quinten mack", "soul record" or "free my heart" you will be disappointed.
and there were some who were expecting just that. there was nothing of the sort. everything was instrumental. dj jahi sundance opened. he spun some great joints as he usually does. she planted herself in the back of the stage and played some tight ass bass. that was all. as she stated "this is what i do now", and giving her the chance to really show off the bass skills.
Great music with a lot of internaitonal flavor.
chris dave was just amazing as usual. finally got the chance to see Oliver Lake live. everyone on the stage did their thing and did it well. it was great seeing music stands and sheet music.
you have to have an open mind and go hear some great music.
the blue note is a little pricy..so be prepared.

She really seems to be in a good place musically. cannot wait to see what is next.

btw: kt..your son..he is adorable. he really seemed to enjoy the show.

meshell, bass
Ron Blake, tenor sax
Oliver Lake, sax
Michael Caine, piano
Chris Dave, drums
Peck Allmond, trumpet and other things i can't name
DJ Jahi Sundance, turntables

thanks for the review i wish i could've been there...

nymakeda,

Thanks for this posting. I caught both shows last night (23rd), and they were both top notch.

It was a ball to just groove along to meshell and chris.

meshell was laying down some of the reggae inspired lines, gettin busy w. some funk....

But the most enjoyable thing was listening to her virtually endless creativity with the many little bass trills, ornamentations and rhythmic variations that propel her bass playing into another world!!!!

These shows were enormously satisfying.

As i was leavin, i heard of others that were troubled by the lack of music they had come love meshell for....oh well...(it was the blue note)
.
this stuff was 100% consistent with what i was expectin

..Beautiful Music.

Thanks to all for helping pull these shows off.

Glad you enjoyed the shows as much as I did.
People have to realize that she is a musician first. Yes, i too could have grooved to her and Chris all night. I think I saw a little smoke coming from the bass and drums after the show
she was just having a ball.. well worth the loot.

coool...Thanks for the reviews ya'll...

Man i wish i coulda gone up there to catch it myDAMNself!

Beautiful music...lookin forward to that indeed.

When she hits Richmond in July there will be some folks there who will be experiencing Live Meshell for the first time. Since i've already let them hear some of the live stuff she's done in the past with her regular band, I'm lettin these folks know up front that THIS stop will likely be an instrumental Jazz set... so they should maybe come in expecting a different vibe. No less satisfying i'm sure, but different than the stuff they may have heard from the samples of Meshell shows they've listened to in the past.

frankly, i don't care which band shows up here really...I'm just looking forward to having her play only like 7 or 8 minutes away from my front door

So, i'm so curious about the new Spirit Music compositions themselves...what's it all like? 'Beautuful' is the word that's seems to be being used...so is it mellow and groovy like...are there explosive parts? Does it sound like anything you've heard bef...ahhh..ah... ya know what?...never mind...

i guess i should probably just wait and see for myself right?

I'm impatient as hell when it comes to hearin stuff...

anyway...i always said that some of my most favorite parts of her shows were when she straps on the Bass and just gets all intertwined with the groove...when that happens, the subtle 'sub grooves' that get going and are created on the spot are so satisfying and fun for me to hear develop...right there 'in' the moment. Plus she always seems to enjoy herself so much when she's doin that, and its infectious...

so tell me now, the new stuff...is it...

ahh just kiddin...

i can wait...

really i can...

i guess...

but don't let that stop anyone from spillin more details though, if ya wanna

derek you are too funny!
well i will give you some tidbits to hold you over.
the compositions really did incorporate all forms of music. i personally heard 70's soul, bebop, fusion, funk, latin and middle eastern sounds. the most explosive parts were the horns. the only solos were by keys and horns. there were no bass or drum "solos". this may change the more they play the tunes. she was in the mode of holding down the groove. her and chris locked it down. they did cover an Oliver Lake tune, the name of it escapes me at the moment.
this was not a meshell performance but an ensemble performance.
happy you get the chance to see the show. i know you will dig it.

quote:

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Originally posted by nymakeda:

well i will give you some tidbits to hold you over.
the compositions really did incorporate all forms of music. i personally heard 70's soul, bebop, fusion, funk, latin and middle eastern sounds. the most explosive parts were the horns. the only solos were by keys and horns. there were no bass or drum "solos". this may change the more they play the tunes. she was in the mode of holding down the groove. her and chris locked it down. they did cover an Oliver Lake tune, the name of it escapes me at the moment.
this was not a meshell performance but an ensemble performance.
happy you get the chance to see the show. i know you will dig it.

---

There was an Oliver Lake tune called Heavy Spirits, i believe. Also, an energetic litttle jam, as of yet untitled, by Blake...

This night was a highlight of the many meshel gigs i've been to. The band played very well. I think i'll be in VA just to see how this thing has matured/mutated by then.

We are in a good place.

thanks ya'll...that'll tide me over till then...lookin forward to it indeed!