hey all,
BACK from Chicago, and once again I am in complete awe
of that city's vibe, culture and electricity. Even on
a piss poor weekend with rain and not much happening,
things were great. Every time I go, I find better and
better things about it.
After rumblin down on the train Friday, a buddy and I
headed over to a friend's in Wicker Park. Grabbed some
grub at that new Stevie B's BBQ joint on Ashland and
Blackhawk (which is damn good, meat fallin off the
bone, cornbread crumblin) --- then we jetted over to
Rosa's to catch Melvin Taylor, one of the
up-and-coming great blues guitarists around. The rain
dampened the crowd but Melvin was on fire, bouncin
around from blues to funk covers to a little bit of
rock n roll. Great show largely overlooked.
Saturday was a day dedicated to diggin for music.
Started off after breakfast at Dusty Groove, which
never lets you down. Then treked over to Grammaphone
and ended with a long walk in the rain to get to
Reckless.
But it all was worth it... Among the finds:
*** Stereo MCs, "DJ Kicks" (K7). In my mind, the best
DJ Kicks I've heard narrowly beating out Kid Loco's.
Somebody had mentioned this a while back. Brilliant
mix of hip hop from Kool G Rap, Hiero, Divine Styler
blended with soul, funk, beats -- whatever! My fav:
Ultramagnetic MCs "Poppa Large" into The Disco Four's
"Do It, Do It."
*** Kenny Dope, "Strange Games and Funky Things III"
(BBE). Haven't seen this one talked about too much.
Great three-disc set from one half of Masters at Work
and BBE. Third disc is a mix, rest is straight
compilation. Included is Roy Ayers, Leon Haywood,
Rufus & Chaka, Barry White. Dusty Groove was sellin it
for $17 bucks, so I couldn't pass it up --- even
though some of the songs are the typical.
*** Rae & Christian, "Blazing the Crop" (Mixmag). I've
been a big fan of these Manchester boys since I picked
up Northern Sulphric Soul -- which was really
hit-and-miss. Here they're remixing from a lot of
Grand Central's own stable, along with tracks from
Beanfield, Deadbeats, Mr. Scruff. I think the disc is
hella eclectic -- ranging from hip hop and soul to
some straight downtempo and rock influences.
*** 4th Pyramid, "The Light Is But The Shade of the
Darkness" (indy). 4th Pyramid is a Toronto cat who is
destined to sign a deal. Copped an MP3 of this guy's
from Rebirth Magazine site a while back and loved it.
Gramaphone had this on the wall for $10. And the
album doesn't disappoint. Intricately layered
downtempo breaks marked by heavy jazz influences. For
those of you in Chicago, don't pass up on this bedroom
soundtrack. For those of you who aren't, check his
site: http://www.mp3.com/4thPyramid
*** Silent Poets, "To Come . . ." (Yellow). I'm truly
glad I finally tracked this down at Reckless. Fell
immediately in love with the cool mellow sounds that
snake from the speakers. Strings, keys, filtered
beats, low sweet rumblings from the likes of Roba of
Attica Blues, Kirsty Hawkshaw. Ursula Rucker blesses
the last track. My only complaint: the Anomolies, who
are on two tracks, are fuckin stupid! Other than that,
superb.
*** Blackalicious, "Deception (single)" (MoWax).
Couldn't pass up the chance to have Turmoil and
Redemption on CD. One question, when is Kut Masta Kurt
going to work on an album? Every song I've heard him
do has been bangin!
Sooooo, after diggin in the crates, we all headed back
to the crib then out to The Blue Note in Wicker for a
night of acid jazz.
Peking Turtle, a group which includes the singer from
Sumo, was headlining. Another local collective, Oucho
Sparks, opened up. The Note was packed and stayed open
until 4 a.m. Oucho really impressed me with their
willingness to stretch boundaries. Talked with their
bassist afterwards and copped a free CD. Peking
definitely had the crowd from jump -- especially after
spinnin Ozomatli disc while setting up (I was
surprised how many Chicago folks in the crowd had
never heard of Ozo). Once they took the stage it was
all butter. Energetic, professional and funky as hell!
During the second set they brought up the trombonist
from Liquid Soul.
All around, another exceptional trip to the City. Now
I just have to figure out how to get back down next
weekend for the Roy Ayers-Liquid Soul show; Ozo with
Ben Harper, Dave Matthews; and all the OTHER shit
happenin!
peace,
-B-
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Jun 26 2000 - 17:41:39 MET DST