You could smell the funk last night; the funk, the soul, the spirit of New Orleans, right here in Boston. Galactic made their first stop on their YA-KA-MAY tour at the Paradise Rock Club, bringing groovy beats, rich with distinct Louisiana sounds - a fusion of jazz and funk and blues and hip-hop. The flavorful elements of Galactic consist of Stanton Moore (drums), Robert Mercurio (bass), Ben Ellman (saxophone, harmonica), Richard Vogel (keyboard) and Jeff Raines (guitar). On stage, this brilliant quintet featured stand-out trombonist, Corey Henry and legendary New Orleans vocalist and percussionist, Cyril Neville. Together, they kicked it up a notch, transforming the Paradise to the French Quarter.
Eric Gaudette, of Boston, had a tough time ranking this performance saying, "The Galactic show from last night is waging a holy war between Victor Wooten and Family at the Berklee Performance Center and Zappa Plays Zappa (with Vai) at the Orpheum, both of which had been tied for my personal best show ever. The band itself was communicating with each other on a very intense level. The solos were extremely conversational, and at times almost palindromic. Galactic is not just a bunch of great musicians but a bunch of great performers. It is beyond evident that each person is extremely passionate about music and about giving their audience the best show they possibly can. I simply can't say enough about what an amazing concert that was last night."
Eric’s friend, Michael Flanagan, also from Boston, had his mind blown by last night’s show adding, “This was my third time seeing them live. I first heard of them (and subsequently saw them first) while they were promoting their hip hop album, From the Corner to the Block. Now that they're back to playing funk, they're better than ever live. The guest trombonist, Corey Henry, did a fantastic job of keeping a hip hop element to the show (with the second set sounding closer to From the Corner to the Block), as well as filling out the horn section for the funk tracks. It was also a huge treat to see Cyril Neville, who knocked the new single "Dark Water" out of the park. Galactic is an incredibly tight band, who always bring their “A” game, and last night was a perfect example of that.”
There was good mix of people in the crowd, like Margaret from Connecticut, who was in town visiting her son. She recently drove cross-country, listening to Galactic along the way. Their tunes now reside in her iPod and this was a show she could not miss. Another couple from the area, lived in Baton Rouge for a year and fell in love with Cajan music. They find the jam band/improve style of Galactic irresistible. One of them expressed, “They are terrific musicians. I love the vibe that they get going together. And of course, we’re long time Neville Brothers fans, so we always show up whenever they are jammin’ with anyone else.” Brian, another Bostonian, was there simply “to support Galactic, because they’ve had tough times in New Orleans and it’s good to see them back in Boston.”
Galactic’s new album, YA-KA-MAY is available on Tuesday. “Who dat!?”
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