Monday, October 25, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
JJ Grey and Mofro Headliners Louisville KY 10/15
On a beautiful October Friday night JJ Grey and his band-mates Mofro brought their funky brand of southern fried front porch soul to Headliners Music Hall in Louisville KY. JJ's second release for Alligator Records, Georgia Warhorse, is a solid offering, showing off the various styles that have earned this band a very loyal fan base. This show featured five songs from the new CD, it's always interesting when a band tries to merge old and new songs together.
For the uninitiated, JJ Grey and Mofro are a hard band to categorize, part Jam Band, part Blues Band, part James Brown meets George Clinton with a killer horn section funk and soul revue type of thing.
It didn't take long to see how the new songs would translate live. The opening number "The hottest spot in hell" was given the full throttle treatment that somehow seems lacking on the CD. As my friend said "I cant believe the difference between these guys live and the CD". The very funky "Dirt Floor Cracker" followed. It seemed obvious the party was on and old and new material could meld seamlessly together.
When people compare JJ's singing style to Otis Redding, it's easy to write it off as hyperbole. Anyone that heard " A Woman" on this night would understand this is simply not the case. Half the battle is simply getting your audience to believe you're passionate about that which you sing, and this is where JJ excels. "You guys came ready tonight", he said to an enthusiastic crowd, who then responded by singing along with the chorus on several occasions.
The Hercules Horns generally provide a powerful punch to Mofro's shows, and this night was no exception. There were stellar solos on "Orange Blossoms", "Everything Good is Bad" and the fan favorite "Ho Cakes". "Georgia Warhorse" the title song from the new CD, was as low down dirty blues as it gets. The encore consisted of two songs "King Hummingbird" (again off the new CD), which is probably better left to JJ's solo acoustic sets than a club setting, and another funky fan favorite "On Fire".
If you like all things southern fried, with healthy side portions of Stax inspired (not ripped off) soul, and some funky horns for a sweaty good time, go see these guys live. As another person in our group said "They're fun".
The problem with uncategorizable bands is, no matter how passionate and talented, the record companies don't ever seem to know how to market them to their appropriate audience, so breaking out to a mainstream audience is very difficult. Meanwhile the Justin Biever's and Jonas Brothers of the world get rich, while talented bands like JJ Grey and Mofro are relegated to sweating out a living on the road touring relentlessly. Somehow I get the impression JJ and his band mates don't really mind. As JJ would say... "ba bap a lam bap a lam...on fire...."
