When the venue formally known as McGuffy’s reopened, the Dayton area was promised a more diverse and revolving number of acts and talent spanning all genres. Promise kept so far as on Saturday April 11th from the horn sections on stage to the people playing poi and the female painters by the bar, Oddbody’s couldn’t have had a more colorful array of visual/musical artistry. Rachel Shultz of Energy Frequency Vibration and Ashley Renea of www.anadono.com were also their painting the night away. Letting the music guide their brushes and imagination at times, cranking out several pieces by nights end.
As a new promotion Family Vibez Entertainment showed off a unique showcase of art and music, giving the crowd an idea of what’s to come for future shows.
Scott Lee and the Whiskey River Boys opened the show. Amassed in Troy in early 2013, the guys love to jam turning parties into all-nighter’s even battling the rising sun to keep going. The body hip and hop started early and was infectious from the stage to the crowd all night. It was five guys playing travelin’ man’s music with the southern country pride of Skynyrd and the style of Blues Traveler with classic rock elements. The flannel-clad ensemble played an impressive group of instruments including mandolin and keyboards along with traditional guitars.
They didn’t show up on hogs or in leather but the “Easyrider” got the first appearance. Townes Van Zandt stopped by with some bluesy swing and twang and some of Momma’s special cough syrup. Guaranteed to clear the sinuses… and work out the liver. “Johnny I Gotta Tell Ya” had a nice fluid Zepplin’ish flow.
It was a bit early in the previous evening for a “Mid-Morning Mellow Drama” but they figured they’d just get it done and played out now, depending on how much ‘cough syrup’ was consumed. Those country boys start early and keep’em coming till the rooster’s early call. They already done “Rejected the Standard Formula Blues” playing a tune about the Rosie hymned tales of the road, finishing with a song taking it home, all in the “Family.”
Magic Jackson has been entertaining crowds since 2008, filling the stage and venue ears with some of funk’s best grooves, rock and reggae, from the days of the originals. Giving crowd’s a contact buzz from the trippy, classical, atmospheric sounds from their instrument family. Trombone and saxophone also got the spotlight in the bar room bluesy space Oddbody’s.
MJ delivers addictive rocked up funk with street sense from the back alley to the main street electric avenue. Dedicated to music without compromise, the way they want it.
The set included the mellow smooth swagger of her royal highness the “Queen of Roses.” The frantic confrontational guitar scrambling’s and funk wonk of Red Hot Chili Peppers meets The Infectious Grooves on “Fight the Pimp.” Delivered was the low, sexy swagger of notes and strings on the lady killing “Meatfinger.” The darkly named “Buried Alive” beckoned for attention. “Electric Baby Circus” was finished by some heavy doses of “Psychobabble.”
Tropidelic opened with the smooth, strong bass lines of “New Age World Crisis,” the reggae based rap and roll began. “Look Forward” showcased the brass members of the family with cool, mellow vocals. “Freakstomp” had a ‘the Parliament is serious but still wants to party’ vibe. They played lively music addressing some dark subjects like living life under the bottle or the bar as an “Alcoholic” and scraping by, trying to survive in life and on the streets living in a “Police State.”
Their show and tunes are a creatively bizarre mixture of group style and the different musical blending pots of all eight members. Kinda like the Slipknot of funk, ska and rock but only one bleeding sugared silver skull drummer wore a mask while hammering the bongos. It was a cacophony of rap, hip-hop, classical brass and trombone bringing out a different kind of dance from the crowd.
Making the trek from ‘nearby’ Cleveland they have built a following supporting Slightly Stoopid, 311 and Sublime among others. Their newsworthy street performance was shut down last year and they received national attention when their rehearsal space was ransacked by police on a warrant for a previous tenant. Look for their full size school bus in your neighborhood soon and a new full length out later this year.
Akron’s Aliver Hall knows their way around the festival circuit and have taken a few trips around the country. Constant experimentation has evolved their sound into the addictive body moving grooves, riffs, vocal harmonies and other sounds you’ll hear. Touring has not kept them out of the studio recording 2011’s Welcome To Aliver Hall and 2012’s Chasing The Rain with a third album coming later this year.
They opened mixing some of their best ingredients together with the bluesy rocky jams of “Left Me Here.” “I Don’t Care” started with the trippy cascading sounds of rain coming out of the guitars with a weird vocal mix of The Cure meets Perry Farrell with some bluesy psychedelic tripping on the six string. They threw a dark spelled curveball conjuring up the “Black Magic Woman,” feared by some, loved by many. “Knew Without You” took that bass prog talk with the wah wah combining fast paced high pitched notes delivering an overall 60’s Rush vibe.
The “Numbing Glow” will mellow you out into a hazy shade of calm, just before it was time for “Rehab.” Music is the most powerful drug of all and the inspiration that compels it, says the guitars, going from moody notes to scatterbrain soloing.
New York’s Consider the Source brought its atmospheric blend of prog, space moving, dreamy music and soundscapes to the Dayton stage. Bringing the flavors and tastes of the Middle East, Native America and Egypt to southern Ohio playing Opeth length tunes with exquisite precession unlocking the true potential of what two connected guitars could sound like. Gabriel Marin pulls the hallowed cries of the slaves buried deep in the sands and the stories of conquest from the Pharaohs while channeling Jupiter, Neptune and the revolving cosmos, maybe even sending a message to the lost souls of Alderaan, with his nuclear-dynamic-fusion finger fretting.
The multi styled speeds of bassist John Ferrara showed attitude, intelligence and the deep voiced command of the stage. While the one man guitar tag team took turns playing intricate sparring matches with the bass, drummer Jeff Mann kept the pace and the peace.
The ten minute epic “Keep Your Pimp Hand Strong” started swimming in bass and aquatic atmosphere, within a minute building into a rock styled bass jam of Rush meets Frank Zappa. It takes talent with a pedal to make a guitar sound like a steamy saxophone, ending in a hard rock jam. The trio brought out the best of their instruments since their voices were not on display. They have won fans across the globe appealing to widespread multi-genre audiences, not always or usually intertwined together.
“Moisturize the Situation” started out with the sounds and heart of Arabia as Marin brought the snake charming sounds out of his double neck. Breaking out the jams in an almost impromptu fashion, making the strings talk to the bass in rapid fire bursts. Through the power of the pedals he turned the intricate electric twanger into a xylophone/pinball machine, in a two way game of one-upmanship.
They continued the musical three way till the guitars squealed out their last notes. Sometimes the coolest, most artistic statements can be made and said without words.
Images by
The artwork of Energy Frequency Vibration and Anadono
