Robert Randolph & The Family Band +
Los Amigos Invisibles and Basketball
Some Old School Gospel Blues, a Venezuelan
Journey Into Space and a Taste of Some Stellar "Out" World Music from
Vancouver - A Full Palate of Possibilities for the Upcoming
Weekend with our two final nights at the Vogue Theatre.
For those seeking a real deal gospel,
blues immersion experience, Robert Randolph’s June 30th show at the Vogue
Theatre is going to be a pedal steel revelation.
Randolph’s new album We Walk This
Road was produced by T Bone Burnett just after he wrapped up the last
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant record. One of the cool things about this album
is that T Bone hauled out a bunch of tunes from the 20’s and 30’s to inspire
the recording sessions. This heavy vintage material served to inform the
creative process for the new album, solidifying the link between the music
being created, and the rich history of blues, gospel and rock that paved the
way.
The album is fantastic, but truth be told, it is the
live experience that people are looking forward to most. Randolph is well known
for putting on a killer show, having toured with the likes of the Roots and Pharrell. This is music for your
soul, songs that bring the history and future of music into clear new
perspective. Those who are fortunate enough to be in the room for their Vogue
show should prepare to be reached in a very deep way.
Robert Randolph - Going in the Right Direction
If you are in the mood for a Venezuelan disco, funk,
acid jazz freakout - Los Amigos Invisibles are coming to the Vogue Theatre on
Sunday July 1. Los Amigos tours have been spanning the globe since the mid
90's, the band is well known internationally for their positively explosive
stage presence. Perhaps a little bit of background info on the band will help
to whet your appetite for a heavy latin music hit that will be truly
unique.
Los Amigos Invisibles - Ponerte en Cuatro
Ok, here we go: Los Amigos were signed to David
Byrne's Luka Bop label in 1996 releasing the album Arepa 3000: A
Venezuelan Journey Into Space. Great album title, sounds quite
Sun Ra inspired, which is always cool. This planet is plenty big enough for as
many Sun Ra inspired ideas as possible, in my opinion. After their first
release on Luka Bop they made the wise choice of starting their own record label,
Gozadera Records, and realized their sophomore album Chill Out Venezuela.
In 2009 they released their breakout album entitled Commercial, the
title for the album was a tongue in cheek reference to their earlier material
which was considered to be less globally accessible. Surprise surprise, the Commercial
album won a grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. Following the grammy win,
they released an album of out takes called Not So Commercial
which was nominated for Best Latin, Pop, Rock or Urban album. For some reason
the Not So Commercial album didn't win the award, shocker! The Not
So Commercial album was clearly way cooler, and for what it lacked in
critical acclaim, it easily made up for with amazing live shows gaining rave
reviews from audiences around the world.
Los
Amigos Invisibles - Cuchi Cuchi:
Vancouver band Basketball will be sharing the bill
with Los Amigos at the Vogue, which is a pretty good fit given the fact that
their album Suspiros de Chile also draws inspiration from South
America. The band provides the following insight into the vision for the
release, "Basketball continues their climb up the mountain of
ancestral resonance through the jungles of South American cadence. Suspiros
de Chile, inspired by the catastrophic earthquake in Chile in February
2010, celebrates the strength and prowess of peoples devastated by natural
forces".
Basketball - Andika
Basketball puts on some of the deepest, warped out,
unclassifiable, lights flashing, beat laden shows in town. Last time I saw them
they were sharing the bill with Omar Souleyman, by the time Basketball had
finished their set the audience was a grinning sweaty huddled mess, who
miraculously managed rally enough energy to dance their brains out yet again
when Omar Souleyman hit the stage, speaking of the prowess of people devastated
by natural forces!
Seriously, Basketball are so damn happening that Andy
Dixon has even remixed one of their tracks, check out the link below.
Basketball - Andika (Andy Dixon Remix) feat. Slim Thug
