Thursday, June 28, 2012

Robert Randolph to Los Amigos Invisibles - Final Weekend at the Vogue Theatre


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


(by: Rainbow Robert - Manager of Artistic Programming TDVIJF & ED - Jazz Festivals Canada)

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