The Fritz Presents: Jacko and Taffy!
Asheville’s pure funk machine The Fritz invaded Charleston Pour House Friday night (May 25th) and returned home Saturday for special shows featuring a set of their own music and a second set of the music of Michael Jackson and Prince, billed as The Fritz Presents: The King of Pop Meets the Purple One.
[The British press have always been remarkably irreverent, delightfully so. They love creating nicknames for popular musicians. Michael Jackson was dubbed Jacko, distinctly pronounced Jack-O. And then there was Prince, who went through that process of referring to himself as a symbol. The US press abbreviated The Artist Formerly Known As Prince TAFKAP; of course the Brits labelled him Taffy!]
This was our first visit to The Pour House, and the vibe was perfect, inside and out.
To our delight, we saw that Aaron Lebos Reality, a brilliant fusion trio, was playing on the outside deck before The Fritz funked up the inside room at The Pour House. We were fortunate enough to catch two of their three sets. Lebos is a superb string-bender, playing grooves simultaneously danceable and mind-blowing.
His rhythm section mates were equal to the task, driving the deep grooves both sets. Andres Ferret played bass, and Armando Lopez of Electric Kif was on drums. This was the last night of a five-date run through Jacksonville, Nashville, Knoxville, Asheville, and finally Charleston.
Then it was Fritz time indoors. Donna had said what I was thinking, hoping they would also play their own great originals. After blasting off with a smoking intro, front man Jamar Woods said (and I’m paraphrasing here), “We’re excited to bring you the music of Michael Jackson and Prince, but first we’ve got to do us!” Hell, yes!
And, with that, they offered a great “Oppenheim.” Bassist Jake O’Connor was absent due to a death in the family. In his stead was ?, playing synth bass, and you would never have known he wasn’t a regular part of the band.
Next, a long, sinewy keyboard intro led into a massive version of Donna’s favorite, “Stuck in Between.” The packed dance floor throbbed with excitement as the quintet blew this one up and matched the intensity on “Casual Mistakes.” Woods is perhaps the most charismatic front man I’ve ever witnessed, and he was in control behind his keyboard command module. The monster first set finished with “Undertow,” like several others from the band’s release last fall, Natural Mind.
The excitement in the air was palpable as the boys returned to the stage for the tribute set, opening with a huge “1999” to great approval. Somewhere in the jam, they teased “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough.” Sure enough, that was the second tune of the set, the dance party totally lit. “Let’s Go Crazy” sounded like an invitation, and “Controversy” was simply incredible.
Then it was MJ time, with a killer sweep through “Remember the Time,” “Bad,” and “Billie Jean,” which featured Mike on drums and Mikey Spice on percussion for a tremendous outing. And they brought the house down with “Smooth Criminal.” Unbelievable — except we were there!
Naturally, we weren’t letting them go without an encore. “Purple Rain” was the obvious crowd favorite, lovingly delivered, and then that yielded to — yes, indeed — the brilliant finale of “Another Way,” Jamie Hendrickson shredding with abandon. What a spectacular band! What an incredible night!
And more great news — The Fritz decided not to make this a two-off, as they will repeat this wonderful tribute four more times (the first of those is tonight, June 6th, in Denver). Seriously, don’t miss The Fritz EVER, but especially not for this tribute!
The Fritz Presents The King of Pop Meets The Purple One
06/06 Larimer Lounge | Denver CO
06/27 MilkBoy | Philadelphia PA
06/30 The Pour House Music Hall | Raleigh NC
07/28 1904 Music Hall | Jacksonville FL
The Fritz
06/07 Lazy Dog | Boulder CO
06/08 Lander Brewfest | Lander WY
06/09 Old Town Pub | Steamboat Springs CO
06/10 Ullrs Tavern | Winter Park CO
06/15 The Whiskey | Wilmington NC
06/16 The Whiskey | Wilmington NC
06/23 Shepherdstown Street Fest | Shepherdstown WV
06/28 Mercury Lounge | New York NY
06/29 The 8×10 | Baltimore MD
07/20 Nightfall Concert Series | Chattanooga TN
07/27 Aisle 5 | Atlanta GA
08/17 Downtown After Five | Asheville NC