They Made Me Write About The Reality… Again!
I swore — SWORE — I wasn’t going to write about this show. My cup (of articles I need to write) runneth over. Deliberately didn’t take a notebook. I’ve written plenty about The Reality. You already probably think I’m a paid hack.
But then the perfect storm brewed, the perfect confluence of events which would make me scream UNCLE and put pen to paper (well, figuratively) about this show. The elements of the storm, you ask? One, it’s The Reality. Two, it was at Dunedin Brewery (Thursday, July 12th) a truly magical place. Three, sound engineer Chris Fama outdid himself, absolutely perfect sound (and I’m the chronic complainer). Four, archivist photographer Chuck Smalling was in the house. Five, it was tough to ignore the packed dance floor. Six, Josh Kim is now a regular member of the group. And seven, what a delicious mix of band originals and totally sick funk medleys they threw at us!
That about covers it, I think. The band has perfected their maniacal amalgam of funk, rock, blues, reggae, R&B, and silliness, but I confess keyboard player Josh Kim is the icing on this delectable cake. His facial expressions and enthusiasm are so great it almost wouldn’t matter if he wasn’t plugged in. But he IS! Lots of organ and synths with a touch of electric piano adds the perfect touch to the band’s sound.
Of course the ginger-fro’ed Dan Jones stands tall as the focal point (he was, however, properly chastised for wearing jeans — jeans!). He is a great singer with some great vocal quirks he employs very effectively, and his guitar work is truly impressive. But that trombone! Seems like a gimmick, but it’s definitely not. The boy’s got skills.
Meanwhile, Caleb Bone is a fabulous bass player. Perhaps Reason Eight is because, in the intimate confines of Dunedin Brewery, you can hear everything each band member is doing. Most impressive night for me from Bone, and his vocal talents, primarily as a backing singer, are simply stunning.
Drummer Brian BA Jones provides the perfect backbeat to propel each and every genre of music the band tramples on, and he too is a fine singer. Heck, Kim sings as well. There are times that all four are singing up a storm. And Josh Haley, who plays with the band occasionally, sat in on guitar for much of the second set. He is a superb guitarist and adds extra oomph to the band when he’s in the house.
They played songs from all three of their albums — Rhetoric, Car Trouble, and Politically Uncorrect — and they get excellent response from those. Then there are the funk classics they throw out to great delight. “Shake Your Booty,” “Jungle Boogie” and “I Will Survive” are just plain fun, but the medleys are what send this over the top. “Superstition > Play That Funky Music > Superstition > Play That Funky Music” was a blast. Now consider this monster: “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) > Funky Town > I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) > Funky Town > The Changeling > Mustang Sally > I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do).”
See what you went and made me do?
[SET 1: Scooch On Over, Deserve the Lovin’ > Sirens > Deserve the Lovin’, Fat Fanny Pack, Shake Your Booty, Set Her Free, Fly, Perfect People, Pineapple Salsa, Superstition > Play That Funky Music > Superstition > Play That Funky Music, Medium Tempo, You Ain’t Her Man, Can’t Stop, Julia; SET 2: Final Countdown tease > She’s Too High, Back Pocket, Annie, Here, All My Time#, Sweet Tooth#, I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)# > Funky Town# > I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)# > Funky Town# > The Changeling > Mustang Sally# > I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)#, End Is Near#, Bad For You#, Jungle Boogie, Really Don’t Care; SET 3: Get Funky, I Can Dig It > I Will Survive, Wait For The Moment , Dancin’ In D; Encore:1612]
# w/ Josh Haley
