FUTURE SHOCK electrocutes the Jazzhaus with Rocket Science + Previews

The Floozies' side-project, FUTURE SHOCK, gave the Jazzhaus the most intense show in months. The small venue has never been so packed with so many party people getting down to a fantastic set of funk. The crowd was so big that dancers were filling the walkways between tables leading up to the dance floor. The porch was overflowing with smokers, and the bar was swamped with people trying to get a drink. All for good reason, this show was too epic to miss.

The night started at 10 p.m. when Rocket Science opened up with a variety of remixes of some top dance tunes. The dynamic duo puts out great electronic beats, with bass-heavy mixes on the synthesizer and dancing rhythms from the drums. The crowd hadn't entirely shown up to appreciate the music yet, but it was a chill atmosphere for the people who were already hanging out.

The bar had filled up considerably by the time Matt and Mark Hill, the brothers who are The Floozies took the stage with the other members of FUTURE SHOCK, - Pat Adams on a second set of drums, Chris Shaw on bass and the legendary Gravy playing saxophone and keys. Everyone already familiar with this funky tribute to Herbie Hancock was pumped to hear more.

Before the first set was finished the dance floor was jammed with party animals getting groovy. The people hanging out were all so friendly and cool, it was a party of good vibes all around. The band has an impressive list of funky tunes that go smoothly from one to the next. Their songs have a familiar, well-practiced feel to them, like you're listening to an album of quintessential soulful funk. The party didn't stop until last call, and even then there were after-parties to keep raging at.

Between the great bands putting out awesome tunes, and the lovely, happy crowd, this was one of the best nights at the Jazzhaus in recent history. Don't miss FUTURE SHOCK next time!

Now For Previews:

Tonight Rocket Science is playing again, this time at the Bottleneck, opening for J. Wail. The one-man-act of J. Wail sounds like funky club music to create a scene rarely found in Kansas. J. Wail is stopping in Lawrence on his way from his home in Denver, Colorado to tour the east coast. This electronic show is sure to be a good time, so be there or be square.

Tuesday, the 13th, Minus the Bear, one of the best bands indie rock as to offer, will be at the Granada at 9 p.m. for $16-18 according to Lawrence.com. Listening to their album, these guys have a funky, experimental edge to their rock that makes it catchy and different, in a good way. This progressive indie rock group from Seattle is a rising star in the music scene, so it might be exciting to be able to say you saw them live, before they make it big and tickets start costing an arm and a leg.

Friday the 16th, Mouth will be playing at the Jazzhaus with Slippy Larue. Mouth always plays a great show, and the Jazzhaus is one of their favorite venues. This is a good time guaranteed.

Festy Fest is the best Saturday night

As the sun set on the second day of Festy Fest a fantastic lineup of bands came on both stages, providing continuous, rockin music all night. Lawrence's fourth annual Festy Fest music festival was the biggest yet, with great local bands and friends from other states came to play together for three days straight.

The open fields and forested path between stages were soft but comfortable after days of rain last week, with perfect weather all day Saturday for the outdoor festival. Despite the humidity a day earlier, there were no bugs, and a cool breeze to keep hot bodies from getting tired too early.

Mouth really got the crowd going on Stage 2 around 8:30 p.m. with funky, dance jams. The audience filled the tent with dancing bodies, and surrounded it with folks chillin on their blankets. The band had Evan Leitnaker adding extra percussion beats and rhythms to their own funky jam, making it a more intricate, exciting experience. The band finished a rockstar set just in time for the crowd to migrate back to Stage 1 for Mountain Sprout.

Unfortunately for Mountain Sprout, the sound technician working behind the scenes was messing up horribly. Despite the band's best efforts to put on a good show, playing many of their best songs with their signature wild energy, issues with the band's ability to hear themselves, and microphones cutting out made it difficult to get into the music. Fortunately it wasn't long before another awesome band would be playing on the second stage.

Sonic Sutra jammed with fierce passion on Stage 2, crowding the tent with pumped up music lovers getting groovy. The local minstrels played their hearts out to an audience that loves them, and made the night theirs for a while. Even so, the fans were eager to get back to Stage 1 in time for Split Lip Rayfield.

The punky bluegrass trio took the already-hyped crowd and blasted off with the energy. The band broke out some of their best hits, getting everyone cheering and dancing. Split Lip Rayfield always puts on a great show, and held the audience until the end of their set.

Soon after Split Lip was over, The Floozies got going on Stage 2. The Hill brothers rocked out, when their equipment was working, but once again sound guys were doing their worst. Right in the middle of great jams and funky dance tunes the synthesizer would suddenly go mute, as if the sound guy had simply unplugged the amps. Mark kept on with the drums for a time, to make up for the awkward silence, but there's nothing worse than an awesome song getting cut short.

Somasphere was up next with heavy, electronic drum and bass. The thumping, pumping beats make this band's shows a dance party. By this time of the night the audience was going full-throttle, and Somasphere rode with the energy, making the night feel endless.

Last, but not least Rocket Science came on, throwing down sick beats and rhythms for a dance party to get funky with. IDM, or Intelligent Dance Music is too clever and slick to resist getting down to. Everyone at the festival was still raging it throughout the set that started at 3:30 p.m.

Aside from the weak sound guys messing things up for some of the great bands' sets, Saturday night was an epic first taste of the festival season starting up.

Next week: Summer Camp Music Festival!

New "Venture" premieres at Fatso's + previews

Thursday night Fatso's usually has a DJ to entertain the drinkers crowding around the bar for $1.50 drinks, but last night was special; the bar got to host the first-ever performance of a conglomeration of excellent local musicians. Imagine a combination of brilliant talent on a variety of instruments to make a new, fierce, formidable jam band.

First there's the powerful beats of Mark Hill (of The Floozies) on drums. Then there's the bold funk of Garrett McKinzie (of G.E.M.) on bass guitar. These two have already played together in G.E.M., and took their familiarity and joined the others to make a strong, intricate, flowing jam. Leading with wicked solos and jam styling was Billy Wassung (lead guitarist and singer for Sonic Sutra) on guitar. Martin Farrell added to the jam's collective harmony with his keyboard. Meanwhile a saxophonist who drives to Lawrence from Osage to play shows with The Floozies and other bands joined in with a jazzy voice to complete this genius ensemble.

Starting around 10:30 p.m. the improv performance quickly drew listeners to fill up the dance floor with catchy, dance-able layers of exciting beats and clever melodies. The collection of musicians had a natural synchronized harmony that could only work with great jam artists.

The only downside to this whole show was the venue. Fatso's isn't normally the place for a hip, funky jam band to make it's first appearance. Although it was certainly crowded for the $1.50 drinks, the majority of the crowd didn't seem to be there for the music. You could practically draw a line in the floor separating the bar area, crammed full of polo-shirts and bleach-blond split ends, and the folks on the dance floor and smoking outside the wide-open entrance to the back patio, who knew the band members or just knew there was good live music at Fatso's that night. "Venture" would be far better off at any of the usual funk, jam hangouts like The Bottleneck or Jazzhaus.

It's been said that the band had jammed and practiced together before, but this was the first live performance of "Venture". Hopefully it is the first of many shows to come!

Now for previews:

Tonight, May 14th, Mouth and Calamity Cubes will be playing their Festy Fest Preview Party at Jazzhaus for $4. The doors open at 9 p.m., but the show probably won't get going until about 10. Anyone who likes funk and/or Americana should be there. It's also Stephen Gunn's birthday tonight, so come out and celebrate with the drummer from Mouth!

Also tonight; Labretta Suede and the Motel 6 will be playing with The Spook Lights. According to Lawrence.com Labretta Suede and the Motel 6 is a New Zealand rock group with a '50s influence. They will be playing with the best Lawrence has to offer of that style in The Spook Lights and their intricate, psychedelic rockabilly and surf rock. The Spook Lights always put on an amazing, energetic show that everyone needs to see. Doors open at 8 p.m. and it will cost between $6-8.

But if anyone is just not in a music mood, there are other fun things to do out on the town on a Friday night. This Friday, Liberty Hall is playing the film "Dazed and Confused" starting at 11:30 p.m. Watching this classic party-lovers' movie at the antique theater will cost $5. Fans of Free State Brewery can get a cup of delicious beer from Free State at the movie theater!

Tomorrow, Saturday, May 15th, Checkered Beat will be playing reggae and ska back at Jazzhaus. Same deal as tonight at Jazzhaus: the show starts at 10 p.m., $4 for a night of great music at a great venue.

Sunday, May 16th, Mo Marma, Rocket Science, and Jason Phoenix will be rocking out at the Jackpot, reminding everyone that school is over, and Sunday nights are just another night to party! Rocket Science - the brilliance that is the combination of Ian Dumpert's bass and Evan Leitnaker's beats - is a fantastic show on its own, but there's even more! Mo Marma is featuring great musicians - and this writer's good friends - Mark Hill, Trevor Stout, Garrett McKinzie and Kyle Aller. With Jason Phoenix opening with his DJ, techno styling, this show will make everyone rock out Sunday like it's still Friday. Show starts at 10 p.m. and it will cost $3 for people 21 and older, and $5 for the young 'uns. This show is 110% worth it! Be there!

Top 10 reasons you have to go to Festy Fest

Friday, May 21st through Sunday, the 23rd, Lawrence will be having the biggest, best music festival since Wakarusa packed up and moved to Arkansas. (1.) While still a small, intimate gathering, Festy Fest is sure to be bigger than any of it's first three years. The land outside of town where this two-stage event is being held is big enough to comfortably fit the 1200 music-lovers. (2.) The festival will be held in a beautiful stretch of land, less than twenty minutes away from town, where music lovers can camp out, or easily drive home - but no drinking and driving! According to the festival's website, GTI Taxicab service is available out there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's easy to find a nice, flat spot of land to park and pitch your tent, but if you'd rather enjoy the comforts of home between day-long music events, it's not a long or complicated drive to make.

(3.) The line up for this years festival is far epic in size and strength. There are 16 bands playing at Festy Fest that always put on fantastic shows. This writer's favorites are as follows in the order they will play at Festy Fest:
Deadman Flats
Calamity Cubes
The Ben Miller Band
Irietions
Great American Taxi
Cosmopolitics
Brody Buster
Mouth
Mountain Sprout
Sonic Sutra
Split Lip Rayfield
The Floozies
Somasphere
Rocket Science
Tyler Gregory & the Blues Shuffle
Carrie Nation & the Speakeasy
(4.) These bands, with about 23 other bands will play simultaneously or in shifts, on Stage 1 and Stage 2, guaranteeing good music at all times. Most every band listed to play is well-known, this writer just hasn't had the opportunity to see them all, and can't speak from personal experience. Festy Fest's website has links to all of the bands' websites. (5.) The music ranges from bluegrass to electronic, from jazzy, funky jams to punk, psychedelic rock and more. There's something for everyone. (6.) Festy Fest supports local bands, all the bands playing are either Lawrence-originals or friends who are playing to support music for life.

(7.) The creators of Festy Fest are in the process of launching a new website called bandorbar.com, which will help bands and bars/venues line up gigs together. The idea is to make it easier for bands to find bars they want to perform in, that are looking for bands to play there (and vice versa). According to the Festy Fest website, membership is free to any band or bar/venue that signs up before the site's launch. Every band member or bar employee reading this should take a look!

(8.) Supporting this festival means supporting local music, Lawrence, and the music scene at its roots. (9.) Festy Fest may be more expensive this year than ever before, but that's because the lineup is so star-studded, the set-up is ideal, in terms of space, stages, and location, and this is all still MUCH cheaper, closer to home, and jam-packed with good music than any other music festival in the Midwest. According to the Festy Fest website, a full-event pass costs between $75-85, a Friday pass costs $30, Saturday costs $45, and Sunday costs $35. Anyone most interested in the bands playing on one particular day, or with limited funds, can still come out for one day of awesome music, for hours on end, and have a grand time. But the 3 day pass is definitely the best value, with the ridiculous lineup of fantastic bands set to play non-stop, each day, all weekend. You can buy your tickets online through pipelineticketing or at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire Street in Lawrence.

(10.) School is over. It's summer now. Time to start celebrating! And what else are you going to do that weekend? There are virtually no other good shows going on that weekend, because everyone will be at Festy Fest. You should be there too!

Deadman Flatts makes the Granada into a humongous party, and Mouth and The Floozies fill the Jazzhaus to bursting point with people

I knew I would have a long, adventurous weekend, but I don't think I ever could have guessed how crazy it would be.
My friends and I had an easy time finding free tickets to the Deadman Flats show, they apparently were trying to have a virtually free show. But before that, those of us old enough, or equiped with fake IDs stopped at the Jazzhaus for a little time with Mouth. Everyone was there, and the music was superb.

Mouth is a local funky electronic jam band, that has the skills to pay the bills. Their leader, the bassist, rocks out on a really bad-ass looking black bass, and puts on a show of his own with his hot beats and righteous solos. Altogether the band put on a show that people couldn't stand still for, and it was a great warm-up for the rest of the night.

Around 11 my friends and I finally got our rears in gear to move on to the show at the Granada. Unfortunately we missed the opening bands, but we made it just in time for the main event.

Deadman Flats has an interesting style of bluegrass music that feels like it takes some cues from punk or something else that's fast and hard. The four-piece band is an all-star lineup of talent. Mandolin, banjo, guitar and stand-up bass give energy to an already energetic sound, making you want to jump and spin, head-bang and stomp.
A harmonica player from one of the opening bands came up and joined in for a couple of songs. It was a nice idea, but I could only hear him some times.
The crowd was already pretty pumped by the time I got there, it certainly felt nice getting in for free, I'm sure I'm not the only one that thought so.
The new New Belgium IPA, Ranger, was on sale at the Granada for the first time, for $3 a cup. It's worth it to get one, because this flavorful beer lasts you a while.
So many friendly faces were wandering the big venue for this show, it was hard to keep track of anyone I wanted to talk to, but by the last few songs most of us had gathered in the big open space around the right of the sound-control booth. There, we all danced and talked and had a few laughs, and it was pretty much one of those special moments you want to remember forever, where everyone was together, and happy, and having a great old time.
I look forward to the next time like that.

But wait, the adventure didn't end there!
Deadman Flats "ended" on a not-so-good-for-ending songs, because sure enough there was a huge demand for an encore, and they played more of teir classics afte that, which made everyone very happy.
But even after the encore, it was only 1:30, and sure enough, some of my crew was still up to rage it, and the Jazzhaus was still going.

The Floozies were on now at the Jazzhaus. Some friends had stayed there and enjoyed a fantastic show, but the only problem was, by the time we left the Jazzhaus the first time around 11, it was starting to feel crowded. Returning, the small venue was completely packed. The dance floor was a sardine can, the spaces between tables were jammed and the bar was utter chaos.
There were rumors that the Floozies sold out. I'm not so sure that that's exactly the case, but the Jazzhaus was easily WAY beyond capacity.
On our way from the Granada, my friend Nikki slipped on the ice, and caught herself on her arm. She seemed okay at the time, albeit in a lot of pain, but her arm and wrist looked fine. When we got to the Jazzhaus I immediately grabbed bartender's attention for some ice for her, but Nikki wandered toward the stage, because the music was just that good.
The Floozies are a local band, with members who have moved to Denver, Colorado, but they still remember where they came from, and show Lawrence love every once in a while. Some of the guys in the band are good friends of mine, so we always try to rage their shows and support them. Their music is a dance-y kind of electric rock that reminds me of STS9 in the way they start with one fantastic groove, switch to some crazy solos, or a special climax, before jumping right back to that familiar groove, with seamless precision.
Sadly, Nikki was feeling worse from her fall, so I escorted her home, where she got another ice-pack and hit the hay. It wasn't until the next day that she decided to got to the hospital and found out she broke her arm. The larger of the two bones in her forearm. She must be one tough lady to have broken it without crying. Respect.

So, the weekend ended, and I'm kind of relieved. It was fantastic of course, but I'm wiped out. Thank god I have Monday off work!

Now I've got one upcoming show that I know I'm already planning to go to:

This coming friday, the 26th, I hear Mountain Sprout is playing at the Bottleneck.

Tune in soon for more previews of all the great shows coming up within the next month!

Galactic funks up the Granada, while The Floozies and Future Shock jam at the Jazzhaus

My friday was long and crazy. After a full day at work, I visited some friends who live around the corner from the Granada, where Galactic was playing that night.
I arrived too late for the opener: Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, but I heard they were awesome.
Galactic took some time to get their sound checked, and to get out and play. BUT, once they were playing they raged it hard, and never slowed down.

The jazz-rock-jam band has a skilled drummer that keeps beats hot and dance-able, the guitarist has so many riffs and sick jams I could hardly believe it. Then there's the saxophone, which gives the band a special sound, like a particular, delicious flavor, that you just can't find in any other band.
For the performance in Lawrence there was also a Trombone playing rapper from New Orleans. I'm having trouble finding out who he is, but he led the band through the majority of their songs with limitless energy.
At one point not long into the band's set, the Trombone player climbed off the stage while still playing his trombone, walked across the venue, and climbed up onto one of the bars (The Granada boasts 4 bars during huge shows, with their main bar supported by bars on either side of the wide, open venue, and a bar on the upstairs balcony), and he just kept playing. It was insane.
The band's songs went through heavy grooves, funky melodies, and changed through a variety of sounds, from heavy, Rage Against The Machine rocking, to jazzy Miles Davis-esque solos, to party-style Rapping with the Trombone player leading the crowd; "Everybody say hell yeah!" and the crowd would roar back "Hell Yeah!"
The music went on forever, but when the band finished their encore at 1:30, my friends' show at the Jazzhaus was still going.

The vast majority of my friends were at Galactic, and out of all of them, I'd say about 80% came along to the Jazzhaus for the "aftershow".
I heard Future Shock was playing at the Jazzhaus, but I believe when I arrived they had traded some band members, so a few members of the Floozies were joined in. My friends from the Floozies played fantastically and the show was the perfect follow-up to Galactic's set.
Everyone used their second-wind or just kept the momentum from Galactic until The Jazzhaus was throwing us out.

Leaving the parking garage to go home, some friends pulled up next to me, telling me where the after-afterparty was. I went along and had a great time, playing bass, and meeting a few new people, while chilling with some friends I don't see enough.

The next night was almost as wild, and certainly more exhausting...