The Royal Family Ball, 10/2/10, Terminal 5, NYC

Royal Family Ball, 10/2/10, Terminal 5, NYC
Soulive, Lettuce, Nigel Hall and special guests John Scofield, Talib Kweli, Big Sam, Christian Scott, Maurice Brown, & The Shady Horns, + many more (To be honest with you- I lost count.)
Ha ha, ball!

Only a special occasion would get me to set foot (feet) inside Terminal 5 again. There's very little I like about the venue. Horrible sight-lines inside a generically industrial building with atrocious sound and the eery feeling you're standing in a death-trap. That said, when Mark texted me to go see the Royal Family Ball last week, a great lineup and good friends weren't enough to win me over. However, the words "all access" were. Perhaps I just needed to experience Terminal 5 like an Important Person rather than Some Regular Douchebag.

But first, dinner. And if you're out of the way over yonder in midtown West, that's reason enough to get some dinner at Daisy May's BBQ. Mark and I enjoyed our feast on the front counter.

from North to South: pulled pork sammich, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, pulled chicken sammich, sweet tea.

Then we headed over to Terminal 5 where we were made to stand on line with The Normies / Regular Douchebags (GASPS)! What is this? "Very Important People don't stand on lines, Mark."

The music started really early and we missed Nigel Hall's set for BBQ- a way good cause (did I mention the mac & cheese?). He would undoubtedly be jumping onstage throughout the night, so that eased the sads.

When we walked in, Terminal 5 was pretty packed and Lettuce already had the place getting DOWN. John Scofield came out and jammed for a few songs. Nigel Hall & Talib Kweli also came out and got the crowd nice and riled up.



Some drunk chick was raging-psyched and decided to explain to me (unsolicited) that "This is awesome and Soulive aren't anything like a stupid jerkface jamband and shouldn't be associated with that kind of shit^." I politely disagreed and decided not to point out that the band onstage at that moment was actually Lettuce. It's funnier that way. It was time to relocate.

Please note, the only reason I *did* get to see (most of) the stage for this set was because we were upstairs, adjacent to the stage, holding the black curtains open so we could watch. It was a pretty cool view, but who wants to hold a 70 foot velvet curtain back for 3 hours? Certainly not an Important Person like myself.

I couldn't see OVER, so I tried to see UNDER.
No, I had better things to do- namely, drink tequila out of thimble sized florescent orange shot glasses and wait for the perfect moment to snag an empty spot on the rail for the Soulive set. I've been to Soulive shows where I can't see the band and it's upsetting/traumatic. As it happens, Soulive hit the stage and *YOINK*. Spot secured. It was that easy. Great view too, but right next to the floating speaker stack. Sacrifices. Around the 3rd song my ear filters went in. Love those things!






Soulive played 3 or 4 songs off the Rubber Soulive record before inviting the extended Royal Family onstage for the rest of the night. The lineup was quickly switching off and basically starred everyone listed on the poster at one point or another. The size of the horn section fluctuated per song, sometimes 3, sometimes 7. At all times were they great. John Scofield took the reigns on a few solos and Nigel Hall rocked the vocals. It was a brilliant stage full of music.




And then Soulive invited another special guest onstage-- Warren Haynes, for Under A Bad Sign. Warren totally fucking shredded it while he and Nigel Hall split the vocals. It was a magnificent bluesy punch to the gut. Now that's a fucking cameo!




They completed the night with a James Brown medley, starring Nigel Hall, who took it over the edge and whipped the crowd into an absolute frenzy. Well done, Sir!





The typical Terminal 5 breakdown: shitty sight-lines, overpriced drinks, dodgy/uneven sound around the room, black lights in the bathroom (why?). There's apparently a roof deck now, but I didn't check it out. As far as having an All Access pass went, it was easier to move around and I can guarantee you it was the only reason I got to see any musicians with my own eyes. Also, the coat-check girl was kind of a @#%$ and I witnessed that without even having a coat to check. If I were a more judgemental person, I'd probably venture to guess that if I wore that much red lipstick and cut myself for fun, I'd probably have a shitty attitude too.

I have seen Soulive go from one of their very first shows in 1999, at a memorably sticky-floored sold out Club Metronome in Burlington, VT ($3 cover?), to being the heart and soul of this giant crazy night of music- The Royal Family Ball, 11+ years later. They've built an Empire and it fucking rocks! Though, sometimes I really miss the suits and short hair. Holla.

The Royal Family Ball: Soulive, Lettuce, Nigel Hall and special guests John Scofield, Talib Kweli, Big Sam, Christian Scott, Maurice Brown, & The Shady Horns + etc., etc., etc., 10/2/10, T5 (still bleah), NYC: 7.5^^ HUZZAHS!




Royal Family Records has some great footage up here: http://www.royalfamilyrecords.com/news/post/royal-family-ball-thank-you


SETLISTS (thanks, jambands.com!)

LETTUCE:
Blast Off
Sam Huff
Last Suppitt
King of the Bergs
Move Somethin w/ Talib Kweli
The Blast w/ Talib Kweli
Get By w/ Talib Kweli
Break Out
Relax
The Flu w/ John Scofield
Move On Up w/ John Scofield
Makin My Way Back Home

SOULIVE
Come Together
Something In The Way
Eleanor Rigby
I Want You
El Ron
What You See Is What You Get w/ John Scofield
Hottentot – w/ John Scofield
Born Under a Bad Sign w/ John Scofield, Warren Haynes
Do The 2
Too Much
James Brown Medley w/ John Scofield

SLIDESHOW AND HI-RES GALLERY!



^ Approximation.
^^ T5 deductions.

bowlive, 3/9/10, brooklyn bowl, nyc

bowlive, 3/9/10, brooklyn bowl, nyc


Super-crunched for blogging-time and well-behind schedule... Thusly, I once again turn to haiku!
soulive in brooklyn,
on night 6, guests included:
charlie & kofi.




playing beatles songs,
their new album, they rocked it.
rubber soulive, son.






the horn section too,
tied it all in a big bow.
laying down the groove.



sound glitches be damned!
neal evans is smokin' hot.
approx. 8* HUZZAAAHS!


Also, I bought a hoodie.

DL THE SHOW (taped by Pat Kelly-- thanks, Pat!): http://www.archive.org/details/sl2010-03-09.at825.flac16



* because 8 is one syllable.

soulive, 8/13/06, rocks off boat cruise, hudson river, new york city

okay, let me just start off right now with a disclaimer: i don't think i'm too good on boats. i've really only spent an extended period of time on a boat a couple of times. 1 being a seapods booze cruise on lake champlain in '99 in which i was medicated by a special brownie that kicked my ass and can't really remember much of the afternoon... except chopping off d-mighty's arm with a light saber. and at 2am in the monopole asking people around me if they still felt like they were on the boat... "everything keeps going up and down..." and the 2nd being my fake-brother's wedding rehearsal dinner, in which i accidentally ate an "edible" flower that was in my salad (motherfuckers), turned green, and had to take a benedryl and be escorted back to the hotel... missing a no doubt incredible evening at the 3 needs and filling myself up with crack-beer like the good ol' days. it is this fear of boats that has kept me off of things like jamcruise or moe.cruise... but i digress.

soulive, 8/13/06, rocks off boat cruise, hudson river, new york city

perhaps this boat ride would be different. or not.

we grabbed some grub and although i didn't intend to drink at all, i am just a fool for the cowgirl's margaritas. i mean they serve them in a mason jar for fuck's sake. UNCLE. we headed up to the dock and in full out preparation, i needed a medicating puff. strictly medicinal (see above disclaimer). and lemme tellya, it might have been the only thing that kept my shit together. we finally left shore and started heading towards the statue of liberty as the sun set. it was really pretty... but the boat was pretty claustrophobic. ugh. and again, i wasn't gonna drink, but at this point it was necessary. i was already second guessing my total committment to seeing this gig.

the band finally started up and they sounded okay. they were set up downstairs underneath the overhang of the 2nd floor. which actually blew cuz i couldn't even stare at alan banging away. they should really either move the band out into the open 5 feet or so, or just destroy the balcony that hangs above the "stage" area. also, the acoustics were pretty shitty. it reminded me of the tune inn in new haven. exactly like being trapped in a gigantic metallic turd.

they had advertised some "special guests" which i was hoping would consist of people like dj logic or vernon reid or maybe even a sax player... nope. it was a couple of "guest vocalists" who ended up more or less just screaming into the mic. loudly. i've seen this band kick some SERIOUS ass before, and i was expecting no less- i mean, we're cruising around manhattan, you'd think they would be on their game... not so much. the jams were kind of generic, loose, nothing special. at this point i'm feeling pretty old... we hung out a bit on the back of the boat, enjoyed the view of the city... the best city in the world. new york city. this was probably the best part of the show.

also, here, let me say that i've never wanted to leave a soulive show early... ever. and now that i finally wanted to leave a soulive show early- i was trapped on a fucking boat... it kinda sucked. well, we finally made it back to dock, the band had stopped, and i couldn't wait to jump onto solid ground... but we had to wait about a half hour for some reason, because they weren't letting anyone off the boat... so it was a lot of people, crammed into each other... trying to leave... it's hot... everyone is rocking back and forth... oh god, just thinking about it right now is making me nauseas and i've been off the boat for a good 2 1/2 weeks already. DAAAAMN did land feel good under my feet. i can't even begin to tell you...

anyways. a lame soulive show, trapped on a crowded boat... do i blame the band or the rocks off boat cruise? maybe i just don't drink enough to enjoy this sort of shit? i want to give this review more, but i'm teetering on the brink... this hurts me more than it hurts you, soulive... please forgive me alan... soulive rocks off cruise 8/13/06: 4 painful HUZZAHS. and that's being generous.

i told you, i don't think i'm so good on boats...