Deep Banana Blackout Live 2.27.00

Deep Banana Blackout @ Smith's Olde Bar

Atlanta, GA 2.27.00

Review and Photos by Vincent Tseng

Music sometimes comes from the most unexpected places. Connecticut is not exactly the home of funk, but that's where Deep Banana Blackout hails from.

Deep Banana Blackout is often described as a "jam band," and although they always jam out at their live gigs and have been big hits at shows like the Gathering of the Vibes several years in a row, they really are a funk band. Although this seems to be merely a label, it does make a difference in the resulting jams because of the approach.

Loosely speaking, a jam band starts with a free format. Although songs are used as a framework, the whole point is to jam out and reach for the groove. Whereas, being a funk band who jam out, Deep Banana Blackout are concerned first with a groove, or funk, and jam out from that point, so the framework or the whole basis of their music is the groove. So what a jam band strives for is what a good funk band starts off with. That could be the reason why DBB are so impressive when they play festivals and venues in the company of other jam bands -- they fit, but they are already at the groove. Deep Banana Blackout do cover tunes mostly from the old school of funk from their own heroes such as James Brown, P-Funk/Funkadelic/Parliament, Meters -- but these days more and more of their sets consist of only a couple of covers, and mostly of original songs. And this is where it makes a big difference -- the funk is in the well structured songs with good lyrics.

At Smith's Olde Bar the place was packed out -- surprising because the Phish folks were in town playing with Colonel Bruce nearby.

DBB very quickly got into the groove; after the short intro of "Anesthetic Highway" they jammed out on "Breakfast at Volos" -- the rhythm section (Benj Lefevre, bass and Eric Kalb, drums) took off on this great riff -- laying down a carpet for the surging tenor sax solo of Rob Somerville.

Jen "Pipes" Durkin always gives a powerhouse performance on vocals -- she's like a human dynamo -- more surprising because of her 5'1" frame. You just won't believe the voice that comes out of that small body.

"Too Funky In Here" was the sixth tune and one of the few cover tunes and the funk is now thick enough to cut -- again the rhythm section takes off with Fuzzy raging on guitar. A friend once described Fuzzy's solos as controlled rage.

Up to this point every song has seg-wayed/linked into the next. This is one of the features of a DBB gig -- they are always looking for new ways of linking one song to another, and a different member of the band writes out the set list every gig. Tonight's list was by Cy(rus) Maden, the man on the Cosmic Orgy; his organ fills out the sound of the band.

"Bump and Sway" is an immediate and attractive song -- probably could be a commercial hit if given the right exposure -- tonight it gets a nice trombone solo from Volo, and Fuzzy then talks with his guitar.

One of the highlights of an already hot set is Kofi Burbridge (now of the Derek Trucks Band and brother of Oteil - bass in the Allman Bros.) sitting in on "Doing It to Death" -- the old James Brown number. Kofi sang the chant with Jen, and jammed out on flute -- growling in the style of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (some of you may be more familiar with Ian Anderson of Jethrol Tull who used this flute style from Kirk).

By now the crowd was getting truly rowdy -- just like DBB's own home crowd at sold-out gigs at New York City's Wetlands and more recently at Irving Plaza -- perhaps not quite as insane, but give it time -- DBB are still new to the Atlanta scene.

John Scofield has used Eric Kalb and Johnny "D" Durkin (percussion) on his forthcoming album Bump and has even written a tune about DBB. Colonel Bruce Hampton has said Deep Banana Blackout are one of the best bands he's heard.