SPEARHEAD
(with Rhythm Republik)
At the Wetlands, NYC (8/15/00)
The funky Mark Bass & The Funkmaster General!!!
At
9:30pm, Rhythm Republik started with "Sweatshop Blues"......I can
honestly say that Rhythm Republik has improved since the last time that I saw
them. "Sweatshop
Blues" had some ass-shakin', heavy bass by Mark Bass and some standout
synthesized chords by The Pearl! Groovalicious's guitar riffs were......groovalicious!
Tanya Thillet is
the new co-lead vocalist and she sounded wonderful, as well as Shindig (of Digg
Deep a/k/a D'Tripp) and Jamie B (of Sugar Bush)!! "Stay Broke" and "Chocolate
Starr" were next, with more of Pearl's standout (or outstanding) keyboard
riffs on "Chocolate Starr". The newest song for the RRR (Rhythm Republik Revue) was
"Psychic Toll", a funky R&B song that is keyboard & bass
dominated, with some excellent rhythm guitaring and super vocals by Tanya!!
"Sadie" was a great soulful cover of the Spinners tune (dedicated to
the late Phillipe Wynne.........the Spinners former frontman), with great lead
vocals by the Funkmaster General and Shindig!! "All Saints Fall" was okay, but
personally, I think the "AHHHHHHH"'s during the choruses were a
bit too much. "Disposable Culture" was next, followed by a rock
intro to "Never Put Me Under (Rise Up)", with a hardcore guitar solo
ending the set at 10:15pm.
Click here for pictures of
Rhythm Republik
Mary Harris & Michael Franti in action!!!
After
checking out The Spooks (a hip-hop act) for about 25 minutes, I waited till
11:40pm, when Spearhead started their set. The Spearhead set featured Mary
Harris on vocals.....DAMN, I thought they would have Mary play drums on one
song, but they didn't. The first song was funky, with moments of bombastic drumming and
some great synthesizer/organ funk! Spearhead, headed by frontman/lead vocalist Michael Franti,
did some songs that dealt with socio-politics. This two-hour show (with a
30-minute encore that started at 1:10am) included some fiery guitar riffing and
heavy bass. The vocals of Michael and Mary were very good.
The personnel: Michael Franti (lead vocals), Mary Harris (vocals), Carl
Young (sax, flute & bass), Ramon Lazo (keyboards), Roberto Quintana
(drums), and Dave Shul (guitar).
Click here for pictures of Spearhead
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