Prior to Saturday’s disappointing football game I spent my afternoon at the Hot Times Festival listening to music and handing out handbills for the upcoming benefit. I have to admit it was my first time at the Festival, which is unfortunate because it is a great little event if you have never been. It’s kind of like Comfest before it blew up. You see a lot of the same vendors and it has a similar welcoming vibe. But it is much smaller and has more of an intimate, neighborhood vibe. The crowd is pretty chill, friendly and diverse. Definitely check it next year.
I managed to catch two bands while I was there Demolition Crew and fo/mo/deep. Demolition Crew was a sizable band and played mostly Roots Reggae. They performed a nice mix of originals and covers. Their originals were good, solid tunes. Nothing revolutionary, but catchy and danceable. I was especially fond of their performance of the Bob Marley classic Natural Mystic. I’m a big Bob fan and I am always happy when someone does one of his tunes that does NOT appear on Legends. Their rhythm section was the highlight of the show, they had a nice, consistent groove and played disciplined Reggae without too much noodling. The percussionist played all the right fills and the bass player managed to not get board with the repetitive nature of the style. They had a good horn section, although they were not quite as sharp as fo/mo/deep’s. I recommend them if you dig Reggae.
fo/mo/deep happens to be the band opening up No Recession on September 24, so I guess I am not the most neutral party in the world. But if you don’t believe me when I say that they sound great then feel free to come down to the show next Thursday and prove me wrong. They do instrumental funky Jazz music. Kind of like a modern update of later Cannonball Adderley (thankfully they did not do Mercy, mercy, mercy; great tune, overplayed). Their rhythm section had a great pocket, I was especially fond of Ron Holmes’ stick shaped electric upright bass. Funky drum kit+funky percussion+big funky bass=a pretty good little Saturday afternoon. The three piece horn section was also great. They featured trumpet, sax and trombone; they played well together as a unit and all of them ripped killer solos. A singer probably would have been a nice addition, because lets face it, people like songs with words. But, being a player myself I certainly didn’t miss vocals and this is a player’s type of band; good grooves, simple changes and a lot of soloing.
Other interesting developments of the afternoon included having people thank me when I handed them a flier for the benefit. Now that is a courteous audience! I have to admit, I am certainly not that nice to people trying to hand me promotional materials. Aaron Evans, another No Recession performer, was also hangin’ out, taking in the music and doing some promotion. Mayor Coleman was roaming the festival wearing a number 9 Buckeye’s jersey that said “Mayor Coleman” on the back. I gave him a flier but I think I saw him throw it away, thanks a lot Mike.
Well, that’s all for now. I’ll be checking out a couple more shows this week and I will certainly keep the posts coming.
