THE HERBALISER + Grand Analog @ Le National

By Adrian Warner - Eclectricity - 11/13/2008

I was pleased to learn I would be seeing The Herbaliser perform live at Le National this past November.  I have known about Herbaliser for years, but not familiar enough with their music for my own liking.  Prior to the concert, I had known of their production, their reputation for good music and seen their releases along my travels.  A few months ago, I listened to a podcast of one of my favorite EVR shows and found out the guest on that show was Herbaliser DJ Ollie Teeba.  He played tracks from their new release and talked about the changes within the group.  He mentioned that Herbaliser basically increased to nearly half a dozen members, added a female vocalist named Jessica Greenfield, and became more instrument-based.

If I knew little about Herbaliser, that podcast helped prepare me for November 12.  I arrived at Le National to see Canadian act Grand Analog spinning for the people in attendance.  Grand Analog took the stage with an eclectic set of hip hop, rock and reggae music.  Grand Analog did a great job of opening for Herbaliser.  I feel they were a perfect fit considering how Herbaliser's music incorporates many genres.

Next was Herbaliser and they did not disappoint.  True to word, the stage had six members on it and in the back of my mind, I wondered if the female vocalist would appear.  After two or three funky instrumentals, a tall brunette strolled on stage and sang with the band.  I recognized a few of the tracks they performed from the podcast, mainly because they were the ones she sang on.  Other than that, I was experiencing the new Herbaliser sound for the first time.

There was a decent crowd that night.  It was not like the KRS show in March where it was shoulder to shoulder, but a good turnout nonetheless. Perhaps the weeknight performance explains why the venue was not more packed.  I listened and looked for crowd reactions to certain songs, but there were no real peaks and squeals from the audience.  If what I heard and learned about Herbaliser transforming into a Soulive or Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and them not performing their earlier material is what occurred, then that explains why the audience did not react to their set more enthusiastically.  I am not stating the audience did not respond or appreciate the performance, but I feel that the others were experiencing this updated Herbaliser outfit for the first time as well.  Many times after a song, the frontman on trumpet would have to rouse the audience a little.  Again, that was probably because of the unfamiliarity of the crowd to the new group and sound.  I realized that the audience was happy to see Herbaliser and hear good live music that night, even if they were collectively a bit subdued. 

During the show, local rapper More Or Les joined the group to perform a track.  I enjoyed the track but I would have loved to have heard his lyrics a bit more clearly.  Near the end of the concert, the audience was so into it that they naturally asked for an encore.  It would have been nice if they performed a more upbeat number, but it was still nice to hear more Herbaliser.

A special note has to be made about DJ Ollie Teeba.  From an aspiring DJ point of view, it was particularly interesting to see him perform with the group.  His technical prowess on the turntables fit perfectly with the musicians. During some tracks, he used the turntables as an instrument.  The scratching and tricks gave an added flavor to the live instrumental performances.  I hope to be able as skilled as Ollie Teeba on the turntables one day. 

Herbaliser announced they will return to Montreal for the 2009 Jazz Festival.  I will continue to familiarize myself with past and present Herbaliser music and hopefully will enjoy them then like I did that November night.