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By Christopher Bussmann - Bop and Beyond - 01/25/2005

There is something decidedly vintage about Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, a sound out of synch with the times in which it has been produced. Maybe it is the cover-art, with it's saturated colors and stylized font size, or the fact that the chair, the lamp, even Sharon's hair is clearly throwback - a product of its immediate past. That is not to say that Sharon and co. are content to retread old ground or peddle a product mined from the ore of others. Oh no... they are too good and clever a band to do that. From the opening moments of "How Do You Let A Good Man Down," it is clear that although this is a record steeped in the funk and soul of the late 60's and early 70's, it also has a life of its own - one that is entirely modern and designed to catch the ears of those unversed in the lore of James Brown and Sly Stone.

Sharon Jones also has one hell of a voice, akin to that of Roberta Flack and Nina Simone. Those are some heavy hitters, and Sharon, even more so live than on record, deserves to stand among them. And what sets her apart from such modern contemporaries as Jill Scott and Erykah Badu is her dedication not just to her craft as a singer but to that of the band that's behind her.

Although the name reads Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, they - the Dap-Kings - are every bit as important as Sharon herself, effortlessly lending support to one of the greatest voices to be found on two sides of a vinyl lp or one side of a cd. This should come as no surprise when one considers that The Dap-Kings comprise of several (current and former) members of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra and The Sugarman 3 & Co. That is one hell of a pedigree.

With ten tracks of shimmering soul and blistering funk, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings' Naturally is not to be missed. Nor is the band itself (they'll be in town on April 28th at El Salon).

Naturally is an easy candidate for my jazz album of the year.

By Kelly Belfo - After Noon Roots - 03/15/2005

Jill Scott’s Big, Beautiful Tour

Soul Diva Sings Straight From The Heart

MONTREAL – “Who is Jill Scott?” For those who don’t know, she's a winner. Scott, 32, picked up her first Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in February in the category of Best Urban/Alternative Performance, her Beautifully Human track "Cross My Mind" was honored above efforts by fellow nominees the Roots, Mos Def, Musiq Soulchild and N.E.R.D. One of the key breaks in Scott's musical career arrived when she co-wrote the song "You Got Me" with Philadelphia-based hip-hop group the Roots and it reached No. 39 on Billboard magazine's singles chart in 1999. Fusing sophisticated lyrics with impeccable vocal skills, the phenomenally talented songstress Jill Scott is raising the bar for not only her neo-soul contemporaries, such as Erykah Badu and India.Arie, but for singers in all genres.

Jill Scott graced the stage of the Metropolis on March 15, 2005. Beautiful in a blinging silver sequence jacket and denim jeans, neo-soul diva Jill Scott proved a mesmerizing performer with her Big, Beautiful Tour. She did not come alone. The North Philly singer brought a musical army of one dancer, three background singers and eight musicians -- including a percussionist, pianist, drummer, guitarist, bassist, tenor saxophonist, trumpet player and trombonist. She warned the audience that Big, Beautiful "isn't about me, it's about music". Big, Beautiful music ranged from salsa to opera to funk and jazz and all the way back to Scott's signature grooving R&B. Through her music, Scott was vulnerable, sassy, revolutionary, eternally optimistic and everything in between, a formidable, transporting, inspirational presence on stage and an undeniable star in the truest sense of the word. A personal favorite was Scott’s good-natured imitation of a Latino-American woman which kick-started the sizzling “One is the Magic Number”. The audience rose to their feet as they danced and sang along, pointing their index fingers straight up in the air. One of the best remixes was a full-fledged opera version of "He Loves Me," from Who is Jill Scott?. The back of the stage lit up with thousands of deep purple lights. The crowd collectively gasped as Scott held her tummy, gripped her sequined shirt with her fingers and belted out gloriously powerful high notes with a piercing vibrato. Much to the awestruck crowd’s pleasure, Scott's powerfully emotional voice lasted her entire performance without a single crack.

The show focused greatly on being in love and appreciating life, just as her albums do. The two albums, Who is Jill Scott? and Beautifully Human, are full of poetry, soul and thoroughly refreshing honesty. People love Scott because she's candid, secure and, like her voice, powerfully human. She also warned that her shows would never be exactly the same. It was indeed unique, but more than anything, the show was a burst of musical, romantic and comedic passion. In fact, comedy was almost as much a part of the evening as music. "For those of you who haven’t been to one of my shows — I talk". One particularly hilarious tale involved her big-hearted, if slightly dim-witted, cousin trying to save a woman choking on some barbecue. "My cousin ran over to her; he pulled up her skirt, pulled down her panties and licked her left buttock", explained Scott to a roar of laughter then continued, "She was so shocked she spit out her barbecue! My cousin saved her life!".

It wasn’t just the "hind-lick maneuver” storytelling interludes — Scott made charming use of vocal affectation and pantomime to bring her songs to life in three dimensions. Not content to simply sing her songs, she slipped into them like they were clothing, every note and lyric ringing true with a genuine, lived-in quality. Scott kept the tempo up for the first portion of the show, as she and her eight-piece band loosened hips with joyful renditions of songs like the empowerment anthem "Golden". Once she’d put the crowd firmly in her pocket with the dance numbers, she began to mix in the slow, sultry jams that showed off her classic soul pipes. A vocal chameleon, Scott sounds like jazz vocalist Nancy Wilson on "The Fact Is (I Need You)", a song about a super woman who needs the love of her man. She sang it with poise and conviction, sending shivers down my spine. I swear even the men were crying. Her set list saw tunes arranged in thematic sequence, giving the whole evening a sense of unified narrative as on her studio albums. The one-two punch of "Cross My Mind" and "Bedda At Home", a song about appreciating the one you love enough not to cheat, sounded like stage and gospel legend Jennifer Holliday, championed fidelity in the face of fantasy and distraction. Scott’s voice is as strong as her words. Her incredible virtuosity as a singer of jazz, blues, soul, funk, hip-hop and even a little opera is astonishing as is her ability to tell and act out a variety of stories -- both sexy and funny. Her live performance is like no other. Forgive the length, but Jill Scott is an artist worthy of the praise. This poet's work elevates lyrical music; her performance reaffirms the power of the human voice. If Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Sade, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Minnie Riperton had a love child, it would be Jill Scott. Soul music has its singer-songwriter for the modern age; a refreshing break from the highly sampled, synthetic music coming from the world today. For the remainder of the night this socially-aware artist reflected on love, infidelity, feminine power and family. She was romantic and clever in her interaction with the audience, while the music and her poetic talent for moment-etching lyrics were as sharp as ever. Scott is at the top of her game.

Rounding out her show, she belted out for her encore "The Way", a fitting song to end a romantic evening. By the time it was over, the audience were dancing in the aisles and singing along so loudly that Scott became, in effect, a backup singer on her own songs. It was a perfect finish for the magnificent vocalist whose command of the stage, the band and the crowd was as total as it was benevolent. She sincerely and graciously thanked all of her supporters and fans for feelin´ her & showing so much love over this past year. What has always impressed me about Jill Scott while watching her interviews on television and on award shows was her down-to-earth attitude and demeanor. As she stood on that stage, there were tears in her eyes and pure emotion on her. This lady definitely keeps it real. The crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers. Jill Scott is a force to be reckoned with now and is bringing back the love of being in love, giving love and just enjoying life in its simplest forms. As I walked out the door and into the streets, surrounded by falling snowflakes, still singing, “is it the way - you love - me baby”, with the lingering afterglow following a night of inspired passion, I knew spring had arrived. Jill Scott’s Big, Beautiful was truly one of the best and much-needed shows I’ve been to in a long while. Thank God for Jill Scott.

[Tune in to Afternoon Roots every Saturday 2pm-4pm]

By Angelica - BVST - 03/09/2005

Well, aren't we the darlings of the rock'n'roll scene? Personally, I'm sick to death of hearing Montréal described as the Next Big Thing, especially when I wouldn't be caught dead attending shows by 95% of the bands used to bolster this theory. Since I don't see industry lapdogs with ink-stained fingers attending any of the Montréal rock shows I go to, I feel safe in the assumption that they're the ones getting it wrong. Except for this time. Maybe. The art stars were out in full force, surprising for this kind of a rock'n'roll show. Of course, it was a showcase, a Montréal showcase, and masturbatory self-congratulation amid Montréal music lovers is very much en vogue these days, in case you haven't noticed. Whatever. I tuned out the fancy haircuts and carefully designed looks of cool detachment and focused on the job at hand: rocking out.

First up, Paradise. This foursome makes macho, muscular rock, all churning bass lines and flashy riffs. The Judas Priest comparisons are easy, but lest the 'bangers get too comfortable, the band subverts their own heaviness with an onstage attire seemingly culled from a Liberace estate sale, with each band member in a matching sparkly white suit. Jet Phil's guitar work shines and not only because his flying V is encrusted with rhinestones, for while the look is hotel lounge band, the music is pure rock, filtered and distilled to its essentials. Paradise love kitsch; their latest album Hotel is a tribute to tacky roadside reststops everywhere, with songs like "Super 8" and "Stardust". The lyrics, like the riffs, are over the top, but what the band lacks in complexity, they certainly make up for in skill and enthusiasm, most of which was lost on the crowd. This was, after all, a bitterly cold Wednesday night, and even though my ass was shakin' in spite of me, I can understand the audience's reluctance to give themselves over body and soul.

The crowd seemed to liven up a bit when Priestess hit the stage, mostly because of the growing buzz surrounding this "new" four-piece. Priestess aren't new at all, of course. Once known as The Dropouts, a significant departure in musical direction prompted the moniker change. Now they're signed to Indica Records (GrimSkunk, Absolu, Psychotic 4), being produced by Gus Van Go (Me Mom & Morgentaler) and pretty much set to take over the Montreal rock scene, one audience at a time.

"Hey, we're Priestess and we're gonna fuck you" announced singer Mikey, but few in the crowd had any idea how earnestly he meant it. What followed was forty minutes of earth-shattering, potentially life-changing, shit-hot rock'n'roll.

Priestess have achieved the perfect synthesis of handclapping, sing-along catchiness and no-bullshit headbanging heaviness, that same dangerous dynamic that has made C'mon such an obsession for me. Searing guitars, pummelling bass and drums and soaring vocals meld seamlessly, busting genres and breaking heads in the name of rock'n'roll. If this night was any indication, their debut release is going to be a varied ride. Hammering punk rock, foot-stompin' boogie rock and even a white man's blues number, all moaning guitars and pleading vocals, charmed their way into the hearts (and pants) of the crowd. Shit, there was even a five-minute drum solo! And while it's clear that these boys love their rock and are well-versed in it, every guitar lick, every drum beat sounds fresh, new and dirty as hell.

Of all three bands showcased that night, Priestess received the least media attention; no big cameras were jostling to make quick cutaways on their solos. Of course, that's the nature of the beast; often, the one with the most to offer goes relatively unnoticed. But make no mistake: this is real Montréal rock'n'roll, the kind you WON'T find at your local newsstand. By the way, your next chance to catch Priestess is at the end of April, when they join the mighty Motörhead for a series of cross-Canada dates. It's bound to be one hell of a show.

I wanted to leave immediately once Priestess left the stage; I was sated, satisfied, and I knew that it could only go downhill from there. I've seen Poxy many, many times and despite my best efforts, they just can't move me, and I'm just left pining for the halcyon days of my youth when Poxy's previous incarnation, Caféïne, opened my eyes to the power of local music. Despite my better judgement, however, I was compelled to stay. Like spotting a high school crush on the street, I had to take another look to see if anything had changed. I was too curious, too hopeful that maybe THIS time I'd fall in love all over again.

I didn't. Despite yet another lineup change and despite a new sound (a heaping helping of Depeche Mode with just pinch of electroclash), Poxy left me cold once again. The sleaze, the sexiness that made Caféïne so compelling is still absent, replaced by cookie-cutter choruses and a skin-crawling synth. I'm sick of writing bad things about this band. Next time, I promise, I'll leave right away.

Despite the inevitable disappointment, overall, this was a good night. I wish there had been more dancing, more reckless rock'n'roll abandon, but the night was just cold and hostile enough (both outside and in) to make really losing yourself impossible. That would make me sad, if not for the fact that I know I'll have plenty of other, low-profile, chances to rock out to some of the best this city has to offer.

[Tune in to BVST every Thursday 6:00pm – 8:00pm]

By Korgull The Destroyer - Metal for Supper - The Afternoon Edition - 01/11/2005

Kreator seem to have given up on experimenting with their sound and have once again opted for the straightforward thrash metal style that they are known for. You can decide for yourself if this is a good thing or not, but bottom line is that it worked very well for them on Violent Revolution and it has worked for them once again with their latest album, Enemy of God.

The title track starts it off on a fast note; it’s one of the longer songs and has several fun change-ups. By the time it finishes, the pace for the rest of the album is pretty much set. Songs such as “Suicide Terrorists” and “Dying Race Apocalypse” make up the bulk of the album, being fast and to-the-point thrash songs about corrupted governments and pointless wars. “Murder Fantasies” is rather Slayer-esque in the sense that it’s a song simply about violence. “Voices of the Dead” is a slightly ballad-like track, complete with clean vocals for the chorus.

Enemy of God lacks the urgency that Violent Revolution had. With that album, Kreator set out to prove that they could still write the great thrash music they did fifteen years ago, which they succeeded in doing. Of course, it would’ve been impossible for Enemy of God recapture that sense of urgency but that ultimately is irrelevant. Enemy of God is a great thrash metal record, and we don’t see that much anymore.