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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Video / Tonight! Akron/Family and Datura Blues Tonight!

Posted by Ned Lannamann on Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 12:43 PM

Akron/Family - "Everyone Is Guilty" at SXSW 2009

I only have room in my heart for one jam band. Sorry Disco Biscuits, but it is reserved for New York's Akron/Family, who aren't a "jam" band as much as a band that hearkens back to the exploratory, experimental style of musicians like Captain Beefheart, Sun Ra, and Can. There are some folk and rock grooves in their extended performances, and some mellow moments, but there is some genuinely weird shit, too, enough to inspire terror in the heart of the twirlingest tie-dyed dreadlocker. This band is the real deal, and the two times I've seen them (once at the tiny Towne Lounge, the other at Waterloo Park at this year's SXSW) are enough to convince me that they are one of the best live bands on the planet.

Also on the bill are Portland's own Evolutionary Jass Band, and Datura Blues, whose ranks tonight include the Laws brothers from Church. Here's the reported lineup:

Brandon Laws (Church) on vibraphone, synth, vox
Richard Laws (Church) on hammer dulcimer, percussion, vox
Shannon Steele (The Ocean Floor) on violin, vox
Todd Swikhart (Poncho Luxurio) tenor sax, percussion
Rudy Slizewski (Tapwater) on steel drums, percussion
Tonight, Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, 9 pm, $15

 

Comments (2) RSS

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1
Do you have room enough in your heart to take me with you?
Posted by codenamedragonfly on September 8, 2009 at 2:17 PM · Report
2
Man, I wish I could have caught this show! I was a big fan of the first few Akron records, and they totally lost me with Love Is Simple (including the interminable live versions of those songs). I recently checked out the new one - Set Em Wild, Set Em Free - and my faith was at least partially restored. I'd like to see how they do live as a trio.

One note - the line-up you listed for Datura Blues is of the auxiliary players only, I think, and doesn't include the core members of the band, who are absent.

I hope it was great!
Posted by Cary Clarke on September 8, 2009 at 11:50 PM · Report

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