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Concert Review

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Fat Freddy's Drop: Live in San Francisco

Fat Freddy’s Drop tore up the Independent in San Francisco on Friday, June 25. Soul drenched vocals and reggae riddims mixed with electronic effects, club beats and a killer horn section to create a fresh sound that is contemporary but deeply rooted in a diverse collection of black music styles that came of age in the 1970s. Funk, soul, reggae, ska, dub—sometimes straightforward, sometimes deconstructed—were not unexpected from an outfit that started out as a jam band. What was unexpected was that it all worked!   

I was drawn to Fat Freddy’s Drop’s show by the song “Boondigga” (from their last album Dr. Boondigga and the Big BW), which had been firmly entrenched on my personal playlist for a month before the show. The song came early in the eighty-minute set so if things had bogged down or fell flat, I wouldn’t have second thoughts about cutting out and looking for a plan B but I didn’t leave until the show ended. Now back to the song that drew me to the show because I think there’s something in there that explains the appeal and brilliance of Fat Freddy’s Drop. “Boondigga” opens on a smooth soul groove, anchored by the sweet Philadelphia sounds laid down by the horn section and driven by a very ‘70s electronic drum track. Joe Dukie’s smooth vocals ride on top of the slowly building arrangement that does not gain its full power until after the break, three minutes in. A subtle shift in the horn chart brings in the more harmonically extended controlled dissonance that Tower of Power brought out of Oakland signaling the beginning of a major deconstruction of Boondigga’s smooth soul sound. The horns exit and a soulfully deviant aural soundscape is created from distorted guitar, swelling keys and electronics. Live the horn section left the stage at the start of the deconstruction, which was given twice as long to develop as on the album – a full four minutes. And that was true of the entire show: things were given the time they needed to fully develop – but never too long. Reggae jams (“The Raft”), R & B grooves (“The Big BW”), dance (“Shiverman”) and dancehall (“Pull the Catch”) tracks, and hybrids stayed true to their roots but were extended into new territory.    

Fat Freddy's Drop formed in Wellington, New Zealand, a decade ago. On the periphery of the global and local music industry, the Freddys had to find their own way. MC and videographer Matt Williams, long-time eighth member of the seven-man group, says the lack of a cohesive musical community or music industry in Wellington opened up a space for the Freddys to work on their own clock and “make it up as we went along.” Local bars provided the forum for the group to develop its sound. Their big break came in 2003 when their single “Midnight Marauders” was picked up by club djs and re-released in Germany and then the UK. Their 2005 album Based on a True Story showcased songs the Freddys had been working out live, some since the band’s inception in the late ‘90s. The album broke new ground for independent artists in New Zealand: it shot to #1 on the charts and became the best-selling album ever by a national act. Dr. Boondigga and the BW (presented as the product of the manipulations of the band members by mad scientist Dr. Boondigga), released in 2009, outdid Based on a True Story, reaching #1 on the New Zealand charts in only four days. The Freddy’s play with their backstory – the band name is drawn from an iconic ‘70s comic book and the evil Dr. Boondigga is a character that would make George Clinton proud – but they never forget that it's the music that counts. Check out their cds and, if you get the chance to see them live don’t hesitate!

 

Contributed by: Jeffrey Callen

 07/27/10 >> go there
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