31 Mar 11

Hey, blogspot readers, ready to shake your groove thang this weekend? Capping off her own March madness around town, SouthSide returned to the local scene hanging out at Double Door. This popular Wicker Park venue toned down its rock side a little for something more neo and fusion-like and/or soulfully funky. Tonight's lineup featured such performances by Kick The Record, Anna Soltys & The Familiar, and her good friend, Aryk Crowder (with his "new" band) with Origin Of Animal opening.

To be honest, blogspot readers, SouthSide has mixed reactions after observing Origin Of Animal's set. On the one hand, she enjoyed the organic symphonic/neo-jazz/rock fusion ...that part was very easily understandable and appealed to her ears. However, on the other hand, this reviewer had a confusing time comprehending the (loud) clips and staccatos meshed everywhere ...which were very overpowering and off balance when suddenly (after 3 minutes) Origin's opening song went into mass confusion. SouthSide doesn't know if that what the composer(s) intended the piece to sound but in her best opinion, not everyone was performing on the same scripted measure (either lagging behind or moving faster than the others). On the plus to this band, she did enjoy one particular song which featured less rock (off the guitar and bass) and more of Origin's Neo-Soul/Jazz fusion - this song (highlight of the entire performance) completely popped with vibrant music with lively melodies and danceable rhythms. The rest of this set was a muddled mass of fusions clammoring against each other to rock out the stage (instead of cohesively unifying as one band) as well as straining to be heard above each other. Though there were moments in which Origin's music was performed passionately ...vividly, its confusion within the epically sounding compositions was a major turnoff for this reviewer. Visit Origin Of Animal at http://www.myspace.com/originofanimal.

It has been a long time since SouthSide last saw this singer/songwriter perform on stage and with a band. Tonight, her good friend, Aryk (pronounced "Eric") Crowder returned to the stage with a livelier, energetic sound of Neo-Soul/R&B/Funk fusion (than his earlier lo/fi pioneer band incarnation) and soulfully vibrant falsetto vocals. Though his performance had the look and feel like his former band, this reviewer noticed how he gradually distanced himself from its shadows by adding more melodic rhythms (off the keyboard/piano) into his music. Hearing old lo/fi favorites (i.e. Roses - SouthSide's personal favorite) had more depth as well as menaing behind the new soulful sound. She literally felt the heartfelt emotions from the lyrics while Aryk sang with the band slowly adding the rhythms to compliment his solo opening thus really bringing it down to a "Steppers" groove. Compared to its original version, this reviewer enjoyed this live version of Roeses better, blogspt readers. And this wasn't the only example in which Aryk and the band rocked the stage. She certainly felt their Fire during this excellent rockin' funk cover of the Jimi Hendrix song - plenty of fiery momentum within in the intro that had the audience instantly groovin' to this version's downtempo pace yet still feeling that psychedelic/rock energy in Aryk's vocals and band's music. This cover did feature a female vocalist (Anna of Anna Soltys & The Familiar) to help with backing vocals however she was difficult to hear over the fiery blast of funk music. SouthSide also recommends listening to By the Way You Dance (live version featured some of Stevie Wonder's Superstition at the middle of the instrumental bridge) and Into the Groove (with the addition of piano/keys in this song - livelier dance groove and soulful than its original version). This reviewer highly recommends grooving to Aryk's new song, More Than Ordinary which closed out his performance with a funk/soul bang. Fans seeking music with a 70s retro feel of soulful R&B sound and vocals yet in a modern vibe should definitely check out Aryk Crowder and his band. He will be performing soon in Wisconsin and Kentucky later in April. Visit him at http://www.myspace.com/arykcrowder or http://www.arykcrowder.com for more details.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide