Jeff's Jazz Festival - Day 5

Posted by Jeff
Filed in Music
June 27, 2006

Visual representation of Zu courtesy of Very Good with Computers

After Sunday night's chaosfest courtesy of OrchestRova and The Thing, my gut got hungry for something more straight-ahead. So it was perfect timing to have Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings headlining the Commodore on Monday. Remember a few days ago when I went to see The Cat Empire and got so stoked when they got down into a classic Blues Brothers vibe? But then they left me cold by blundering into Sublime territory? Well on monday I got my funky, bluesy soul fix and then some. Binky Griptite & the Dee-Kays were onstage when we first walked into the Commodore. For those who don't know, these guys are actually Sharon Jones' backing band, The Dap Kings, under the direction of guitarist Del Stribling. This seven-piece was seriously laying it down in the spirit of James Brown with their brand of bulletproof grooves, screaming horns, and rock-solid drumming. Then after a short set break, the Dee-Kays returned as The Dap-Kings and brought the one and only Miss Sharon Jones out with them. She may be small, but wow can she ever belt it out. For half an hour or so my system revelled in a sublime dose of the best soul that Brooklyn has to offer. But then it happened... the clock struck 11:00 and it was Ironworks time.

I'd been looking forward to watching Zu perform since I first read about them back in March (something about seeing the words "hardcore", "free jazz", "Motorhead", "John Zorn", and "Mingus" all in the same paragraph got me excited) and when I stepped out of the car in front of the Ironworks and heard the din emanating from inside I knew I was on the right track. Imagine my delight when I walked in and saw that standing onstage alongside the Italian electric bass/drums/sax trio known to the world as Zu was none other than The Thing's sax maniac, Mats Gustafsson. Holy bejeezus. What transpired inside the Ironworks last night was my favourite show of the Festival thus far. I'll sum it up by saying this... the fact that I never had a chance to see the almighty Painkiller in action has haunted me for years, but watching Zu eased my suffering in a big way. I'm not sure if I could pay anyone a bigger compliment than that. This was one seriously heavy show... heavy like a fistfull of star matter... heavy like "in the last year I've seen Isis, Meshuggah, and Deicide, but holy shit was Zu ever heavy".

Reader Reviews and Comments

Submit a Review or Comment

thanks for all the jazz info, jeff. I always want to go to more things, but then I get overwhelmed with all the possibilities. Is there anything that you recommend for this weekend? preferably at an outdoor venue, because I'm dog-sitting. ;)

Posted by: degan at June 28, 2006 10:27 AM | Quote Comment

That's the thing... there's so much going on that it's hard to decide what to do. There's a bunch of free outdoor events this weekend that are definitely dog-friendly. Granville Island always has their Canada Day party going on, and there's also bands playing from noon until about 10pm on saturday and sunday at David Lam Park by the Roundhouse.

Posted by: Jeff