Two Way Radio / The Third Man / The Tennessee Boltsmokers / The Bo-Keys / Brad Postlethwaite and the Memphis Mafia / Jump Back JakeGround Zero
Memphis, TN
March 8, 2008
Memphis is known worldwide as the birthplace of rock 'n' roll and home of the blues. The bands that played the Six Degrees of Memphis showcase showed that Memphis still has a backbeat you can't lose and a groove other cities would kill for. The show was a fundraiser for bands headed to the annual South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas.
Makeshift recording artists Two Way Radio started things off with a great set of staples from its Residential Llama album as well as songs from the band's anticipated follow-up due out later this year. Singer Kate Crowder's irresistibly sweet voice is the perfect complement to the band's dreamy, lush and layered pop song writing.
The Third Man features three guitars and keyboards in addition to bass and drums. The band's varied songwriting makes pigeonholing the band tough, although the Radiohead influence is undeniable. This set was more straightforward than the band's recorded output, which often features layered vocals and complex guitar work in an atmospheric soundscape that seems to be a mile wide and parsecs deep.
Next up were Madjack recording artists The Tennessee Boltsmokers who played a solid set of what might best be described as traditional bluegrass and with an unmistakable Memphis-centric blues overlay.
The highlight of the night was Memphis soul torchbearers The Bo-Keys. If they sound like a modern day Booker T. and the MGs, there are several good reasons for that: drummer Willie Hall was in Booker T. and the MGs; guitarist Skip Pitts co-wrote the theme from Shaft with Isaac Hayes at Stax. Not one of them has lost an ounce of what has always made Memphis Soul grittier, dirtier and just plain superior to even the best music Motown produced. Holding it all together, as always, was bassist and band leader Scott Bomar, who scored Hustle and Flow and Black Snake Moan for writer/director Craig Brewer. The set was made all the better by the addition of guest vocalist Harvey Scales.
Brad Postlethwaite and the Memphis Mafia (Snowglobe minus Tim Reagan) is Makeshift Music's star band for a reason. The group is not afraid to add unusual elements (musical saw, for example) to its consistently good songwriting.
Steady and danceable, Jump Back Jake is the perfect band to close down a show and shut 'er down right. You'd never know bandleader Jake Rabinbach was from New York, because Jump Back Jake employs such classic Memphis soul hooks and horns.
People from all over the world know Memphis music, and as the Six Degrees of Memphis showcase headed south to Austin, it was clear Memphis has still got it where it counts.
-Review by Marvin Stockwell; photos by J.D. Reager