Check it out ... http://www.jamhouston.com/reviews/blendt-shanti/blendt-shanti.html Grab your ale jug, and your bucket o' fun we'll be meeting Blendt and Shanti Groove at the Hoe Down... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 28, 2005 – Rhythm Room - From outside one can see the dilapidated street of Washington Ave, and have second thoughts about stepping into this place. But, like a great novel, the cover isn't always so enticing. The interior of the Rhythm Room has a red color painted on a wood panel walls. One's first inclination would be to ask himself if he was in Houston or was this the place where, “Rumour spreadin’ a-’round in that Texas town’ bout that shack outside la grange.” After realizing that without Billy Gibbons here to confirm the notion, one would have to assume this was the right place, in H-town. An old wooden-planked floor adorned the center of the club, and it gave the venue a nice center piece for anyone to get up and dance. With huge rafters along the ceiling and several supports intertwining the structure it looked like a spider web made of wood was holding up the ceiling. Ben Murill Without much fanfare the first band, Blendt, took the stage. The impressive sized six-piece made the well proportioned stage look a little crowded. Their first song seemed to be more of a warm-up to get all the band in-synch together. As Brent “Toast” Williams looked around at the rest of the band it was obvious that everyone was kinda feeling each other out. After about halfway through, they had a pretty nice groove going and the guest bass player for the night Jeremy “The Beard” Horton really showed his talent by catching on to some intricate timing changes without having much experience playing with this band. Brent "Toast" Williams, Justin "The Body" Berry, and Phillip "The Outlaw" Jones As Blendt started their second song the band seemed to come together strong. The full embodiment of this six-piece worked well for an aggressive tsunami of sound. Ben Murill kicked in some nice vocals while strumming away on his resonating hollow-body guitar. The hooks within the second song were really catchy, but I think it would have helped if they kicked the vocals up a little louder. Although I really enjoyed the overall feel of the second song, at times, I wish they would get back to some of the nice hooks a little quicker. The end of the song felt really spacey, and the special effects Phillip “The Outlaw” Jones worked well as an outro. After the band kissed the moose by downing their Jaegermeister shots in celebration of The Beard’s birthday, the band started up with Toast playing a washed-out, delayed flange effect that worked well, as he took the microphone again and started singing. The singing by both Toast and Ben worked well in the songs, at one point if I closed I eyes I would have sworn I was listening to Trey Anastasio cantillating one of those melodic Phish songs. Echoing drums of Ryan “Eggy” Egbert kept the music vigorously traveling towards a fever pitch, only to be stopped abruptly with poignant dramatic pauses. If Eggy was per say a horse galloping towards the buffalo herd, Justin “The Body” Berry was the pitter-patter of Native American footsteps gracefully setting up for that perfect kill shot with the bow and arrow. The Body gave the songs flare using an assortment of bongos and conga drums. Phillip "The Outlaw" Jones The next song was probably my favorite Blendt song of the night. It started out a little chaotic, and there was probably a little too much downtime between songs, but it was definitely worth the wait. Toast, Ben, and The Beard all got in perfect unison, and really came up with some catchy pop hooks. By about the middle of the song The Outlaw pulled out his “elephant trunk” and proceeded to wave it at everybody. Now, we see why he’s called “The Outlaw.” Let me clarify, he apparently had an instrument called a mini-moog. It had a large bendable plastic straw that connected to a tiny keyboard that he played by blowing into it. The next song was called “Boystown.” Unfortunately, the band wouldn’t let us in on a special little “Goat Story” about The Beard. Well, apparently it wasn’t the one where someone gets eaten by troll for crossing a bridge…or was it? About halfway through, it seemed like it was time for everyone to get a little solo time. I enjoyed Ben’s guitar, instead of ripping out some flashy Eddie Van Halen tapping solo, which has been done to death, he stepped back and did a nice rhythmic chordy solo, reminiscent of perhaps Andy Summers of The Police. Next Eggy and The Body took their turns and both solos were impressive. Lastly, The Outlaw ended the song with a tribute to "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. At least, that is what it sounded like with experimental spacey overtones. It was just missing some orgasmic Plant vocals. Jeremy "The Beard" Horton Blendt ended on another catchy tune that kinda was a microcosm of their whole night. A night of great fun music, lots of experimentation, and incredible hooks. My main disappointment, besides the fact that “Toast” didn’t break into a Napoleon Dynamite dance (from a distance he looks quite a bit like him), was that when they got to a hook that everyone could really sink their teeth into, on occasion, they would slip into experimental jam for a little too long before returning. Of course, that is the essence of a jam band to find that fine line of experimentation without losing the audience; overall they did an excellent job. Be sure to check out their website at www.blendt.com I also really enjoyed their studio CD, many times a jam band isn’t captured well in the studio, but Blendt's "…Or Something Like That" is a fantastic studio CD. After a short intermission everyone seemed to be ready for the next band to come on. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout for a Thursday night, but since I have never made it down to the Rhythm Room before, I don’t know what to expect on a regular Thursday. Even though there were some people at the bar more concerned with our Rockets losing to the Mavericks on this night, when Shanti Groove hit the stage all the avid sports fans were allowed to forget about T-Mac having an off shooting night, and relaxed to watch a bluegrass hoe down. (Editor's note: The Rockets are hereby disowned until next season. Grrrrr!!) Jason Flournoy Shanti Groove came out smoking with Jason Flournoy doing some fast banjo picking in triplets. The uniqueness of the line up was definitely part of the band’s appeal. This was anything BUT a normal five-piece. With a mandolin and a banjo played out as two of the pieces I had no idea what to expect. As Flournoy got to the microphone the singing sounded a little harsh, but I came to realize after they got into their bluegrass groove that they all sang well, especially singing their harmonies. The acoustic guitar played by Jason Scroggins was in perfect time with the intense speed of the mandolin and banjo. After the initial song came to an end, I swear I saw a kid chasing tumbleweed across the dance floor. Next we were all in for a treat as Juri Freeman pulled out a double bass and played it with a bow. At first I thought the change in pace was a little too dramatic after coming off their first song, but about halfway though Chris Carland led a perfectly smooth time change on drums that turned this slow paced song into a Gaelic celebration. John Hieland’s mandolin was keeping up with the furious pace, and the whole feel reminded me of The Chieftains. Shanti Groove The next song I believe was a cover, but I was not aware of the name. It followed along the traditional bluegrass music, and stepped into a more familiar Soggy Bottom Boys style that grooved along nicely, and had people getting up on the dance floor. I think the resurgence of this style music after the Cohen’s brothers’ film "O’ Brother Where Art Thou" has been quite the blessing, I am happy to see more people playing “songs from the porch” as I like to call it. The next song really showed the diversity in their style. The song started with Freeman playing a fabulous walking bass line, and as the rest of the band chimed in nicely to create an eclectic backdrop of some wah-wah by Scroggins on guitar and/or Freeman on bass. I liked the song, but it really didn’t fit too well in the set. Sometimes the greatest conceived ideas should be left for the studio. Hieland started the next song off telling something about bar stools and chicken fried steak, I wasn’t sure if that was the song title or an inside joke, but either way the whole band hit the ground running as Hieland and Flournoy doing their own version of “dueling banjo-lins.” As each lick on the banjo came to a scorching conclusion it was follow by an equally combustible mandolin lick that left the crowd in awe and anticipation. Chris Carland The night moved on with song after song that inspired everyone to dance and join the fun. I even was even coerced into getting out on the dance floor, when Carland, started another signature time change giving the audience a polka or maybe waltz rhythm to dance. My girlfriend (who is quite well trained in many traditional dance styles) was severely hindered to have to endure my horrific dance steps, but it was still a great time, and I somehow have to believe, that is what Shanti Groove was all about, having a good time. Before the night came to a close the band played the most bizarre version of Get Back by The Beatles that I have ever heard. It worked well in the set. I’d say one of the only problems with Shanti Groove’s music was, also, probably what made the whole evening so enjoyable. With such an eclectic style, it was hard to interpret what type of crowd they hope to entice to come out and see them play. It is so nice to see a band use different style instruments without it being done just for a token song. Every band wants to put a banjo, mandolin, or maybe a dulcimer or sitar in a song. What usually ends up happening is somebody learns one lick and samples it through the whole song never to fully appreciate the instrument’s potential. I hope everyone gets a chance to see these guys play live, because, it is not the type of music that is easy to describe. I hope this talented bluegrass group from Boulder, Colorado, makes it back to town soon, because, everyone in Houston needs a lesson in rhythm and bluegrass, the R&B. Be sure to follow this band… www.shantigroove.com By: Jude Vivona www.judevivona.com Photos by: Kerry McMahon
Congrats....I'll have to catch a show sometime! funky, rock and roll, psychedelic jazz, jam band ....I'm there!
Yeah, I considered expressing my own editorial prerogative and taking that out, but then I decided I couldn't let my subjectivity get in the way of a great review. Napolean Dynamite. C'mon, 'couldn'tve he have at least gone with Encino Man? Gary, me thinks you browse the Robin guitar board on occasion, unless you have some sort of foot fetish. As far as schedule ... in Houston here's what he have coming up: Sunday May 29th (Memorial day weekend) @ Space Place in the Heights. Free show (donations encouraged, but not necessary), big back yard throw down party type thing. BYOB (though rumor has it we're bringing the blendter - whip up a batch of margaritas in 20 seconds or less!). BYOM (meat - 3 bbq pits). Starts around 3 pm. Friday June 3rd @ Last Concert Friday June 17th @ Meridian w/ Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons. We haven't "officially" released that one yet. You guys are the first to know!
Very cool. I'll have to come check you guys out one of these days. Any band that has funk banjo is OK by me! BTW, nice set of Yammys that drummer has. All the best drummers play Yamaha.
man ive seen you guys before, yall were terrible. Then again, its not my taste of music. Its all good....
Well, do you do like to play sans footwear. I will say that y'all are a fun group to listen to, and I say that as one who generally isn't into the jam band style. I hope to catch one of your June shows. EDIT - You can hear 3 Blendt songs at It's Worth It Radio. http://www.live365.com/stations/312197 Ideally, they should be the first 3 songs unless there is already a stream going.
Good thing you're not the guy out there writing the reviews! I'd say the closest thing we'd ever done to playing a "terrible" show was a last month @ Dan Electro's when our bass player quit on us literally the night before. I played bass (if you could call it that) on about 75% of the songs, Ben tried for the rest ... and then some dude came out of the audience and tried to wing it for a song. That was pretty funny. And borderline terrible. I felt bad for all the new faces out there who had never seen us before. Hopefully that show didn't totally scare 'em off. We're still only a little over a year old, so you might have caught an early, rough show. Maybe you need to come out to another show and see how terrible we play these days. Dozens of fans can't be wrong! Oh, Gary, I figured you were echoing the Robin guitar board 'cause I started a thread to show off my guitar and about 90% of the response was mocking me for playing barefoot. I guess that subject doesn't get old on any message board. Yeah, I play barefoot (or in socks). I like the way the broken glass and club dirt feel between my toes.
Did you by any chance get this guitar at Rockin' Robin? It's an older Ibanez, right? If so, I'm pretty sure I know the guy that owned it about 15 years ago... Used to be in a band with him.
That's Ben's geetar and honestly I don't know where he got it. It is, indeed, an older (early 80s maybe?) Ibanez Artist. I'm not real hip on Ibanez guitars, but I think it's called an AS something or other (I wanna say AS200?). He's had it for almost a year now. He was playing a full hollow Heritage before that. Wanted something still "jazzy" but not quite as beastly as the Heritage. He may have gotten it here, but he may have gotten it off the 'bay. I can ask ...
