Rawking w/ The Pixies, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings & more (Sept 2010)

 There is just something about the Pixies that just breeds a special type of giddy excitement. It would be arrogant of me to even try to explain why, but I will have no problem expressing how it feels.
a) This was their first show in Dallas in six years, and only their second since their much maligned breakup almost 20 years ago.
b) The occasion of this tour is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their landmark LP Doolittle which they were set to perform in its entirety, including the litany of b-sides that were associated with the project.
c) It’s the fucking Pixies!!

So with that sense that you were seeing something rare and special and finally getting your hands on something that you have long been denied, the eruption from the crowd (clearly made up mostly of a generation that never got to see them originally) was deafening when they took stage. In true Pixies spirit of unpredictability they started with the b-sides, beginning with Dancing the Manta Ray. Kim Deal in all her ridiculously likable awkwardness would go to the mic every few songs and shout “More b-sides!”

And I couldn’t be happier by this announcement because not only were actually seeing the Pixies; we were given a chance to hear songs like Weird at my School, Manta Ray, and Bailey’s Walk. However these seemed like warm-ups or maybe it was just lack of recognition from the audience because as soon as that undeniable opening riff of Debaser started the place really came alive and those that were previously sitting were now on their feet. I’ve always found the real excitement in live performance was the surprise of not knowing what was coming next, however there was a comfort knowing that you were gonna hear No. 13 Baby and when you were gonna hear it.

After the sing-alongs of their biggest hits Where is my Mind? and Gigantic , Deal again takes to the mic with that little coda she does at the end where she address the other members individually telling them that she wanted a chance to tell them goodnight in case she doesn’t get a chance to later. So as they were all telling each other goodnight a la The Waltons , she then faces the crowd and says ” Goodnight everybody“.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – Southside Music Hall – Dallas, TX – September 23rd

Editor’s Note: – Much of this entry first appeared in my article for Jam Magazine here –

If you’ve seen Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings live, then it’s my bet you’ll do what you can to catch them the next time they swing through your town in a blaze of horn-heavy deep-funk and soul-revival splendor. They are that good.

Sharon Jones is a soul-singing dynamo, and the Dap-Kings are just ridiculously tight and professional players of authentic soul, funk, and gospel. Chanteuse and band are greatly complemented, their dapper restraint the perfect backdrop for her no-nonsense, incendiary stage presence.

There were no bells or whistles in terms of stage set, just a black backdrop with the initials SJDK in white lettering-ßall the fire was in the performers themselves. Jones owned the stage, strutting her way around it in a short, sequenced, mint-green dress, the band behind her in dark-colored suits that just permeated the room with hip sophistication.

 

They played an explosive set consisting of a good deal of songs off their latest release, ILearned the Hard Way. Sharon Jones would hoist members of the audience up on stage throughout the course of the night, which was a success most of the time, but sometimes was more awkward than anything. A few of the guys she brought up on stage to serenade did nothing but sway around nervously with an embarrassed smile on their face, but at one point she called six or seven women up on stage and the eclectic mix of personalities all were getting down appropriately and gelled into a kind of funky chorus line as Sharon Jones went wild in front of them.

The unequivocal highlight of the show was Sharon Jones and her irrepressible, never-ending energy, which along with the amount of sweat dripping from trumpet-player Dave Guy constituted the two seemingly supernatural phenomena of the night. Her intensity never came close to waning, and, to be honest, the audience wasn’t up to task. The crowd should have been a full-bore, sweat-dripping dance party, and though there were people dancing, it was fairly restrained for all that Sharon Jones was putting out. That would have been the ideal situation, but realistically it would have taken the bartenders slipping something extra in the drinks for anyone to even think about having a chance to keep up with the “dynamite” queen of funk and soul.

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings restore my faith in a band’s ability to preserve a type of music while still making it sound timeless. The ensemble has it all: Virtuoso talent, songs that hearken the golden days of soul music, a catalog that has its own classy edge. They played 100 Days, 100 Nights for the encore and left the stage for good to another round of wild applause. Just the real deal.
Sadly we missed openers Grace Potter & The Nocturnals who are also killer.