For those of you who missed Zion Train, Spiritual Rez and John Brown’s Body at the House of Blues this past Friday, it was quite the vivacious show.
First to the stage was Zion Train. It was early in the evening, and the main floor was not yet packed shoulder to shoulder, so people had space to move and dance. And these guys certainly had the crowd moving. Some in the crowd really got into it, limbs flailing, heads bopping and bodies moving. Carried by Neil Perch’s electronics mastery, Rocker T pulled the crowd off the walls and onto the main floor and even managed to play the Melodica (key flute).
Spiritual Rez hit the stage with a hip grinding opening. The floor was suddenly filled and alive with movement. It was energetic, it was musical (hey, they had horns!), and it had a beat that kept you going. Lead vocalist Toft was a performer to watch with contorted facial expressions and high stepping dance moves. His focus on a fun evening and his palpable energy (that slowly undid his long pony-tail) were absorbed by the crowd. Lead guitar Van should be watching his back for Inigo Montoya (that’s a "Princess Bride" reference, folks), because I’m pretty sure he has six fingers. Though, they were constantly a blur, so it was hard to get an accurate count. They identify themselves as a “Reggae Horn Funk Party,” and they certainly lived up to that title. The H.O.B. collectively felt the pulse that is Spiritual Rez.
The main floor was filled with anticipation as John Brown's Body took the stage. The eight-man ensemble pulled in the house. Everyone was focused on JBB. The sax, trumpet, trombone, guitar, bass, keys/electronics, drums and vocals of JBB create music which is filling, grounding, earthy and robust. Elliot, lead vocals, swayed his three-feet-long dreads with the music as he danced around the stage. J.P., who recently came on board from Revision, grooved behind a fortress of four keyboards. Drummer, trombone and bassist are local guys, all in Dub Apocalypse which just won Best International Artist of the Year (2010) from the Boston Music Awards. JBB’s been making the accolades themselves with their latest album, Amplify, debuting at #1 on Billboard's Reggae Chart. JBB’s return to HOB didn’t draw as many Bostonians out into the cold as last February’s sold-out show, but the floor was packed with motion and jumping with the beats. It was a show worth watching, listening, feeling and really grooving with JBB.
