Name: Awkward Sex...And The City
Start: 2019-2-16T20-20-00-00
End: 2019-2-16T23-23-55-00
Location: Black Cat

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16feb8:00 pmAwkward Sex...And The City8:00 pm Black Cat

16feb8:00 pmMASTERS OF HAWAIIAN MUSIC8:00 pm Wolf Trap

16feb8:00 pmGalactic ft. Erica FallsAztec Sun8:00 pm 9:30 Club

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Event Details

It’s been more than 20 years since Ben Ellman, Robert Mercurio, Stanton Moore, Jeff Raines and Rich Vogel began exploring the seemingly limitless musical possibilities born out of their work together as Galactic. Since then, the seminal New Orleans band has consistently pushed artistic boundaries on the road and in the studio, approaching their music with open ears and drawing inspiration as much from the sounds bubbling up from their city’s streets as they do from each other.

A key part of that creative spark comes from the teamwork of Mercurio and Ellman, whose ever-evolving production and arranging skills helped usher the band into a new phase of studio work beginning with the loop-centric “Ruckus” in 2007. A series of albums focused around specific concepts like Carnival followed, as did collaborations with guests hailing from worlds outside the one Galactic calls its own.

On “Into the Deep,” the band members look within themselves instead, drawing inspiration from people and ideas that have long been close to their hearts – and, in turn, close to the development of their unique sound. Shot through with soul, funk, blues and rock, the result is an organic riff on elements of Galactic’s past, filtered through the lens of where they’re headed in 2015.

“I see this album as a kind of culmination of all of our collaborations or experiences, from [trombonist] Corey Henry to the people we met on the road, touring,” says Mercurio, referencing Ellman’s first full-time gig in New Orleans, which kicked off when Henry hired him into the Little Rascals Brass Band in 1989.

“The previous albums took us in the opposite direction,” Mercurio says. “We collaborated with rappers that we had never dealt with and even on the New Orleans tracks, we didn’t have working experience with most of those artists before the recordings.”

In contrast, “Into the Deep” contributors like JJ Grey, David Shaw and Maggie Koerner spent significant time touring with Galactic. A few years ago, Mavis Staples sat in with the band, all of whom are longtime fans of the legendary singer’s R&B-meets-gospel soul style. They caught up with Macy Gray when she performed a memorable concert at Tipitina’s where Ellman says he could see from the outset “how much she cares about the music.” And each of the players had also developed a deep appreciation for the Honorable South’s Charm Taylor, whose contribution, “Right On” was written specifically to suit her vibe.

“Quint Davis [the producer of] Jazz Fest always has a couple people he books at the festival that aren’t big names but that Quint knows are going to be super cool,” says Ellman. “That’s how we met Brushy One-String. We originally wanted to bring him in to do anything, just to see what would happen. But when we heard his song ‘Chicken in the Corn,’ we really wanted to do our version of it.”

In the end, he joined them on the road for over a month, collaborating with the band onstage at each show.

For the instrumental tracks, Galactic mined the interests and tastes they’ve cultivated together for years in New Orleans. “Buck 77” was written via improvisation, a long-standing cornerstone of their live shows. The funky bass line and tumbling guitar part on “Long Live the Borgne,” meanwhile, represents an updated, more composed take on some of the concepts that made early albums like “Coolin’ Off” so strong.

As for the opener “Soogar Doosie,” Ellman points out Galactic tends to record at least one track on each album that speaks to the band’s collective love of brass band music.

“We write [those songs] with the idea of how awesome it would be to hear the Rebirth going down doing the street in a second line playing one of our songs. We try to think of a real second line song that would get people slapping stop signs and dancing on cars,” he says.

The album, Ellman says “is all about people. It’s these connections we’ve made over 20 years. They’re people in our orbit that have come into our little world and affected us in some way.”

It’s also about how the individual musicians within Galactic have grown over time. When it comes to trying new approaches as players, producers, songwriters and arrangers, Ellman muses, “it’s an evolution.”

Time

(Saturday) 8:00 pm

Location

9:30 Club

815 V ST NW, Washington, DC 20001

Cost

$30

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17feb7:00 pmThe Knocksw/ Young & Sick Blu DeTiger7:00 pm 9:30 Club

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Event Details

The first seconds of The Knocks’ New York Narcotic album dumps listeners square in the midst of Manhattan. A subway car bustles as the boom-bap of the Big Apple’s core rises from faint background noise to the thriving pulse of opener “2008.” There, production and vocal duo Ben “B-Roc” Ruttner and James “JPatt” Patterson personify the town, making her the most gorgeous and intriguing of women. “I know you want to meet her,” JPatt says. As the track concludes, their interaction with her becomes less of a romantic relationship and more of an inescapable draw to a drug that promises thrilling peaks and gut-punching lows.

“New York can be shitty sometimes,” says B-Roc, “but you’re still high on it. Our power’s been cut off in our apartment. We’ve been dropped from labels. New York keeps fucking you up and you keep coming back to it.”

In about 10 years, The Knocks’ slow grind has transformed them from a scrappy East Village pair who met at The New School and produced wall-rumbling tracks in their apartment to a formidable 1-2 punch who can create genre-blending dance projects with the likes of Harlem rap icon Cam’ron or pop-sensation Carly Rae Jepsen (as they did on their debut album 55 in 2016), rock festivals every summer, and get the party started for Justin Bieber during the European leg of his Purpose World Tour.

Though their success is apparent, The Knocks still wrestle with the idea that they have. Compared to Jay-Z,” JPatt begins, “we’re not shit. But we’ve done a good job of creating a cult fanbase. Our fans fuck with us because we’ve been as real as you can possibly be. We never sold out to get that instant glory.”

“Sipping on the fame until the taste’s gone,“ B-Roc says on “Big Bills” from their sophomore set New York Narcotic (out Sept. 28). They know what it’s like to feel major, but also know there’s much to accomplish before the glitz glues to them. “We went on tour with Justin Bieber and performed for 20,000 people a night,” Ben says. “And then we got off that and we’re still doing shows where we’re performing before everyone else. Our goal is to do these big things but never let it get to our head.” The Knocks are as likely to be found performing for an arena crowd as they are to be DJing for a handful of music-lovers in a rundown bar.

“This is our first time having a song on the radio,” Ben says of their Foster The People-assisted cut for nightlife junkies, “Ride Or Die.” It has been streamed over 28 million times so far (boasting #1 on iTunes Electronic, 16 weeks on Billboard Alternative and 22 weeks on Billboard Dance charts.). “All of these big things are happening over our spans of time. It doesn’t feel like it’s happening all at once. So we were prepared for it.”

Cool funk cut “Shades” is currently featured in Hyundai’s ad campaign (SEE HERE), making it ubiquitous. Its smooth bassline and horns on the hook make it a track fit for the dance floor, but don’t let the obvious mask its story of a man using sunglasses to protect the joy and soul in his eyes from the opposition.

Like “Shades,” New York Narcotic is a thoughtful effort that balances the cheer of ideal New York nights with the sobering realities that sandwich them. Outkast’s Big Boi joins them on “Big Bills,” a song about the deep desire to be rich—or at least make rent—that rides on candy-sweet guitar rifts. “‘That is how everyone feels,” B-Roc says. “I want the big bills to see how it feels,’” he sings.

A feeling that fans will get used to on Narcotic is hearing JPatt rap. His potent bars strike ahead of Wu-Tang Clan’s Method Man on “Goodbyes.” James, the rapper, might be a new look for those following The Knocks, but he’s been spitting for years.
“When I met J-Patt,” Ben recalls, “he had albums of him rapping and singing on his own. And we were all like, ‘Oh, it’s funny. J-Patt’s rapping. But he’s not a rapper. So we can’t do it. But now it’s like, ‘Why the fuck not?’ J-Patt is stepping out of the background, singing much more and rapping.”

Quiet as kept, JPatt grew up wishing to be both a lyricist and a producer. Inspiration provided by Kanye West powered him. “He really changed the game for me and made me believe it was possible to be both,” James says. “I had so many notebooks that were filled with lyrics that never got to get spit. I definitely put my 10,000 hours into rapping.”

Those who might question The Knocks’ genuine love for rap should fall back; Boasting records with AZ, Cormega, Lil Wayne, and G-Unit, they clearly are true Hip-Hop fans. “If someone does step to us step to us,” B-Roc starts, “like, ‘Oh, you guys are making rap music now?’ I’ll be like ‘Yeah, check our rap credentials from when we were 18.’ We’ve been doing this.” An album dedicated to the birthplace of Hip-Hop needs rap as much as it requires odes to its lesser-known nooks and novelties.

Narcotic goes across the bridge to Brooklyn on “The Wizard of Bushwick,” where James resides in his “psychedelic palace.” The bouncing bop was inspired by a crazy picture of him snapped on his Bushwick roof wearing garb from his buddy’s Burning Man costume collection, walking stick included.

The album wraps with “Fung Wah Bus,” named after the now-defunct N.Y.C. to Boston line known for its cheap tickets and wonky schedule. The gentle closer stars Sleigh Bells songstress Alexis Krauss, who quietly exits the city. It’s tough to tell if she got her ass kicked by Gotham or if she’s just exhausted from hours of overindulging. “All good things end,” she sings while waving goodbye to her friends. It’s one of the purest moments of the set, where euphoria and sadness meet. Whatever she experienced during her trip was clearly too much for her to handle—enough for her to swear she’ll never return. Though Manhattan, as The Knocks know, is addictive. She’ll be back.