Music of the spirit lives in John Brown's Body

report filed 3/28/00 7:45 am - Got a potent double dose of John Brown's Body this past weekend at Winstons. The place was busy both nights. On Saturday, JBB opened for the Electric Waste Band, a local Dead cover unit featuring Psydecar drummer, Ed '31 Flavors' Fletcher. Playing the short but sweet opening slot was a smart move. The EWB are a big draw here in the mellow little hamlet of Ocean Beach, and lots-o-folks who got a taste of JBB on Saturday came back to hear more on Sunday.

Currently midway into a cross country tour, the Boston based roots reggae outfit had a good stop here in OB. Wigglin' through one easy skankin' groove after another, JBB just got hotter as Sunday's two set performance pulsed into the early morning hours. Everything about this band works. The rhythm section makes you dance. The sweet, four part harmonies make you sing.



And then there's the horns. At times understated, others a wall of brass thunder, JBB's 'march of Zion' horn section is exceptional! Conjuring mystical forces from another dimension while keyboards gurgle like a Caribbean carnival, JBB's sound is a celebration of the spirit - lots of soulful, positive energy projected throughout the extended evening of music.



JBB will be on the road for several more weeks before returning home. Go see these guys if they come to your town - they're as good as it gets!

In other news:

AG's Journal is back! WMO is deep into the second leg of their Winter Tour 2000 and although incomunicato for a few days, AG is back on track! We're pleased to post four new entries to AG's Journal. And as if that weren't enough excitement in the monkey barrel, we've also posted another WMO photo gallery. This time the snapper is Ted from Headquarters, with some cool shots from WMO's recent show in Tempe.

We've also been receiving plenty of entries for the WMO STORY CONTEST, but it's still not too late to enter. We will be announcing the winners for the Story Contest as well as the Photo Contest on April 8th, so you still have time to submit.

OK, what else? We've posted our review of Dr. John's new CD, Duke Elegant, as well as several new links to our link page.

Next time out we hope to have several CD reviews (I know, you've heard that before), including a look at the new stuff from John Scofield, Cool Water Canyon, Ulu, Soup, Tom Chaffee, and the Almighty Senators...

On the live music front, Psydecar's CD release party for 'Wing and Prayer' is coming up on Saturday, and if all goes well, we'll have images from that show when we update the site next week.

Until then we're knee deep in verbage here, making progress on the Relix book and bangin' through these darn CD reviews...

see ya next week!