103 of 131 DOCUMENTS
The Kansas City Star
October 20, 2005 Thursday 1 EDITION
Review: A roadie polished the washboard and other tales from the Beaumont Club parking lot
BYLINE: By McCLAIN JOHNSON; TeenStar
SECTION: ;Pg.
LENGTH: 368 words
Rock and Lull: Split Lip Rayfield, the North Mississippi Allstars and Son Volt.
A large crowd packed the parking lot across from the Beaumont Club Saturday night to see three different bands play their trademark styles of music.
Split Lip Rayfield (from Wichita) warmed up the crowd with their signature high-octane, progressive bluegrass. Their fast and technical playing really got the crowd dancing and shouting. They are a band that's always up for a good time and have a major local following.
Before the show, I had heard varying reports about who was headlining. When I saw a roadie polish a washboard, I knew the North Mississippi Allstars were on next. NMA is a great blues trio with amazing jamming skills. Their rhythms had the entire parking lot grooving.
One of the definite highlights of the evening was a funky version of "Shake Em on Down." North Mississippi Allstars also turned "Amazing Grace" into an extended blues jam.
Toward the end of the set the washboard finally was put to use (in a blistering "Psychedelic Sex Machine"). During "Po Boy" guitarist Luther Dickinson climbed up the scaffolding supporting the stage and played over the crowd (Warning: This should be attempted by professional rock stars only).
Next up was Sun Volt. Son Volt is a tight band, but after NMA's psychedelic blues-rock freak out, their country-rock shuffle failed to move the audience as much. Their sound floated over the crowd and lulled them into a sonic slumber.
However, Son Volt can rock out when they want to and lead singer Jay Farrar's lively harmonica solos sent a bolt of energy through the crowd. Their guitarist delivered great rocking guitar licks, which provided a nice contrast to Farrar's mellow vocals.
Son Volt has been around since 1995, but I believe that if your band has less than two of its original members you should be legally required to think of a new name (Farrar rebuilt Son Volt with all new members and released "Okemah and the Melody of Riot" in July of this year). Son Volt can play, but the North Mississippi Allsars proved who should have closed out the night.
To reach McClain Johnson, a senior at Pembroke Hill, send e-mail to teenstar@kcstar.com
LOAD-DATE: October 20, 2005
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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