Galactic is Stellar !

I'm just back from Galactic's first ever live concert in Paris and it was an absolute blast. Two hours of hard groove, with guests Boots Riley (of The Coup) and Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5) and another guy whose name I didn't catch.

First, the band was on with the groove, full-throttle. It was hard sounding funk through and through, dynamic, hard hitting, without excessive meanderings. The balance was a little rough at first (the guitarist, in particular, could not be heard) but it improved after a few tracks. The band played mostly with the guest singers, with occasional instrumentals between guests. It was a nice balance of songs with vocals and instrumentals overall.

My favourite bits were those with Boots Riley. It sounded meaner, sometimes even close to a funkier Rage Against the Machine. Plus I found his stage presence more interesting (although Chali 2na is seriously tall) Which is not to say that the bits with Chali 2na and his partner weren't good, they just weren't as good as far as I was concerned.

The instrumentals were mostly classic Galactic including a damn fine Crazyhorse Mongoose. I was hoping for a Led Zep cover and although I think the intro to the encore was Led Zep, they held it only for a minute or so waiting for the rappers to come back on stage.

Musically, Ellman was impressive. He's not the most harmonically inventive sax player out there, but then that's not what makes funk funk. And he can make that horn scream, it's just mindblowing. He played harp only on one tune (Think Back) but it was interesting background stuff using a delay.

And of course, I was as stunned as I expected to be by Stanton Moore. That guy is just out there. And modest as well. The whole band came down in the audience after the end of the concert, and I had a chance to chat a few seconds with Stanton and Ben. Such nice guys...

Anyway, it was a superb evening of funk, and I strongly recommend that you check these guys out whenever they're in your neighborhood! Oh, and I had my new camera with me so you can check out the photos too!