Feedback from Soul Sister #52

I expected to receive more feedback from you guys on last week's Sharon Jones post but it seems like lately there haven't been too many hits or downloads on here at all. I have been wondering if the demand for Eclectic Grooves is as high as it used to be. Without receiving consistent feedback from the readers, I am at a loss in figuring this one out. I imagine that one of the reasons that comments, hits and downloads are down is because people are subscribing to the blog's feed through Google or Yahoo reader. Another reason that I see is that the posts have been sporadic in the past three months due to circumstances out of my control.

Ideally, I would be writing about every piece of music that inspires me at the time, but we all know that this is not realistic. Also, since I have been contributing posts to Ear Fuzz as well, it cuts down on the time and resources that I have for Eclectic Grooves. In any event, I have every intention of continuing on with Eclectic Grooves, and I plan on revamping the site in the near future to make it more aesthetically appealing to the readers.

I realize that there are an extensive amount of blogs out there, but I truly feel that there are only a handful of them that do more than just post albums with a review from All Music or Dusty Groove tacked onto them. Along with the music, I am providing you with a fresh perspective or analysis of the music that I am listening to at the time. I haven't been able to keep up with the pace of many bloggers, but I promise to offer quality posts that will hopefully introduce new artists to your listening repertoire. I have a bunch of ideas for future posts simmering in the brain right now that I think you guys will really enjoy. Please keep checking back to see what's going on, and let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions about the artists I feature on here.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings- Oregon Zoo- July 25, 2008

Since the last time I posted on here, you might recall that I was about to check out Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings for the first time. I can only repeat the inevitable refrain of Wow!!! This is the real deal folks. It was easily one of the most entertaining concerts I have ever seen. This must have been what it was like to witness James Brown at the Apollo.

Sharon Jones gyrated her body to the funky grooves of the Dap Kings, and it was all over from there. The crowd was instantly captivated as she pranced and danced around the stage like a uncaged animal. Her amazing pipes filled the sold-out Oregon Zoo pavillion, while over 3700 screaming fans feverishly danced to the captivating rhythms of the Dap Kings.

One of the highlights was when Ms. Jones pulled this guy out of the crowd to dance during the song "Be Easy". He was a young kid who acted cool, but also let the crowd and Sharon know that he could shake it as well as the next guy. I was able to capture this performance on my girlfriends digital camera, so I will try and post it here soon. The other main highlight for me was when Sharon went through a story describing how she learned how to dance. She went into detail about combining her African origins with Native American and American to create a special dance that had the crowd hooting and hollering. I honestly can't remember the last time I had this much fun.

After the band left the stage at the end of the show, the crowd screamed for more. Ms. Jones and crew had one more trick up their sleeve- a fantastic cover of James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's World" that made you truly believe that you were in NYC circa 1967 witnessing the godfather pouring his soul out to the crowd in a packed, smoky club. With an encore like this, there wasn't much more that could be said. The crowd went home with a smile on their face and the songs indelibly etched on their mind.

Here are some pictures that I took at the show. Most of them are blurry, but they have an almost psychedelic feel to them since they are motion shots. The last two were take by my talented photographer/girlfriend Verity Wilcox. Hope you enjoy them and be on the lookout for more great things to come here in the future.

This one makes it look like she's missing her right hand.

















This one looks like the face morphing effects in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

















There is a very psychedelic feel to this picture that captures the electricity of the performance.
















These last two were take by my talented photographer/girlfriend Verity.
















Doin' the Dap Dip!