Thursday, October 14, 2010
TICKETS HERE
TOM TOM CLUB
The Talking Heads formed in 1975 as part of movement, alongside the likes of Arthur Russell and Peter Zummo, that aimed to blur contemporary pop with avant garde musics . The exploits of David Byrne’s legendary quartet are paramount in rock history, and the side project formed by his bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz has built a comparable legacy. TOM TOM CLUB began officially in 1980 as a creative outlet for the married couple. Their tendency towards the funky and quirky has enjoyed widespread critical and commercial success; their self-titled debut featured “Genius Of Love” which would become one of the biggest jams of the decade. That track’s groove remains widely sampled and is a central component to numerous hits including Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy,” Grandmaster Flash’s “It’s Nasty” and Ziggy Marley’s “Tomorrow People (Hank Shocklee Remix).” The album was recorded in the Bahamas during the sessions for Grace Jones’ Nightclubbing, providing the opportunity to collaborate with some of the Caribbean’s most prominent session musicians including Ezikiah “Sticky” Thompson and the Sweetbreath Sisters. Thus, the Tom Tom Club represented revolutionary thinking in popular music while calling attention to kindred genres, reggae and the emerging hip-hop scene to be specific.
Frantz and Weymouth remained on board with the Talking Heads throughout the group’s duration, performing “Genius of Love” for the filming of Stop Making Sense. Still they remained open to collaboration with numerous prominent artists for small scale projects, including Jerry Harrison, k.d. lang Bonnie Raitt and the Happy Mondays. Their third album Boom Boom Chi Boom featured production by Arthur Baker. They played on the seminal Escape from New York tour alongside The Ramones, Debbie Harry and Jerry Harrison in 1990. The years between 1991 and 2000 saw no studio release from the group, though they continued to appear at pivotal moments in pop, including on the debut Gorillaz album. They released The Good The Bad And The Funky in 2000 on their independent Tip Top Music label in partnership with Rykodisc.
Family life has made a live concert by the Tom Tom Club a rare and incredible occasion. New York City was left yearning for more after they played to a sold out crowd of 5,000 alongside Devo and Dan Deacon two years ago. Now they are promoting their latest record, a live collection entitled Genius of Live. Santos Party House and its army of speakers welcomes them back with open arms. Time to bounce is right.
CARAVAN OF THIEVES
Headed up by vocalists Fuzz (Deep Banana Blackout, Tom Tom Club) and Carrie Sangiovanni, Caravan of Thieves have built a distinct sound that relies on acoustic arrangements and gypsy progressions. Their luscious harmonies are befitted by the virtuosic violin courtesy of Ben Dean, and the jazz-trained bass playing by Brian Hill. Their 2008 LP Bouquet was produced by Keith “Touch” Saunders, creative force behind numerous MTV and Sony projects.
