SSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

...OOOOOOULIVE! Yessir, Soulive was in concert at Prospect Park tonight as a part of the Celebrate Brooklyn festival. It was coined as a free show, but as it turned out it was only $3. $3 is a good deal if you ask me. You know I jumped at the opportunity to see one of my favorite bands for $3. I tried to see if St. Clair or Darrell could come with me, but they were busy with a few other things, so I went to the show with my mother. My mother loves Soulive so I knew she'd like to go see them. The show opened up with a group called Antibalas. They're a Worldbeat group from Brooklyn. They were very good. At first I had the "hurry up and finish so I can see Soulive" attitude, but I got into the music and enjoyed myself. After they finished their set, I moved closer to the front of the stage so I could get a good view and go nuts when Soulive came on. I don't even have to tell you whether or not they put on a good show, if you don't know by now, I feel sorry for you. I got a chance to see them last year and they put on a great show then, but this show absolutely kicked the last show's ass! They went all out with this show. As they made their way to the stage, I saw this really tall dude in front of me stand up in anticipation. He had to have been about 6'9" at least. Since I never got his name, I'll just call him the Tree.

Me: You ready man?
Tree: I'm ready, you ready?
Me: I'm ready, I've been ready!

From that point, he was my Soulive buddy for the night. The Tree and I enjoyed the hell out of that show! We were both awed by Eric Krasno's (the guitarist's) ability to just wail on his guitar, and how he was able to convey different feelings in his solos. Everyone was pretty solid tonight, especially Rashawn Ross (trumpet) and Ryan Zoidis (tenor and alto sax). There were a couple of points where things were a bit off, but nothing that detracted from the excitement of the show. I tried to remember the setlist in order, but I got too caught up in the show and lost track. I'll get it soon. They played a bunch of old songs and a bunch of new songs from their upcoming album Break Out. I was happy that they played Steppin', that is one of my favorite songs. I was hoping they would play Cachasa, which is from the new album, but they played Reverb and Vapor, which made up for it. Man that was a great show! The Tree had a good time, I'm sorry I never got his name. My mother had a great time as well. I'm so freakin' happy I got to see them. This makes up for the two shows in May that I missed. I also have a crapload of pictures that captured the magic that is Soulive. I had to adjust the settings on the camera manually because the flash was basically worthless, and due to my inability to hold the camera still, a lot of the shots came out shaky. But there are many good ones, I'll have those up by Sunday.

I thought the concert would be the high point of the day, but nope, it gets better. I get home, and on the answering machine is a message from Summer Youth Employment Program, I've been selected for summer work! I GOT A JOB!!!! W000000()()()()7!

ZOMGIGOTAFREAKINJOBANDIGOTTOSEESOULIVETHEGREATESTJAMBANDAROUNDRIGHTNOWI'MSOHAPPYRIGHTNOWIDON'TKNOWWHATTODOWITHMYSELFHOLYCRAPHOLYCRAPHOLYCRAPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!

Phew. Miss Muffy said it best: "What a great fuckin' day to bake some muffins!"


Soulive (l-r): Alan Evans (drums), Rashad Ross (trumpet), Ryan Zoidis (sax), Eric Krasno (guitar), and Neal Evans (Hammond B3, clavinet and bass keys)