Boulevards unleash the funk at Hangar
If you were at the Hangar on the Hudson Sunday night for Boulevards, you witnessed greatness. If you weren’t, well, you missed out on one hell of a show.
Boulevards is the stage name for North Carolinian Jamil Rashad. In 2016, he released his debut LP “Groove,” a tasty slab of ’80s-inspired electrofunk. Since then Rashad’s style has moved back in time through the history of funk, which has him currently placed in the gritty, late 1960s-indebted sound of his critically lauded 2022 album “Electric Cowboy: Born in Carolina Mud.”
Rashad and the tightest funk band to come to the Capital Region since the Dap-kings in 2015 hit the Hangar stage and offered up an urgent, life-affirming hourlong set of funkand-soul. He cut an unbelievably cool figure in his “Electric Cowboy” ensemble of boots, denim jeans-and-vest and cowboy hat. From the opening notes of first song “Lord Knows,” he was a physical and charismatic presence, constantly in motion and working the stage like a pro. I mean, it takes some real skill to do the mashed potato in cowboy boots across a carpeted stage, but Rashad nailed that, the camel walk and a host of moves effortlessly like the heir apparent to James Brown.
The energy of Rashad and his band was unflagging throughout the set. There were no ballads, no breaks, just uptempo funk workout after glorious uptempo funk workout. “Need You” channeled
“Mother Popcorn,” while “How Do Ya Feel” felt like a focused, less eccentric Sly and the Family Stone. The real jewel of the evening was the penultimate track, “K.M.O.” The bassline was irrepressible and had everyone in the room moving their head or their hips. If the audience was more familiar with Boulevards and the song, the chorus of “Girl, you knock me out” would have made for a great audience sing-along.
It was a real testament to the professionalism of the group that they played as hard and as well as they did, considering the low turnout. Instead, Rashad and the group treated it like they were conquering heroes in front of a packed house and provided one of the most exciting performances I’ve seen in quite some time.
Before Boulevards played, local rockers Family Tree opened the evening. The fivepiece band featuring members of Super 400 played an eclectic hourlong set. the covers of The Who’s “The Seeker” and Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally” were a lot of fun and got some folks moving on the dance floor.