New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Things are gonna get FUNKY! Galactic comes to Fairfield
FAIRFIELD — So it’s August, things are getting steamy — maybe not quite New Orleans steamy, but still ...
And all of a sudden, Galactic is rolling into town for a show tonight at Fairfield Theatre Company’s The Warehouse. And they’ve got NOLA native soul singer Erica Falls up front doing the vocals!
Things are about to get FUNKY, y’all!
Like a Mardi Gras on wheels! Galactic has always mined deep into the New Orleans funk jam tradition — and at this point, some 24 years after coming in as new kids on the Crescent City block, the band has become very much a part of it.
They’ve always updated and souped-up for a new generation the kinds of grooves laid down way back when by The Meters — and over time, have become a New Orleans classic all their own.
Galactic, in fact, has grown over the years into one of THE seminal New Orleans bands, both with its core members and as a vehicle into which any number of special guests can be — and have been — plugged in over the years.
Formed in 1994 as an eightpiece band named Galactic Prophylactic, the band soon streamlined into a six-piece: guitarist Jeff Raines, bassist Robert Mercurio, drummer Stanton Moore, Hammond organ player Rich Vogel, vocalist Theryl DeClouet and saxophone player Ben Ellman.
Mercurio and Raines, childhood friends from Chevy Chase, Maryland, moved to New Orleans together to go to college, and got turned on by the local scene.
When DeClouet left Galactic in 2004, the band continued as an instrumental group with a num-
ber of vocalists popping in to join them from time to time both in the studio and live — from hip-hop artists Boots Riley, Gift of Gab and Chali 2na to German rapper Dendermann to Living Colour vocalist Corey Glover.
Galactic’s influences include everything from electronic music to hip hop, world music, rock, blues and jazz, but because it’s a band of shape-shifters who constantly push musical and artistic boundaries, one never knows exactly which direction a show is headed until it starts. Therein lies the fun.
So to really know what to expect when Galactic plays Fairfield Theatre Company’s The Warehouse tonight, you just have to go.
The show starts at 8 p.m. (Doors at 7.) Tickets are $38 or $35 in advance at fairfieldtheatre.org or 203259-1036. The Warehouse is at 70 Sanford St.
Over the years, Galactic’s sound has evolved and grown less traditional, with an increased use of electronic effects, phrase samplers and various forms of distortion.
In live performances, guests have included The Neville Brothers, George Porter Jr. of The Meters, Mavis Staples, Macy Gray, JJ Grey, the Soul Rebels Brass Band, Brian Seeger, Corey “Boe Money” Henry, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Skerik.
Galactic, which tours widely, has shared stages over the years with the Allman Brothers Band, B.B. King, Counting Crows, Live, The Roots, Fusebox Funk, Widespread Panic, Gift of Gab (of Blackalicious) and Jurassic 5, to name a few.
Falls’ brand of soul, meanwhile, is deeply influenced by the city in which she grew up — particularly New Orleans’ rich culture of jazz and funk. She has recorded and performed over the years with the likes of Joe Sample, Dr. John, Sting, Irma Thomas, No Doubt, Joss Stone, Bobby Charles and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.
Also coming up this week, FTC, which used to do shows all the time at the Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport before opening The Warehouse, is back there Thursday night for “An Evening With Lyle Lovett and His Large Band.”
Always worth seeing, Lovett has continually made great music for decades now. If you’ve never seen him, especially if you like rootsy country influences done from a sophisticated, thinking person’s perspective, you really ought to!
Showtime is 8 p.m. (Doors at 7.) Tickets are $54-$98, available in advance at fairfieldtheatre.org . The Klein is at 910 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport. mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com