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Gavin B. · 03-24-2010, 12:24 PM

I recently saw Thievery Corporation on tour in Chicago. They had 12 piece band including brass section, a violinist and a sitar player. Rob Graza & Eric Hilton did the soundboard, turntables, keyboards and synthesizers and the rest of the band were the players from thier Radio Retaliation studio album. There was also a contingent of about a dozen vocalists, rappers and dancehall deejays all of whom were first tier live perfomers and skilled hands at working an audience. Each vocalist performed on at least one showcase song during the show.

A lot skeptics (like myself) wondered if T.C. could cut it as live performing ensemble because Rob and Eric were basically studio producers who came out of 90's underground club music scene. After seeing their barn burning live show, my feeling was none of their studio recordings do justice to their electrifying live performance in Chicago.

The TC show was a global tour de force which consisted of a brilliant fusion of trip hop, reggae, ambient, Bollywood, Afro-Carribean, Brazilian, and Europop music. I marvel at the genre smashing musical vision of TC.

When I was a lad, most pop music groups only did one thing well and lacked the cross-cultural awareness to do somehing as ambitious as the Thievery Corporation's musical project. A few pioneering jazz musicians like Rashaan Roland Kirk, Pharoah Sanders, Stan Getz and Herbie Mann explored the outernational regions of African, West Indian and Brazilian music in the 60s and 70s. music. But the global sound was absent from pop music, unless you count George Harrison fiddling around on a sitar on the recording of Norweigan Wood, way back in 1966. Thievery Corporation provides the listener with a full immersion education in the global folkways of music.

The TC live show is like experiencing a blizkreig dose of the worldbeat sound. I attended the 11 pm late show and TC rocked until 2 am. Earlier in the evening, TC had ripped through a completely different setlist at the 8-11pm show. TC logged a grand total of six hours stage time in a single evening. Even club kids who were revved up on amphetimines and ecstasy looked dazed and ready for nap time after the final encore.

I dug up a YouTube video of their live show at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, last August which had pretty much the same lineup as the Chicago show. The video captures some of the frentic energy of the show I attended.

Rob Graza and Eric Hilton maintain their usual low profiles on stage and show their own generosity by allowing the players and performers to carry the show. In the video, Rob and Eric are doing their sound-system thing atop the deejay booth which is on a raised platform located center stage behind the performers. This song I've embedded includes a contingent of Jamaican dancehall toasters performing a classic Jamaican dancehall style clash. Notice that nearly every one in the audience is on their feet and dancing. I can't not dance at one of these shows.

03-24-2010, 12:24 PM	#19 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	I recently saw Thievery Corporation on tour in Chicago. They had 12 piece band including brass section, a violinist and a sitar player. Rob Graza & Eric Hilton did the soundboard, turntables, keyboards and synthesizers and the rest of the band were the players from thier Radio Retaliation studio album. There was also a contingent of about a dozen vocalists, rappers and dancehall deejays all of whom were first tier live perfomers and skilled hands at working an audience. Each vocalist performed on at least one showcase song during the show. A lot skeptics (like myself) wondered if T.C. could cut it as live performing ensemble because Rob and Eric were basically studio producers who came out of 90's underground club music scene. After seeing their barn burning live show, my feeling was none of their studio recordings do justice to their electrifying live performance in Chicago. The TC show was a global tour de force which consisted of a brilliant fusion of trip hop, reggae, ambient, Bollywood, Afro-Carribean, Brazilian, and Europop music. I marvel at the genre smashing musical vision of TC. When I was a lad, most pop music groups only did one thing well and lacked the cross-cultural awareness to do somehing as ambitious as the Thievery Corporation's musical project. A few pioneering jazz musicians like Rashaan Roland Kirk, Pharoah Sanders, Stan Getz and Herbie Mann explored the outernational regions of African, West Indian and Brazilian music in the 60s and 70s. music. But the global sound was absent from pop music, unless you count George Harrison fiddling around on a sitar on the recording of Norweigan Wood, way back in 1966. Thievery Corporation provides the listener with a full immersion education in the global folkways of music. The TC live show is like experiencing a blizkreig dose of the worldbeat sound. I attended the 11 pm late show and TC rocked until 2 am. Earlier in the evening, TC had ripped through a completely different setlist at the 8-11pm show. TC logged a grand total of six hours stage time in a single evening. Even club kids who were revved up on amphetimines and ecstasy looked dazed and ready for nap time after the final encore. I dug up a YouTube video of their live show at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, last August which had pretty much the same lineup as the Chicago show. The video captures some of the frentic energy of the show I attended. Rob Graza and Eric Hilton maintain their usual low profiles on stage and show their own generosity by allowing the players and performers to carry the show. In the video, Rob and Eric are doing their sound-system thing atop the deejay booth which is on a raised platform located center stage behind the performers. This song I've embedded includes a contingent of Jamaican dancehall toasters performing a classic Jamaican dancehall style clash. Notice that nearly every one in the audience is on their feet and dancing. I can't not dance at one of these shows. Last edited by Gavin B.; 03-24-2010 at 12:34 PM.