There was a distinct element of poetic justice surrounding Galactic’s appearance at Higher Ground February 10. In 2017, this linchpin of the contemporary NOLA scene had to cancel a concert at this very same venue due to severely inclement weather, the very likes of which the band (barely) avoided this time around.
As a result, the Vermont stop on the group’s 25th Anniversary tour represented their persistence and perseverance on multiple fronts. And there was an appropriately celebratory air pervading the room before Galactic took the stage to a pre-recorded intro: an audience that almost but not quite filled the main floor of the room was primed to make all the noise they were encouraged to project repeatedly during the evening (even if the response was a bit out of proportion to the performance at times).
Nothing was so uproarious as “Fabuloso,” the first encore number. Notably, one of the purely instrumental pieces Galactic offered during the course of a little over ninety minutes on stage, it was also one where, not coincidentally, the most extended solo of the evening occurred: saxophonist Ben Ellman outshone himself there, even more so than during his two sassy turns on harmonica. Grounded in the low range of the register, the sound mix was nevertheless distinct enough to reveal such subtleties, more of which ensued when drummer Stanton Moore—who often sounded like more than a single man at a kit—took the spotlight with his cymbals stage center between “68 and Cloudy” and “Qualified.”
His was a fitting interlude in a somewhat fitful progression of the single set as Galactic accommodated two vocalists usually alternating their appearances. The latest in a long line of successors to the late Theryl “Houseman” de’Clouet, both Tank & The Bangas’ Anjelika ‘Jelly’ Joseph and Chali 2Na of Jurassic 5 might better have performed for more sustained intervals, perhaps at the one and two-thirds marks of the show: less coming and going of theirs would’ve provided better pacing. And Ryan Montbleau’s single tune sit in on “It Wasn’t Me” was a bonafide non-sequitur, pure and simple, even though he acted somewhat less of a cheerleader than his counterparts.
As it was, Galactic certainly did more for him and the other two individuals than their presence did for the band. In fact, while it’s understandable for any accompanists to defer to their frontpeople, it was readily discernible how, immediately following each instance of the respective departures of Joseph or 2Na, the intensity of the ensemble’s musicianship rose markedly. Still, there was no denying the joyous frenzy all around on “Dolla Diva” with all eight players and singers on stage: the sextet might not have been so crowd-pleasing on their own, without any additional collaborators, but because a quarter-century together has fine-tuned their ensemble playing tremendously, the strictly instrumental approach introduced with “Big Whiskers” might well be more deeply satisfying on a purely musical level, especially as over a half-dozen segues peppered the performance.
Each such number of the night (roughly half the selections) was a suitable reminder thereof, in turn rendering the almost-but-not-quite full moon, as it shone outside above Higher Ground afterwards, an ideal metaphor for the show: the orb glowed brightly to be sure, just not quite as fully as it might have.
Photos Courtesy Ross Mickel – Bootleggers Beware Photography
*****
SETLIST
Intro
Big Whiskers
Right On
Float Up
Clap Your Hands
Gypsyshit
Rocky intro >>
Comin’ Through >>
Freedom >>
Quality Control
Penitentiary Philosophy>>
Going Straight Crazy
Horn Interlude>>
Heart of Steel>>
Crazyhorse Mongoose>>
2nd half of Church
Think Back
International (Chali)
It Wasn’t Me
Dance at My Funeral
68 and Cloudy
Drum solo>>>
Qualified
Encore
Fabuloso
Dolla Di
