The pairing of Black Joe Lewis and the Pimps of Joytime in a co-headlining tour is somewhat of an odd choice, at least on the surface. Each act has a totally different musical style, with Black Joe Lewis gravitating towards blues and rock and roll, and the Pimps centering on funk, disco and world music. Yet it actually makes sense when you consider the one thing both acts have in common: they both know how to throw a party. With the guaranteed good time promised by these acts, they chose to kick off their short tour together at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, February 9th.
Playing as a trio and wielding some serious muscle, Black Joe Lewis got the night started with an hour-long set that found him leaning into heavier riffing and stretching out. While he often tours with a horn section (the Honeybears), for this tour his stripped things down to a trio with only drums and bass backing his guitar. The result onstage was unbridled and raw, with the band leaning heavily into Lewis’ affinity for blues-rock. This transpired in the form of stomping Hill Country blues with plenty of shredding before he switched gears to a thick and funky take on “I’m Broke,” with Lewis laying down vicious guitar work. Longtime favorite “Booty City” continued in a similar vein before the band got back to nitty gritty blues on “She’s So Scandalous.” The band’s set was a healing dose of pure gutsy blues-rock with all of the intensity and raw emotion you could ingest. When they hit the sixty-minute mark the crowd was eager for more, and the Lewis looked ready to give it before ultimately waving goodnight.
The Pimps of Joytime have always featured a rotating cast of talented musicians rallying around front man and visionary Brian J. For this tour and hopefully beyond, the band has brought Garrett Shider, current guitarist and vocalist for George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, into the mix. From the opening track of “Freedom Dancer,” which started funky and morphed into a electronica-infused dance jam, it was clear Shider would make his mark as a Pimp. He led the band in the next tune, giving it that P Funk touch, before the band hit with their bright harmonies on the groove-laden disco title track off their most recent album Reachin’ Up. They would tap into a handful of tunes from that album throughout the set, with the Latin flare-meets-Neville-Brothers-soul of “Are You Gonna?” letting Brian J flex with a Santana-esque guitar solo. Carol C – who nailed percussion throughout the night – took the vocals on the dubbed out R&B tune “Paradise” before the band dropped into the full-on reggae dub of “Unity” that seemed to speak directly to our troubled times.
Balancing just the right amount of jamming with plenty of funked out dance tunes, the Pimps of Joytime showcased their ability to make their audience dance in Portland. The addition of Shider was clearly a smart choice, letting the band layer on even more funk to a sound that was already well-equipped. By the time they closed their set with yet another infectiously groovy dance tune, the party was in full swing. This is, after all, the mission of every Pimps of Joytime show. Indeed, in these dark times we live in, everyone could use a little more release, a little more funk, and a little more dance. On their current tour, the both the Pimps of Joytime and Black Joe Lewis are bringing exactly that.
All photos by Greg Homolka.
