2011

7 Walkers @ Double Door, March 26

Words and Photos: Allison Taich

7 Walkers stopped by Chicago’s Double Door Saturday March 26 to lay down two solid sets of jam filled, funk-soaked roots rock. Sounds complicated, I know, but wait until you hear the lineup: Papa Mali on vocals/guitar, Bill Kreutzmann of the Grateful Dead on drums, George Porter Jr. of The Meters on vocals/bass and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard (who has played with the likes of Willie Nelson) on colorful flair including but not limited to keys, trombone, harmonica, melodica and vocals. The group embraced bursts of psychedelic California sun influenced by the Grateful Dead, tossed with the funk, grit and passion of New Orleans, creating a concoction Kreutzmann appropriately dubbed “swampadelic.”

The show transformed the typically dark Double Door into a land of tie-dyed wonder. Vibrant tapestries lined the stage, accentuated by streams of Technicolor lights and colorful Heads cutting loose on the dance floor. The music started with light instrumental tinkering as the musicians eased into the setting. Soon a Grateful Dead-esque “Space” jam formed guided by rhythmic beats that pulsated with life from wandering bass and fluent guitar licks. The power and energy streaming from the stage was undeniable, and was a real treat to witness. The men of 7 Walkers were bound together by pure devotion to their crafts, which was reflected not only in their playing but also in their happy grins.

The band gained in strength as set one progressed, starting with a transition from “Space” into the beloved Grateful Dead classic Mr. Charlie. Mr. Charlie had the entire club wrapped in the funked up tale of pure outlaw voodoo attitude. Hubbard dominated the song with some of the most animated keyboard skills I have ever witnessed; his playing literally kept me on my toes. His hands raced up and down the keys unleashing florid glissandos and chromatic builds that raised Mr. Charlie to new heights.

READ ON for more on 7 Walkers’ show at the Double Door…

Robbie Robertson visited The View yesterday for an interview with co-host Whoopi Goldberg and a performance of He Don’t Live Here No More. As we’ve mentioned, Robertson was backed by

The latest installment of the Neil Young Archives Performance Series, entitled A Treasure, is set for a June 14 release. This 12-track album collects some of the best moments from

Last Friday marked the official launch of the brand spanking new @Hidden_Track Twitter feed. To coincide with the new feed comes the first of my Twitter-centric columns where I’ll check in with a weekly look at what’s happening with @Hidden_Track and beyond.

We want the feed to be a way for you to directly interact with us here at Hidden Track as well as for our followers to tweet with each other. Just yesterday was the first of our #htconvo conversations  where we asked our followers to tweet about their first concert experiences.  We’ll have more of those discussions and plenty of other ways to get our followers involved with Hidden Track.

@Hidden_Track is also an outlet for the staff to share with you what’s currently occupying our headphones and rocking our turntables. We’re letting our followers know what’s #nowplaying with a rotating cast of contributors tuning you in to what their tuned into.

READ ON for a look at what we’ve been listening to…

Last week we kicked off a two-part series of articles by Pete Mason detailing the rise of Strangefolk from the group’s start at the University of Vermont through their climb to prominence as a national touring act on a major label. The second part continues the story from Reid Genauer’s departure in 2000 through the present with a hint of what’s to come.

Reid Genauer left Strangefolk in the fall of 2000 following the band’s Garden of Eden Festival. His departure had both an immediate and long term impact on the band.

Jon Trafton: When Reid left, we didn’t know what to do. Should we keep going? [Strangefolk drummer] Luke [Smith], myself and Erik weren’t ready to stop and we were confused as to what to do. The immediate effect was finding a replacement in [current guitarist] Luke [Patchen] and adding in keyboards was a cool idea – something I’d always wanted to check out. Our first show as a reformed Strangefolk was on November 4, 2000 at the Mad Mountain Tavern in Waitsfield Vermont. Don [Scott] actually joined mid-tour because our first keyboardist, Scott Shdeed, just wasn’t working out, so Don had to learn as we went on the road. Don joined us in Eugene, Oregon and got immersed very fast.

Along with the shifts in personnel came changes to the band’s sound and personality. The new members brought new ideas and a fresh perspective to the band.

Trafton: Patchen is an awesome singer and great on guitar. At first we felt we had to honor the songlist and play the older songs – at least the ones that Reid, Erik and I had written together. Patchen never exactly wanted to try to fill Reid’s shoes because he’s got his own thing going, but he did a great job with the older songs.

At the start we were respectful to the fans and the past musically but then we eventually began to move on into newer songs and sounds. He’s like Velcro, remembers everything we learn, has a great personality and is a utility both on acoustic and electric and gives us great interplay. Don is a great guy and a good choice to join the band. He can help us get into spacey zones and takes the pressure off of Jon.

Patchen: I never really wanted to have a day job, it just didn’t seem fun to me. For two years I played the subways in New York City and it was a job in a way. I would get up and play from 6AM to 9AM and again from 4PM to 7PM being paid in change.

READ ON for the rest of The Strangefolk Story…