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King Django |
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Tokyo Rose
Charlottesville, Virginia
06.26.01 |
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review
Considering King Django's extensive track record, it makes sense that his newest solo project strongly reflects his long commitment to Jamaican music. Django, born Jeff Baker, made his name as one of the leading voices in modern American ska: He is a former member of seminal New York ska and reggae-inflected bands the Boilers, Skadanks, Skinnerbox, and the Stubborn All-Stars; the founder of ska label Stubborn Records; the owner of Version City Studios, home to much of New York's current ska output; and the creator of the first New York ska 'zine, Rude Awakening, which was published for three years in the mid-'80s. His new outfit, however, draws equally on another part of his resume—his years spent touring as a horn player with Rancid and Murphy's Law. The combination of reggae and rock results in a satisfying mix similar to what Sublime and 311 dish on a regular basis, though with a bit more urban authenticity in the chatted vocals and Jamaican melodies.
Touring in support of their first Hellcat/Epitaph release, Reason, Django and his band (which includes Agent Jay on guitar, Noah Shachtman on bass, and Walter Tepperino on drums) brought a definite New York flavor and fury to the small stage in Charlottesville's Tokyo Rose. Though some may have felt Django was a bit distant and aloof during his performance, those who have spent any time in New York City would have recognized this simply as a good ol' fashioned New York City rude attitude. Early in the set, Django pulled out songs from past groups, including two Stubborn All-Stars tunes ("Grand Masters" and "Tired Of Struggling") and two Skinnerbox songs ("Next Finga" and "I Got To Know"). Django played melodica and harmonica to add some melody to the loud and pounding groove laid down by the band, though he is currently traveling without his trademark trombone—as he explained it, if you are not getting to play the trombone all the time, toughening up your lips, you might as well not play it at all.
The newer material from Reason sounded better live than it does on record. Months of touring has obviously strengthened these songs—"Precipice" and "Reason" are both pumping crowd movers, while "Lies And Rumors" has evolved from a drum & bass track on the record into a speed thrash blitzkrieg. A new tune, "Doing Things," was one of the group's best songs of the evening. King Django finished strong—while the band played an adrenalized version of reggae's classic Stalag riddim, Django touched on the Skinnerbox song "This A New York," before singing a few verses of "Ring The Alarm" and his own bastardized version, called "Bring Me A Bong." This was followed by "LKO," from Reason, which had plenty of space for Django to chat at high speed, showing off the lyrical skills that sets him apart from other rock-reggae groups dabbling in this material.
The crowd obviously didn't know what to expect from Django and his band, but seemed pleasantly surprised by the heavy but danceable mixture of styles. During the set, Django even breathed fire, blowing an orange plume of flame out towards the audience—something he is rumored to do often during shows. This gimmick was certainly an attention-grabber (with plenty of metaphoric overtones for the lyrics Django spits on a nightly basis), but King Django doesn't need to rely on schtick to succeed—the deep, fast, and loud reggae rock he plays should get him as much attention as he needs.
By Lem Oppenheimer
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