Sam's Sounds: Tropic Culture with Bakalao Stars

Let's take a further look at Tropic Culture. I've seen this Charlotte band play several times over the past year, and what I saw this past Friday at the Visulite was a step up from their previous concerts. They have augmented their horn section, adding an incredible saxaphone player, Adrian, who in many ways stole the show.

He played an autotune machine during a couple of songs, seducing the women in the crowd with distorted growlings of the song's melody. He ventured out into the crowd during that time during the show when all but the most dedicated dancers grow weary, and engaged the audience directly, even climbing the stairs to the bar to get the barflies moving and grooving. Along with the rest of the horn section, he massacred a cover of Chick Corea's "Spain," so much so that a fellow saxophonist in the crowd was by the stage clapping and cheering. Tropic Culture is developing new songs, which are not perfected yet, but showcase some improved ideas for the band. Overall, I was intrigued and the concert had me anticipating what these guys might do next.

I've heard Tropic Culture described as a "festival band" or jam band, the type of group that most in its element at fairs, festivals, and outdoor celebrations. I think this is an accurate description, if you take this label to mean that the band is a "big tent" affair, where various styles and genres exist side by side, and are imperfectly and messily mixed together. At times, Tropic Culture brings the funk of Tower of Power, the throwback disco of Jamiroquai, or the breaks common in lite, smooth and acid jazz, all with a side of tropical rhythm. When I interviewed the group this past July, they hinted that they were in the process of changing their sound, and they appear to have made that change. They call what they are doing a "Dance Revolution," again this is festival music, not "serious" rock you stand around contemplating (for better or worse).

Tropic Culture has always had a certain socio-political stance, in the feel-good, spread-the-love vein of listeners of Bob Marley who adhere to his pop songs and sidebar his Garveyite lyrics (War, Burnin' and Lootin'). In songs like "Eliminate the Hate" and "The Train," they advocate a pleasant social activism, never threatening or controversial. In this concert, they dedicated a song to the people of Ecuador, after a chaotic week when the Ecuadorian president was attacked by striking police. This song included the lyrics, "the revolution must begin." Without reading too much into it, we can at least say Tropic Culture want us not to forget the troubles of the world, but at least be aware of them while we dance to their music.

With Bakalao Stars opening, the crowd got warmed up, and, as always, there were some Bakalao fans in attendance.