In what proved to be a powerful co-billing, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe performed at Portland, Oregon’s Wonder Ballroom last Friday, November 20th.
Affectionately nicknamed “The Dame and The Diesel,” this show combined the Gramblers’ song-driven classic rock/Americana sound with the Tiny Universe’s driving, jazz-fueled R&B funk juggernaut, and it turned out to be a potent musical cocktail.
Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers were first to take the stage, and spent their hour-long set satiating established fans and winning over the uninitiated. Nicki Bluhm has a natural, commanding stage presence that draws people in and then her voice does the rest. She digs deep and leaves it all on the stage.
Her confidence up there is likely strengthened knowing that there’s a rock-solid band backing her up. The cohesion they possess is that of a band that’s been together for decades. And, actually, the whole production harkens back to sometime in the late sixties or early seventies, especially when Bluhm is channeling Grace Slick and belting out Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody To Love.”
But getting just as much crowd appreciation as any of the covers they played were original Grambler songs like “Jetplane” and “Little Too Late.” The set was powerful enough that someone said, “If that had been the end of the show, I would have been completely happy.”
Of course, if anyone went home before Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe played, they missed a scorcher of a set that had nearly every person in the Wonder Ballroom dancing like they were auditioning for Soul Train.
Lately when KDTU has come around, they’ve had a trick or two up their sleeve. Last year, they did an entire set of Run DMC, and on another tour they did the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers album in its entirety. This time the band came out and concentrated on Tiny Universe and Greyboy Allstars material — and proved that there is absolutely no need for gimmicks when you have mad chops and a deep groove.
Nicki Bluhm came out to trade verses with Denson on “My Baby”, a song on the 2014 Tiny Universe LP New Ammo. About midway through KDTU’s set, Denson said that they wanted to send a song out to the people of France, and launched into an instrumental version of Pink Floyd’s “Fearless” that took the already frenetic crowd to yet another level.
Denson has been getting some much-deserved attention since being invited to join the Rolling Stone’s touring band. As employable as he is as a sideman, there’s hope that he won’t stop bringing his musical vision to fans through his role as bandleader. He’s gathered together a great ensemble of players, who all shine on their own, but are team players who know what the music needs to reach maximum propulsion. In this band full of great musicians, one of Friday’s nominees for MVP would have to go to guitarist DJ Williams, who built solos that continued to intensify until it seemed the music was playing him, and not the other way around.
Overall, a show that captivated the crowd from start to finish. Judging by the hundreds of deep grins on the faces of fans when the house lights came up, the Dame and the Diesel will be welcome back to Portland any time.
Words and photos by Greg Homolka. See the full gallery of images below:
