Galactic gave Suwannee Rising fans a wild ride during its day one headlining set including classic jams, new faves, and a fun Neal Francis sit-in under the majestic Spirit Of The Suwannee Live Oak encircled amphitheater. A rowdy Thursday night crowd greeted the New Orleans funk masters and it was the perfect match of an excited audience and a band that is built to make people get up and get down. But then, what would you expect from a band so funky they actually chipped together and bought the legendary Crescent City music club/mecca Tipitina’s to keep the beloved venue alive and kicking?
Vocalist Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph got the crowd going with her soul, spirit, and energy that set the table for the mastery of one of the most finely honed funk bands in the world to blow the metaphorical lid off the outdoor music mecca. Her full-throated and sultry delivery complimented the legendary Galactic sound. That sound was on full display whether welcoming the late-night act Neal Francis for a groovy take on “Yes We Can Can” or barreling through a rollicking setlist of jams.
When you build a band with human cyclone Stanton Moore on drums you have plenty of space for folks like saxophonist Ben Ellman, organist Rich Vogel, and guitarist Jeff Raines to stretch the sound in wildly different and yet thoroughly welcome directions. Ellman had a little help on horn from trumpet player Eric Gordon as bassist Robert Mercurio had a big night as always, including a fierce solo that saw the normally reserved musician take to the stage lip and lay down the law during the classic “Crazyhorse Mongoose”.
The show culminated with an explosive take on the Blind Willie Johnson by way of Led Zeppelin classic “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” that had every fan in earshot fully hyped and hypnotized into hysterics by the heaviness on display. Our own Rex-A-Vision serves as the videographer of the Spirit Of The Suwannee and stayed up late putting a special 28-minute clip together of the run of tunes just described so you can see the madness for yourself. Check out his channel on YouTube, and watch for yourself below.
Galactic – “Right On”, “Yes We Can Can” (The Pointer Sisters) (ft. Neal Francis), “Crazyhorse Mongoose”, “68 and Cloudy”, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” (Led Zeppelin) – 4/7/22
[Video: RexAVision]
Special thanks to bassist Robert Mercurio for the setlist info.
Setlist: Galactic| Suwannee Rising | Live Oak, FL | 4/8/22
Set: Clap Your Hands, Domino, You Don’t Know, Cineramascope, Higher and Higher, Something’s Wrong, Hey Na Na, Go Down, Go Go, Right On, Yes We Can Can#, Crazyhorse Mongoose, 68 and Cloudy, Nobody’s Fault But Mine
Encore:Dolla Diva > Getcha sum
#Neal Francis