Somewhere along the meandering course of the now-waning jam-band decade, horn-driven funk acts seemed to largely drop out of the regional nightclub circuit. While local bands such as Reverend Slanky and Sweet Low Down filled in the gap for fans of 70s-style get-down music, the number of busload bands blowing through town has dwindled noticeably since the turn of the millennium.
It’s no surprise, really: These days, a keyboardist with a decent rack of gear can fill in the ornamental gaps, while not requiring nearly as much space in the van – or food in the belly — as three honking homeboys. With the price of gas continually on the rise, many large bands have abandoned touring altogether, unless they’re able to fill theatre-sized venues.
And then, of course, there are the shifting tides of taste, which have turned in favor of techno-oriented acts in recent years. Where the Missoula-founded jam-band Signal Path once boasted five members playing mostly traditional rock-band instruments, it has now slimmed to two, who make their music mostly on electronic gadgets. New Orleans-based Galactic – one of the earliest and most successful bands in the jam-band movement – has dropped three members (including its vocalist) over the years, replacing them with looped samples and other electronic effects. Other nationally touring acts have similarly slimmed and techno-fied.
Point being, when a good old-fashioned horn band shows up in town, it’s an occasion in the eyes of old-school fans of the bump-and-grind. And when that band is Lubriphonic, hungry fans of the genre are likely to get what they’re looking for.
The Chicago-based act comes to town boasting a full compliment of horns, keys, drums and stringed instruments – and a resume that includes high-profile sets at the High Sierra Music Festival and as openers for the likes of George Clinton, Derek Trucks, Jon Popper Project, and others. On their own, members of the band have recorded and performed with big-name artists including Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor and many more.
Together, they’ve released two albums, with a third – featuring New Orleans legend Ivan Neville on keys – due out this autumn.
Fans of old-school funk should be happy with the results. Tunes like “Say Something Good,” with its gritty guitar ditty and boot-stomping funk groove, call to mind old classics like the similarly titled Rufus and Chaka Khan hit, “Tell Me Something Good.” Singer Giles Corey doesn’t quite have the pipes to keep up with all the grinding and blowing; but this is a band that can spin an instrumental groove longer than you can probably shake your hips.
Here they are playing a hometown gig in Chicago:
Lubriphonic appears at the Top Hat on Saturday, Sept. 11.
