Date: Saturday, September 17th, 2016
Line Up: Members of Slightly Stoopid, Dumpstaphunk, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe & more
Venue: Music Box. San Diego, CA
‘Slightly Phunky’ — A Late Night Post-Kaaboo Festival Super-Jam — Ft. members of Slightly Stoopid, Dumpstaphunk, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe & more
“Slightly Phunky” was curated by Silverback Music, whose vision for a special “Post Kaaboo SuperJam” looked to connect San Diego’s finest musical talent, Slightly Stoopid and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, in a collaborative “mashup” with New Orleans funkiest family of musicians, Dumpstaphunk.
Dumpstaphunk, which includes sons of the Neville Brothers and Meters, Ivan Neville and Ian Neville, performed at the 2nd annual Kaaboo Festival in Del Mar, CA.
The idea for “Slightly Phunky,” a first time event, was inspired by other legendary post festival annual “Super Jam” formats, similar to the infamous Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and New Orleans Jazzfest late night programming, which has become a bon-a-fide tradition at various festivals.
The action started with the first ever live performance of Dela’s Opening Nite, which is a new side project led by Slightly Stoopid’s saxophone player Daniel Delacruz, and backed by a band in The Aggrolites, and accompanied by the additional Slightly Stoopid horns members – Karl Denson and Andy “AG” Geib.
The material of the Opening Nite set drew from compositions soon to be released on a new studio album, which was recently recorded in San Diego and produced by Karl Denson. The Aggrolites are also the “house band” on the release which is rumored to drop this winter, and is anticipated to be a high class instrumental affair of jazz and dub, as well as special guest vocalists and MC’s Angelo Moore of FISHBONE, Chali2na of Jurassic 5, and the Grouch & Eligh who you might have seen and heard recently on tracks and on tour with Slightly Stoopid this summer.
From the opening note of Opening Night, a packed house at the Music Box in San Diego became instantly entranced in the Rock-Steady groove taking place among Dela and his horn section in lock-step with the authentic studio one sound of the Aggrolites; in the tradition of legendary reggae backing bands like the Skatalites, Upsetters, and Roots Radics.
If this set was any indication of Opening Night’s upcoming studio album, fans can look forward to something very special as this was a sound that kept the crowd engaged until the very last note. An encore featuring San Diego’s own and Slightly Stoopid’s drummer, Rymo and vocalist/guitarist Kyle McDonald for a live rendition of “This Version,” a track featured on Stoopid’s last studio record, Meanwhile…. Back At The Lab, a song that happens to also feature Roger Rivas of The Aggrolites on Hammond B3.
Speaking of Hammond B3 players, the infamous Ivan Neville and his award winning funk outfit from New Orleans – Dumpstaphunk (Probably the funkiest band on the planet for the last decade) hit the stage right around midnight. The Nola born and bred 5 piece dropped the hammer for all those looking to step it up and boogie into the late night hours following a brilliantly sunny first day of Kaaboo festival.
Ivan, the son of GRAMMY vocalist and American icon Aaron Neville, also plays keyboards for Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones in his band Xpensive Winos, and is a unique treasure among the lineage of popular piano men from New Orleans, such as James Booker, Art Neville, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint, to name a few.
No stranger to the “SuperJam” format, Ivan and Co. enlisted an array of special guests for this show that encompassed members of Slightly Stoopid, The Black Crowes, and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe for unique interpretations of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” The Rolling Stones “Heartbreaker,” and The Meters’ “Under The Weather,” in addition to their own classic originals that currently dominate the New Orleans modern funk tradition and beyond.
“Slightly Phunky” was not just “Slightly” funky, it was pure Funk for the ages with an aesthetic nod to San Diego’s finest in what seemed like a cohesive culture clash of reggae and funk played by various masters of their genres.
Let’s hope Kaaboo and Silverback Music continue this tradition in years to come as the music was a celebration of collaboration and yielded extremely satisfying original sounds and massive vibes with something totally unexpected, stylistically.
The Music Box was a really nice venue for this late nite party and we look forward to coming back and getting slightly funky there anytime!
Related Links:
Exclusive Slightly Stoopid Blog
Slightly Stoopid Website
Dumpstaphunk Website
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
Silverback Music Management Website
Article By: Jon Phillips
Photos By: Keith Zacharski
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