The Blue Method
First up for us was The Blue Method, a Philadelphia-based old-school R&B funk band with keyboards, guitar, a killer horn section, backing vocals by a trio of beauties, and the deep-voiced frontman/trumpeter, Brian Williams. My favorite song was "Something Divine", a love song that is pure Philly soul.
The Blue Method (Brian Williams in blue)-Jam On The River-Philadelphia, PA, 27 May 2006World Party
The next band we got to see, and the highlight of the event, was World Party. Co-founded back in the 1990s by ex-Waterboy Karl Wallinger, World Party's music is a bit difficult to pigeonhole; I like to think of it as melodic pop rock with bits of funk and folk. This time around, the band includes John Turnbull on lead guitar amd David Duffy on fiddle and mandolin. Wallinger, who lost his voice for a time after suffering a near-fatal brain aneurysm, joked with the crowd; it appeared that not very many in the audience knew World Party's music. The band's set lasted over an hour, and featured some really nice songs, including "Put The Message In The Box", "She's The One", and "What Does It Mean Now" (which has been getting a lot of airplay recently on WXPN). Afterwards, on my way to the bathroom, I saw Karl standing by a barrier having his ear bent by someone trying to promote his band. So I ran up the steps, grabbed my girlfriend, and ran back in time for us to both shake his hand and congratulate him on his performance. He was very gracious. Good to have you back, Karl!
World Party, from left to right: Karl Wallinger, David Duffy, John Turnbull-Jam On The River-Philadelphia, PA, 27 May 2006World Party's myspace site
1 comment:
Great shot, but Karl Wallinger, indeed...what an absolute pleasure it was to meet him!
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