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“What is he playing?”
That was what concertgoers asked when Peter Joseph Burtt and the King Tide took the Crystal Bay Casino Crown Room stage Friday, Jan. 27.
Burtt was playing the kora, a 21-string instrument originating from West Africa. The artist lived and studied music in Africa for three years — “I never wanted to come back” — and with that he brought his cultural diversity to his music. This was not your standard West African kora (and if it was you wouldn't have known anyway). Burtt's particular kora has six extra strings he added to be able to play a larger scale of notes.
Although Burtt is back in the United States, West African influence is alive and thriving in his music. Burtt studied traditional music as well to be able to play music close to his heart. Through out his set Burtt would switch from electric guitar and the kora playing back and forth with guitarist Zeb Early, whose band Mama's Cookin' would appear next.
If Burtt's chops on the strings weren't impressive enough, he had a voice to match. Reminiscent of Warren Haynes, lead singer of Gov't Mule, Burtt's voice was raspy with a classic blues touch. If categorized Burtt would call his music “world blues.”
The crowd was growing and ready for a healthy dose of Mama's Cookin,' Lake Tahoe Action's 2010 Band of the Year. The funky quartet consisting of Early (guitar, vocals), Steven LaBella (bass guitar, vocals), Mike Adamo (drums, samples) and Todd Holway (keys, vocals), were ready to bring down the house.
Cookin' has a style all its own, which is not an easy task theses days. Early infuses smooth melodic hip-hop style lyrics that puts you in a trance and smacks you back to earth with politically conscious messages and blues style singing. Cookin's music is chalked full of guitar riffs, delta blues, hip-hop, electric samples, drum solo's and bass lines that make you want to move you feet and grab a dance partner.
Holway impressed the crowd with the keys, playing bass lines with his left hand and the melody with his right. I was constantly doing a double take between Holway and LaBella to see who was playing which bass line.
Songs “What I am” and “Let the Record Ride” had the crowd hanging on every lyric as Early accompanied them with smooth guitar riffs. At one point with incense burning by his side Zeb played with feedback on his guitar while Holway projected space aged sounds from his keys giving the crowd something that was not from this world.
For the encore Burtt joined Cookin' along with the horn section from Downbeat and CBC sound engineer Blake Beeman on the ax. Together the eight musicians funked up the stage giving the audience everything they had came for and more. Mama's Cookin' kept the musical meal fresh, leaving everyone asking for seconds.
That was what concertgoers asked when Peter Joseph Burtt and the King Tide took the Crystal Bay Casino Crown Room stage Friday, Jan. 27.
Burtt was playing the kora, a 21-string instrument originating from West Africa. The artist lived and studied music in Africa for three years — “I never wanted to come back” — and with that he brought his cultural diversity to his music. This was not your standard West African kora (and if it was you wouldn't have known anyway). Burtt's particular kora has six extra strings he added to be able to play a larger scale of notes.
Although Burtt is back in the United States, West African influence is alive and thriving in his music. Burtt studied traditional music as well to be able to play music close to his heart. Through out his set Burtt would switch from electric guitar and the kora playing back and forth with guitarist Zeb Early, whose band Mama's Cookin' would appear next.
If Burtt's chops on the strings weren't impressive enough, he had a voice to match. Reminiscent of Warren Haynes, lead singer of Gov't Mule, Burtt's voice was raspy with a classic blues touch. If categorized Burtt would call his music “world blues.”
The crowd was growing and ready for a healthy dose of Mama's Cookin,' Lake Tahoe Action's 2010 Band of the Year. The funky quartet consisting of Early (guitar, vocals), Steven LaBella (bass guitar, vocals), Mike Adamo (drums, samples) and Todd Holway (keys, vocals), were ready to bring down the house.
Cookin' has a style all its own, which is not an easy task theses days. Early infuses smooth melodic hip-hop style lyrics that puts you in a trance and smacks you back to earth with politically conscious messages and blues style singing. Cookin's music is chalked full of guitar riffs, delta blues, hip-hop, electric samples, drum solo's and bass lines that make you want to move you feet and grab a dance partner.
Holway impressed the crowd with the keys, playing bass lines with his left hand and the melody with his right. I was constantly doing a double take between Holway and LaBella to see who was playing which bass line.
Songs “What I am” and “Let the Record Ride” had the crowd hanging on every lyric as Early accompanied them with smooth guitar riffs. At one point with incense burning by his side Zeb played with feedback on his guitar while Holway projected space aged sounds from his keys giving the crowd something that was not from this world.
For the encore Burtt joined Cookin' along with the horn section from Downbeat and CBC sound engineer Blake Beeman on the ax. Together the eight musicians funked up the stage giving the audience everything they had came for and more. Mama's Cookin' kept the musical meal fresh, leaving everyone asking for seconds.
