Friday, 4 Jul 2008
Happy July 4th y’all. This one goes out to all the break dancers, be-boppers, freestylers and DJ’s. Last night Theivery Corporation took off at Milwaukee’s Summerfest, leaving a noticeable trail of Cheshire Cat grins, chemicals, and sore limbs from bodies that had most definitely busted a move or two.
The parade of singers and MC’s kept the night in a perpetual groove behind the driving force of DJ’s Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. One minute you’d watch in awe as a gorgeous belly dancer moved fluently to the sound of the sitar and only a few minutes later you’d see a sea of hands in the air as call and response hip-hop filled up the Milwaukee night.
My foundation and background rested heavily with The Richest Man In Babylon material, you know the one with red and white bullseye. It was that material, over the course of the night, when injected into the set, that brought the biggest smile to my face. That album and as demonstrated last night, represents a group determined to not be defined by any genres or language, touching broad foundations and appealing to the masses.
There were plenty of first timers around us last night who had never heard the band before but were drawn in by the eclectic live material. Everyone went home satisfied, so much so that the marathon parking ext process didn’t seem to phase. It’s good to be back in Milwaukee, good to be back at Summerfest, and it was great to be amongst the masses who enjoyed a couple of hours with Thievery Corporation + Fireworks last night.
Discuss: What did you think of Theivery Corporation’s set? What is your favorite Thievery Corporation release? Who else have you caught at Summerfest that you can recommend to the MoB readers? I tried to catch the Wailers for a bit last night, but that shit was packed with a capital P. Only three more days of Summerfest, who are you going to see?
Myspace: Thievery Corporation
Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic
July 4th, 2008 at 8:40 am
they sounded great from the harley stage, where they drowned out lucinda williams’s mellow set.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:48 am
You know I looked over at Lucinda Williams set and was surprised at what close proximity the two stages are. That really sucks because Lucinda is great. I got to see the last two songs of her set, she played past the midnight curfew, but nobody seemed to mind.
July 4th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I thought the show was incredible and the crowd was definitely into it. When they played ‘warning shot,’ that pretty much made the night for me. This was my first time seeing them live and I loved it. I would have liked to hear Amerimacka, but I had already seen that it wasn’t on their normal set lists, so I sort of saw that one coming.
Great show for Thievery Corporation, tough break for Lucinda Williams. I walked by as she signed off (presumably before the encore) with ‘peace, love and revolution.’ Uh, ok.
July 4th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Twas a great show, but I have to say as a die-hard Thievery fan, I really preferred Alejandro’s set a couple of hours before. The music is not comparable to say the least, but I’ve seen Thievery at least 6 times before in DC, where they tear the 9:30 club up, hands down one of the most energetic rhythmic frenzies I’ve ever witnessed, but each of their shows has been pretty much the same, with not a whole lot of musical experimentation or ingenuity. That happens in the studio. But Alejandro and his band played a great range of songs with passion and lots of improvisational riffs. Plus his songs and guitar playing rock. So all is all a good show, but I hope their live act gets in sync with their studio creativity.
July 6th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
My first Thievery show & my first Summerfest. Thievery kicked ass and I will be seeing them again and being from Chicago I’d have to say that Milwaukee is a very music friendly town with easy (& cheap) parking with very nice people. Overall a GREAT night. Thanks Milwaukee & GREAT fireworks display.
July 7th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Does anyone know what the first song of the set was? I am pretty familiar with their music, but didn’t recognize it. I also really liked it, so I was wondering if anyone could help me out on that one.