Icons of Funk - Highline Ballroom, NYC, 2.5.13
by Michael Sherer
Posted: Mar 2013
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Bill Dickens - photo by Michael Sherer
The nicely-renovated Highline Ballroom, with its couches and tables on the sides and inviting atmosphere, was an ideal venue for these Icons of Funk. From start to finish, the audience was enveloped with the deeply resonating, bad-ass bass grooves of Bill Dickens. It was this that struck me first, especially as it shook the house much like the old elevated trains that used to inhabit the area would have while they ripped past.
While some casual listeners of music aren’t aware of just how literally fundamentally imperative the bass is, and completely so in black-orientated music, this listener couldn’t be more cognizant. Dickens knows it so well that he was armed with a white, gold pegged, SEVEN stringed extended bass. (Probably custom-made) This provided ranges above and below what a standard four string allows. Bottom line? (Pun intended) MF’s like Dickens unleash seemingly rather simple bass lines that are the most responsible element of the sound that makes people move and dance. In reality, cats like Dickens, and the number one influence on them all, the late, great, and sometimes uncredited James Jamerson of the Motown house band, make it seem easy to play like this, but it isn’t. If one doesn’t have the right feel and funk within, one just can’t do it right.
On guitar, and with top billing, is Leo Nocentelli, a founding member of The Meters. Formed in New Orleans in ’65 and disbanding in ’77, they are considered one of the progenitors of funk. They blended that with blues and dance grooves, underpinning it with the unique and elusive elements of the New Orleans sound. Nocentelli informed the crowd that as the chief songwriter of the Meters, he has a lot of music to offer, and that his guitar riffs and sounds are going to be familiar, as that’s who he is. And indeed, they played such Meters classics as, “Cissy Strut,” “Funky Miracle” and “Look-Ka Py Py.” The front man also explained that they had just arrived from Japan, and were quite jet lagged. The highly charged crowd certainly gave them some needed adrenaline, though.
On drums is Stanton Moore. From Metairie, Louisiana, and a founding member of Galactic, Moore was another highly solid and funky MF. Rather than always locking in with the bass, as many rhythm sections do, Moore and Dickens were often rather independent of each other, but with out losing the quintessential “pocket” that holds everything together.
On funky, churchy organ was Mark Rechler, of the bands Circus Mind & Outhouse. He kept the music propelling along, and brought touches of electronica with his additional synth.
Last, but certainly not least, was the limited but show-stopping appearance of Fred Wesley on trombone. Formerly of the James Brown Horns in the latter ‘60s through the mid ‘70’s, and then Parliament-Funkadelic in the ‘70’s, Wesley is one bad-ass funketeer. His driving horn playing immediately revealed how much brass-playing of this caliber adds to the soundscape. Wesley and his sounds went over like gangbusters.
Raised in Mobile, Alabama, Wesley breathes the same Southern ethos as his band mates, although New Orleans certainly has its own distinctive sound. A few of its funky standards were played, and brought the house down. Two that jump to mind were, “Fire on the Bayou” and “Hey Pocky Way.”
All in all, these MF’s from the bottom of our domestic map came up North, rolling into the country’s most important market. Upon arrival, they showed us what being a bad-ass with serious chops is all about. They then proceeded to wipe the floor with whomever was hip enough to be there. Ah yes, they FUNKED us up!