The rest of the Tantrums laid it on just as thick - the late-Beatles/Phil Spectorian organ smear of "Winds of Change" and Jimmy Smith flurry of "News 4 U," Funk Brothers horn blasts of "Breakin' the Chains" and acrobatic bass lines of "Wake Up" and "Rich Girls" creating a steamroller of sound that bounced off the Bronze Peacock walls like a kid with the keys to the Ritalin cabinet.
Aftermath had been thoroughly bulldozed by the time the Tantrums left the stage after "News," so we decided to forsake the encore until we could have sworn we heard Archie Bell & the Drells "Tighten Up" halfway down the escalator. It was over before we made it back upstairs, but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt; that song is almost impossible to mistake, and for the band's first time in Houston, it's nice to see they did their homework.
We stuck around out front for the cover of Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams," more blasting sax, funhouse keys and crashing drums, commandeered by Skaggs' husky vocals and - finally - some actual intra-song dynamic shifts. So they do know how to bring it down and build it back up after all.
And that was enough. Hold your head up; movin' on.
Personal Bias: I recently returned from a pilgrimage to one of the cradles of soul, Stax Records in Memphis. Watching the guitarless Tantrums kept making me wonder what Steve Cropper would think.
The Crowd: First- and second-generation yuppies.
Overheard In the Crowd: Nothing. It was too fucking loud.
Random Notebook Dump: Maybe Fitz & Co. should head down South to make a record along the Staples Singers vibe of "Dear Mr. President."
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