Category: Blog

If Barry B. Benson were to ask me “ya like jazz?”, my answer would be an enthusiastic, unabashed “hell yes”. I’ve loved jazz my entire life, and my favorite artist as of late has been Kamasi Washington. He’s arguably the most famous jazz musician that currently makes music on a regular basis, and his most recent album, Heaven & Earth, came out earlier this year. When I saw he was coming to the Ritz earlier this month, I jumped at the chance to buy a ticket, as I had missed him when he came last year. I had heard amazing things about his live shows, but even as a Kamasi superfan, I simply didn’t know what to expect. His studio work is phenomenal but is oftentimes so epic in nature (his 2015 three-hour magnum opus is literally called The Epic) that I was skeptical of how he would replicate that same energy live (about half of his songs feature full string arrangements and a 10 piece choir in addition to his normal band). In the end, to put it bluntly, I was blown away.

I arrived at the Ritz about an hour early and was stunned to see a nearly empty venue. This didn’t last long though, because by the time opening act Butcher Brown showed up (they were fantastic, by the way), it was a packed house. After an agonizing 15-minute wait after Butcher Brown finished (it seriously felt like years), Kamasi and his band, The West Coast Get Down, stepped out on stage to thunderous applause. After a brief introduction, they launched straight into a jam session built on “Hub-Tones”, a Freddie Hubbard cover from his latest album.

It cannot be understated how absolutely kick-ass every single musician on stage that night was. This is a group of musicians that have literally been playing together since they were three, and it showed. Everyone was in sync, and everyone looked like they were having so much fun. The first half of the set belonged to his band, with vocalist Patrice Quinn and bassist Miles Mosley being the standouts. This was particularly true during the second song, “Malcolm’s Theme”, where Mosley whipped out a bow in the middle of his upright bass solo (it might be the best I’ve ever heard), and Quinn delivered pitch perfect, powerful vocals. She is an amazing singer, has a great stage presence, and fits perfectly within Kamasi’s band.

But the musician that really brought the house down that night was his keyboardist, Brandon Coleman. Kamasi told a story early on in which he said that his bandmates eventually discovered that if you put Brandon on something, he instantly makes it better (hence his nickname, Hot Sauce). The third song they played was actually a cut off of Brandon’s excellent solo album Resistance, “Giant Feelings”. This man is a genius on keyboard, up there with legends like Herbie Hancock and Ahmad Jamal.

Aside from a drum battle between Tony Austin and Ronald Bruner mid-set, the rest of the night belonged to Kamasi. To witness him playing tenor sax live is a seriously spiritual experience. Watching him guide his band through his deeply personal, breathtaking, grandiose compositions like “Truth” and “The Space Travelers Lullaby” really makes you realize what a special talent he is. The night closed with his rendition of a Bruce Lee movie’s theme song (“Fists of Fury”), which ended in this glorious cascade of beautiful noise that… I can’t even put into words how good it was.

I didn’t go into the night thinking that it would be one of the best nights of my life, and yet I came out of that building so happy I wanted to scream. I ended up meeting Miles and Brandon, and took one of the coolest pictures I’ll ever take: me, standing next to my musical hero, with a signed copy of his masterpiece in my hand.

-DJ HEAD HUNTER

We all know that I go to shows ALL the time, and I usually go with my OG squad (what’s up Josh, Kevin, Ellie, Courtney, and Nate!?). I have a few classes with my apprentice, Kyle, and his best friend, Nico, and they are trying to get into metal. They have sat in during The Saw’s Butcher Shop: House of Horrors on Friday nights and they really got into the music. They both mainly listen to rap, but they see a lot of similarities between the two genres. They will ask me questions about the history of metal and the bands that I like. In passing, they said that they would love to go to a metal show. Well, November 3rdwas their lucky day, I took them to go see Emmure, Stick To Your Guns, Wage War, and Sanction.

First, I had to help them find the right attire to wear to a metal show. Anything black works. I also told them the etiquette at a metal show and what they should expect to see at the show. This show had a good combination of metalcore and hardcore, so Kyle and Nico would get to experience both push pits and crowdkilling. Right when Sanction came on, the energy was already at an all-time high. Kyle and Nico were headbanging and jamming out the entire time. They got in the pit when Wage War hit the stage, and let me tell you, they went off. They were running around in the circle pit, pushing each other, pushing me, and pushing other people. They also helped me crowdsurf and caught me when I was stage diving. They both really liked Stick To Your Guns and they were in the pit for them the entire time. Emmure brought the heat when they hit the stage. One minute it would be a push pit and then it would be hardcore dancing. They really liked Emmure because the singing that Frankie does is similar to rap.

After the show, we all three got Emmure shirts that say, “Emmrure is a cult” with a guy getting an icepick lobotomy. They both wear their shirts all the time. After the show, they both couldn’t stop talking about the experience and how much they enjoyed it. They loved the community within the metal scene and how we all look out for each other and even though we do not know each other personally, we are all a big family. They both got the impression of acceptance and community when the show started. By going to this show, listening to the music, and hanging out with me, they have a new look on the metal community. They used to think of metalheads as the stereotypical image that most people think. But after personally being immersed into the community, their entire viewpoint of the scene changed. They are slowly listening to more metal and are going to more shows with me.

What show should I bring them to next?

Stay Metal, 

THE SAW