Guilt Free Pleasures: Consider the Source @ Crash Mansion

Saturday night I spent the evening at Crash Mansion. I went to see Consider the Source, but it was quite the artsy event with 5 bands and painters painting pictures here and there.

The second performer was Lauren Smith. Her music was of the folky, alternative singer-songwriter genre with maybe a hint of jazz. In her back up band was a bass, clarinet and a bassoon, which I thought was really cool. They sounded good, whereas some people who incorporate lesser used instruments like that do it just for the novelty and it doesn't actually worked. The clarinet player, Christa Van Alstine, also played the accordion for one song. Well I liked Lauren's music and voice, there was a certain quality to her voice that made me want to see her in musical theater. Maybe it's because of her awesome curly hair and smiley demeanor - I kept picturing her singing "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" from Annie. Her songs are catchy though and she has a great voice. The weird thing was that she didn't really fit with the rest of the performers of the night, who were all rock and/or funk. And, I'm sorry, I know this is a little off topic and will sound shallow, but this has to be said... what on earth was she wearing? What kind of look was she going for? Prairie chic? Other than that though I really liked her.

Next up was Consider The Source, who has one of the most enthusiastic fan bases I've encountered yet. I missed them when they played with Julius C, and I was immediately inundated with messages from their fans and friends telling me that I missed out. Listening to their music on their myspace on my crappy laptop speakers, I didn't really understand the appeal because they seemed like your standard jam band, but I thought I would give them a try anyway. And now, having seen them live, I completely understand why people are so fanatical about them. They were amazing. They totally blew me away. The band is composed of Gabriel Marin (playing a double-necked guitar), John Ferrara (bass) and Justin Ahiyon (drums and samples). Each of them is so skilled and they play with such speed and precision as I've never seen before. Not to mention they were perfectly in sync as a band. Their passion and ferver was infectious. I found myself head banging with the crowd on more than one occasion. They fused a number of styles together - funk, rock, classic rock, metal, psychedelic - and there was definitely a heavy Middle Eastern influence in there.

On another kind of random tangent, when John Ferrara was doing his bass solos, it almost reminded me of Saturday Night Live's "bass off" skit. His hands were moving so fast that they were blurry to the human eye. It was crazy. And Gabriel Marin makes the best faces when he's playing the guitar (see right). He seriously looks like he's in ecstasy. One other thing I found interesting was that drummer Justin Ahiyon was the one who spoke to the audience. That's kind of rare. Maybe it was just because he was the only one with microphones near him, but I don't know if I've ever been to a show where the drummer was the only member of the band who spoke to the audience. Usually they sit quietly at the back of the stage.

Consider The Source is kicking off their US tour here in New York on April 3rd. For you Minneapolitans, they'll be in town April 24th and 25th. Check out the rest of their tour dates on their myspace. Definitely go see them if you have the chance. They're extremely talented.

After Consider The Source was Mugwump Collective. Take the word "collective" seriously - they were a huge band that barely all fit on the stage - two singers (and for two songs a rapper as well), two saxophones, a trumpet, a trombone, guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. They were a little funk, a little soul, a little hip hop, a little jazz and a lot of sass. They were so much fun - very high energy. Every single person on that stage was doing something at all times. If the brass section wasn't playing their brass, they would pick up little percussion instruments like the guiro or maracas. And if the singers weren't singing, they were dancing.

Last but not least was Outsly, who kind of merged together all the various styles of the night (except for Lauren Smith's...). It was a good ending to the show and it made the night seem very cohesive. They too had a brass section consisting of a saxophone and trumpet. They were a mix of funk, rock, jazz, and soul, plus the singer has a raspy voice reminiscent of metal (he also was throwing himself around in a kind of ska-like manner). He occasionally spoke/sang into a small megaphone, although it honestly didn't sound that different from his regular voice. Overall, I liked them though. They put on a good show.

Here are more pictures (and for even more click here):