Canada’s joyful Juno-nominated musical revolutionaries are coming back to Western Canada this summer with their infectious blend of polyrhythmic percussion, jazz horns, socially-conscious lyrics and Sting-like vocals that’s perfectly suited to dancing full-tilt in front of a festival or nightclub stage — and they’re premiering a set of brand new songs.
A truly ephemeral musical experience, Mr. Something Something’s summer shows mark both the first and last occasion to hear these songs live before the band takes a temporary hiatus from touring.
The band will be playing Nelson at The Royal on July 29 and then head up for the Kaslo Jazz Fest Etc. on July 30.
Among the new songs is KitchenFA a song about an elder of an unknown community pondering whether their ancient wisdom will ever be called upon by struggling modern leaders. There’s also the provocatively-titled The Letter Omar Khadr Will Never Receive, which laments the loss of a young man’s innocence at the hands of a father who led him astray.
Of course, fans of the band will also hear plenty of favourites from Something Something’s 2009 album Shine Your Face, including The Antidote, a song backed by furious drumming and sharp-edged funk horns that speaks of finding an antidote to the world’s problems; Only the Maker, a jazz-influenced number with a bit of a Sade-like pace, plaintive vocals, and a message about coming to terms with injustice; and Why Why Why, a song with a bit of a Paul Simonesque feel that reflects on both physical and emotional suburbia.
As huge as their sound is, the core of Mr. Something Something is just two guys: childhood friends Larry Graves (drums) and John MacLean (tenor sax, flute and vocals). Graves studied jazz composition and performance at the Berklee College of Music, before discovering the music of West Africa and devoting himself to the rhythmic music of Mali, Senegal and Ghana. MacLean was a young clarinetist with classical aspirations, but a chance introduction to Charles Mingus alumnus Billy Robinson led to a lengthy mentorship in jazz improvisation and tenor sax.