The Orbit Room, Toronto's premier R&B and funk club, in the atmospheric and colorful west end; (also known as 'Little Italy'), hosted it's 'Soul In the City 3', at the Capitol Theatre on Yonge St., Sat. Oct. 17, 2003. The talent on stage, was phenomenal all through this extremely enjoyable evening of entertainment. The early 20th century lavishness and charm of this beautiful theatre, added to the charm and atmosphere of the event. This is the third time in four years a gathering of talent and fans have converged on the Capitol Theatre, for the Orbit Room bash.
This amazing event is hosted by Orbit co-owner Tim Notter. It's co-organized by Orbit B3 player, Lou Pomanti, of The Dexters. Alex Lifeson of Rush, is the other Orbit co-owner, along with Notter. Lifeson played up a storm on guitar that night, along with long-time friend and fellow guitarist, Domenic Troiano. Troiano's music credentials stretch back to The James Gang with Joe Walsh, as well as mid-'60s, The Five Rogues, and late '60's iconic Toronto band, The Mandala, -- (prime innovators of the original 'Toronto Sound') -- and as star guitarist for the Guess Who, with Burton Cummings. Dom's got a new CD out from Universal Music, called '20th Century Masters - The Best of Domenic Troiano' - it runs the gamut of Dom's musical input, from Mandala onwards! A Troiano google search will garner a plethora of sites, devoted to this musically prolific individual. Here's a good one: http://www.thecanadianmusicscene.com/artists/ardomenictroiano.html
The Stickmen were first up at 'Soul In the City 3', introduced by CHUM AM radio DJ, Tom Rivers. The band really outdid themselves on soul standards like Booker T & the MGs' "Red Beans and Rice", King Floyd's "Groove Me", and Horst Jankowski's "A Walk in the Black Forest". Stickmen guitarist, Bernie La Barge, stood out on all these tunes and others, as did Stickmen drummer Jim Casson, (Midnite Walk/ex-Downchild Blues Band). Casson's always in the groove on the skins, helping hold this already super-tight unit together even more! Domenic Troiano sat in with them on the heavy-duty Stickmen funk original instrumental, "WGAF" -- the crowd's reaction was incredible! The excitement continued, when Alex Lifeson joined them on another Stickmen original, "Hey Bob A-Rebop". Lifeson's powerhouse guitar licks were at the forefront here, as were Brent Barkman's B3 wildness! "Hey Bop …" (with Lifeson), and other cool Stickmen originals (and some covers), are available on their new CD, entitled, 'Side Two', available from their web site: www.thestickmen.com, http://www.jimcasson.com, and from the Orbit Room. Their first great CD, 'Side One', (with "WGAF", etc.), is also available there.
Another super-talented guitarist of high renown performing that night, is Leroy Emmanuel. He. along with his awesome band L.M.T. Connection, performed some of the best soul, funk and R&B around. They played some high-powered classics, as well as some awesome originals, that the crowd went nuts over. L.M.T.'s newest CD, 'Universal Love' is just being released. It's available from their website: www.lmtconnection.com, and at their gigs. Their previous two CD's, (the debut 'sometime later', and the live 'Outta Contol'), are also available there too!
Leroy's music credentials stretch back to Motown soul icon Marvin Gaye and renowned Motown bassist James Jamerson. His musical influences include Sonny Boy Williamson ll, whom Leroy as a 12-year-old, met outside a Harlem shoeshine parlor. Leroy exudes passion in his performances as well as do L.M.T. bassist 'Big Bad' John Irvine, and hard hittin' Mark Rogers on the skins. What they give out, they get back in equal measure from their loyal following of die-hard funk and R&B fans. These fans answer the question of "who's got the funk?" by showing up in droves every Wed. night at the Orbit, at 580 'A' College St. W. (2nd floor), near Clinton Ave. in Toronto's west end. They go there to be highly entertained, and in some small way, to pay homage to the talent and friendship that L.M.T. provides.
High intensity funk band, Planet Earth, featuring singer/front man Nathaniel Littlejohn, really outdid themselves in their set. Some all-time funk classics and original Planet Earth material from their two CD's, 'The Ali Shuffle' and 'Elasticity', helped set the Capitol Theatre on fire. Nathaniel's stage presence is extremely charismatic. Added to this is the incredible Chosen Few horn section - they backed up all the bands that night, and helped make this the big event it was! A special musical moment came later in the evening, when Littlejohn sang Barry White's immortal '70s classic "Can't Get Enough of Your Love", backed up by The Dexters, featuring Bernie Dexter. It was not only one of the major highlights of the evening, (and a personal fave of mine); but was also a fitting tribute to the memory of 'Maestro' White, who had recently left this realm for disco/R&B heaven! More about Planet Earth can be found on their website: www.planetearthfunk.com - including sound clips, CD ordering, etc.
Bernie (La Barge) Dexter's band, The Dexters, played some phenomenal blues and R&B that night too! One of the tightest performances I've ever seen - a solid wall of sound that demonstrated the talent and good taste that a band like The Dexters exudes with ease and imagination. Add Domenic Troiano to the lineup performing with them that night, and you've got more talent on one stage at one time, than you'll no doubt see in a long time anywhere else. The heart-wrenching and heart-warming guitar renditions that came out of Domenic's guitar, like the ones on Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come", (also covered by Al Green), seemed to transcend to music heaven, where all the most beautiful music originates. It's always a pleasure to see Troiano perform! 'Big Al' Dexter (aka Alex Lifeson) joined The Dexters on "The Letter", and really outdid himself on some powerhouse leads and rhythm guitar -- helping send that 'letter' home with style and personal magnetism. The Dexters website is: http://www.almarecords.com/shtml/artists_sites/dexters/dexters_default.shtml
At one point a Blues Brothers knock-off, the Dues Brothers, took the stage, and captured the audience with their outrageous antics and Ackroyd/Belushi classics, like "Soul Man", etc. Their comedy relief was a major bonus of the whole show that night - they're a humor/music 'pill', that's good for the soul! Another newcomer to the 'Soul In the City 3' talent roster, was singer Chris Rouse. Looking a little like Sly Stone, his vocal renditions of soul/R&B classics like "Stand By Me", and "Kiss", flowed out with ease and class. His stage presence and energy seemed contagious, and the audience really got off on it!
The Orbit Room, famous for it's superb lineup of fine talent, outdid itself (again), by adding B3 player, Joey De Francesco -- who's currently touted as 'Best B3 Player in the World'! That's a hard title to live up to, let alone comprehend. I chose to let Joey's music speak for itself, rather than try to envision what 'best in the world' means! I was not let down in the slightest!
De Francesco joined his awesome contemporaries stage, and played his soul out, with all the imagination and love for music (and the fans), that a true 'best of … ", must have in order to get that good as a performer, and stay that way. It's easy to see from all the happiness Joey exudes in his face while pumping the B3, that he digs what he plays, as much as the fans do hearing and watching him perform. That's where 'best' really comes from - the audience, as well as the performer, since they must go hand-in-hand, to really be considered the best - criteria which Joey fits admirably, and enjoyably, as do his fans! Lou Pomanti's B3 wizardry at the other end of the stage that night, was a perfect organ(ic) mixture, that enhanced De Francesco's musical genius, and that of the other fine performers on stage that night. When Leroy Emmanuel joined his gifted contemporaries on stage at one point in the proceedings for an impromptu soul jam, everything took off with a blast, and continued that way -- right into funk orbit. At this point, the muse converged just right, and the groove on stage reached its zenith! More 'joey' can be heard and enjoyed at his great website - www.joeydefrancesco.com - well worth the click!
This extremely entertaining evening wouldn't be complete without 'Mr. Soul' himself, George Olliver, doing his awesome best on stage, at what he loves most -- which is entertaining an audience and having them join in from their hearts, the way they do! The dance routines Olliver did, added to the funky, soulful renditions of well-known Mandala tunes he performed that night. These, (with Troiano's input on guitar), included the upbeat "Opportunity" and its flipside from '66 -- the quintessential original Olliver love ballad, "Lost Love". This double-sided hit was voted #1 record of 1966 by the 'Maple Leaf Awards', (pre 'Juno Awards'). From upbeat funk, to laid-back romantic soul, George did it all, and the audience gave their 'all' back to him, in applause of equal measure. His website is just as amazing - www.georgeolliver.com - sound clips, full length mp3's, albums, tour dates, and the complete bio of George Olliver's amazing career in show business, is all there, and extremely entertaining in itself. But don't let its engrossing content stop you from going to his live shows too!
** For those not familiar with The Mandala - they're the premier late '60's 'Toronto Sound' band, which featured Olliver, as well as guitarist Troiano, bassist Prakash John (ex-Lou Reed/Alice Cooper), and drummer Whitey Glan, (ex-Lou Reed/Alice Cooper/Johnny Winter/David Bowie). Whitey was relaxing and watching the show that night from the upstairs theatre balcony, while hanging out with his many friends. He recently performed with the 'Godfather of Soul', James Brown, in Finland!
The last tune of the night, was "People Get Ready". This awesome soul classic was an intense emotional outpouring, featuring most of the talented lineup who performed that night. Everyone took solos on this excellent encore -- from Olliver's and Rouse's soulful vocals, to the guitar wizardry of La Barge, Troiano, Lifeson and Emmanuel. The Chosen Few horns backed them up to the 'nth' degree; helped along by Pomanti's and De Francesco's keys genius. This musical mixture added just the right touch to a perfect evening of the best entertainment one could hope for! The words "I believe" echoed in the vocals from the stage, and from the appreciative fans' enthusiastic applause, as this exciting evening of music winded down!
All in all, the Orbit Room's 'Soul In the City 3' at Toronto's Capitol Theatre, was a huge success. To miss it, is to truly miss one of the finest nights of R&B, funk and soul, happening all year long in Toronto. The entertainment quality is equally as amazing, at the Orbit Room itself, seven nights a week, (including the night of the 'Soul In the City 3' at the Capitol Theatre). That explains why on any evening you go to the Orbit, the place will be packed with fans who know the best music and party atmosphere around, is right there - 'in orbit', at The Orbit - and at its always much-anticipated annual 'Soul In the City' extravaganzas!
The Orbit Room
580 'A' College Street (2nd floor)
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
M6G 1B3
phone: (416) 535-0613
website: http://www.orbitroom.ca/
The Capitol Theatre
2492 Yonge St.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
phone: (416) 322-3322
www.eventtheatres.com
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