Keller Williams starring More Than A Little w/Jon Wayne and The Pain - "What The Funk Tour" @ The District - Sioux Falls, SD - (2/24/14)

MTAL Summer Camp Victor Wooten (credit: Brian Spady)

A Review By: Troy Manley

Keller Williams is from Fredericksburg, Virginia and if often described as a one-man jam-band because of his frequent use of live looping and multiple instruments during performances. Williams hit the road for a semi-national tour of the United States with his band, More Than A Little, in support of their most recent album, FUNK. Luckily for South Dakotans Keller made a pit stop on the "What The Funk Tour" at The District. The District opened its doors to Sioux Falls residents in the Fall of 2013, and has a capacity around 1,500. The venue is in the parking lot of the Sioux Empire Mall - which happens to be the largest single story mall in America - just off Interstate i-29. The District sports a fairly large standing area with a balcony with some more general admission space and a couple VIP booths. The stage is easily viewable from all parts of the floor; they unfortunately had the balcony closed for the night.

Starting things off for the night was Minneapolis based reggae, rock, and dub band with definite jam and EDM influences, Jon Wayne and the Pain. The group maintains a unique psychedelic reggae sound in their self-described "Reggae-Tronic Dub" by blending traditional styles of reggae-rock with bass heavy sections of electronic dub.  This trio has played an average of 20 shows a month over the past 4 years, playing venues and festivals across the country in support of their three full length albums. While living the dream may sound like a cake-walk, these guys poured their heart and soul into their performance at the District and the crowd was doing the same right back. Highly recommend checking these dudes out if they come anywhere remotely close to you in the future!

Jon Wayne and The Pain

Once the set break concluded and I had time to put the pieces of my brain back together, Keller came on for a brief 45-minute solo set consisting of looping and sampling for the handful of instruments that accompanied him on stage. After playing through a majority of his set, he invited Gerard Johnson to come on stage and take over the keyboards, he was followed by DJ Shaw on bass, Toby Fairchild on drums, and Tonya Lazenby Jackson and Sugah Davis helping out with vocals. Once they were on stage, Keller disappeared for a couple minutes only to reappear having ditched his casual attire for a suit and tie.  

MTAL (credit: Roger Gupta)

The group played through a majority of their album, FUNK, which consists of 10 songs; 6 of which are covers ranging from Rick James to the Grateful Dead, from Talking Heads to Flight of the Conchords. In an interview with hottesttune, Keller said the name of the band "came from the feelings he got the first time he played with this group. He was more than a little happy, more than a little inspired. And of course, the group is 'more than a little funky.'" Down-right funky is how I would describe the events that transpired on stage that magical night at The District. Keller & More Than a Little played with the utmost precision throughout the night as Williams was directing members of the band to play extended jams with each other while effortlessly moving between tracks. Gospel infused funk turned The District into a church of heavenly tunes for all those down with the get down to get down.  Hands down one of the best funk shows I have ever seen, I cannot encourage all you beautiful people enough to make it to a stop on this tour.  Pick up FUNK through Keller's site, HERE.

All Photos of MTAL taken from Keller William's official website gallery, HERE. 

Read More

Big Gigantic's The Night Is Young Tour @ The District in Sioux Falls, SD - 2/12/14 (review)

A Review By: Troy Manley

South Dakota obviously isn't on the radar for many people as the place to be to catch the hottest shows. Hell, most of America probably doesn't realize that people actually live here. But luckily for us South Dakotans, Sioux Falls has been on Big Gigantic's radar for quite some time, making their 3rd appearance in our quaint city on Wednesday night - simultaneously kicking off their Winter 2014 tour in support of the brand new LP, The Night is Young. Big Gigantic's third appearance unquestionably sported the most respectable venue in Sioux Falls for a talent of their magnitude, The District - while the first 2 went down in makeshift bar/nightclubs in town. The District opened its doors to Sioux Falls residents in the Fall of 2013, and has a capacity around 1,500.

The venue is in the parking lot of the Sioux Empire Mall - which happens to be the largest single story mall in America - just off Interstate i-29. The District sports a fairly large standing area with a balcony with some more general admission space and a couple VIP booths. The stage is easily viewable from all parts of the floor, I didn't venture to the heavens above as there was plenty of room get down on the ground level.

After arriving fairly early, my friends and I hung out around with they had a DJ playing some music on what seemed to be the worst sound system on earth. I was scared for my life at this point having heard the sound coming from the stage. Luckily things improved once they switched to over to the direct support for the night, Manic Focus. This Chicago talent has been making waves in the electronic dance world in recent months by playing one kickass show after another. I happened across this dude playing at the small "Forest Stage" nestled in a corner of  Sherwood Forest at Electric Forest last summer and have been a believer since. This show marked his 2nd appearance in Sioux Falls, having destroyed a headlining show at a questionable venue last fall. Manic Focus is simply a beast behind the controls, and as Ty Allen has said: "Whether it’s an abrasive arpeggio, or a wave of whimsical wobbles, his ability to subtly inject sultry sound is undeniable." Definitely check this dude out if he hits your city.

The main headliners for the night, Big Gigantic, is the duo consisting of Dominic Lalli (Saxophone/Producer) and Jeremy Salken (Drums). Hailing from Boulder, Colorado and making the national stage their home, Big G is known for their high-energy live performances and bad-ass light shows. After taking the stage, the guys stood between an immaculate stage set up consisting of powerful lights and large high-powered LED squares that dominated all the space they had. They came out swinging and masterfully worked their way through tracks off their new album and classics. Notably, they played: "Clvdbvrst," "Fantastic," "Nocturnal," "From Death to Dawn," "Sky High," "Touch the Sky," "Aftershock," and one of my personal favorites, "I Need A Dollar."  Dominic and Jeremy played with a precision 2nd to none the entire show and flawlessly executed their goal of making the crowd dance. Hands down the best show I had seen in Sioux Falls, the venue was rocking the entire night - so I think most would agree. With a ton of dates left on their current tour, you CANNOT miss Big G if they come to a city near you! Find Tour dates: HERE.

All photos taken by Troy Manley on an iPhone 5.

Read More