mike dillon's go-go jungle

New Orleans funksters Galactic brought their live show back to Houston's Warehouse Live with vibraphone extraordinaire Mike Dillon and his Go-Go Jungle in tow. Galactic always brings a pretty great live offering, even after seeing them as many times as I have at festivals and tour stops over the past decade. They freshen things up every couple of years by adding and dispensing of different members including vocalists, MC's and horn players. Their current incarnation features the original five members – Stanton Moore on drums, Ben Ellmen on saxophone, Robert Mercurio on bass, Rich Vogel on organ and Jeff Raines on guitar – and additional support on trombone and vocals for this tour by former Rebirth Brass Band player Corey Henry. They rely heavily on the two horns to front the band, but the true funkiest moments come when the other four lock into a groove. After an intriguing opening set of his own, vibraphonist Mike Dillon stepped up with Galactic to lay down some serious licks. The matching of Moore and Dillon was almost too much talent in the percussion section to handle, but their skills gelled nicely. The set rapped up with a nice round of hip-hop, closing with the title track to their funk/rap fusion album, From The Corner To The Block. A quick instrumental encore closed out the night, giving us a good preview of what to expect on their new back-to-the-roots LP, Ya Ka May, that will be in stores on February 9, 2010.

I brought the camera along, so feel free to browse my shots after the jump.