Music Seen: Femi Kuti, the Loblolly Boy

And Luke Kalloch
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY  |  July 15, 2009

On record, Femi Kuti can't help but come off as a slightly vanilla version of his mad genius father Fela (popularizer of Afrobeat music, also known for having 12 wives at once, among other things), and certain early moments of his show at Port City Music Hall had me worried his live show would feel the same: there were successive solos by nearly everyone in the band, among a few other superstar tropes. By and large, though, Femi and his 13-member band (five horn players, two drummers, three dancers — thought to be Femi's wives, others on keys and guitar) were astoundingly energetic and surprisingly innovative. Mind-bending polyrhythms and explosive blasts of horns ruled the nearly two-hour set, and Femi was as charismatic a leader as you could ask for (though his skills on the sax left something to be desired). Toward the end of the night, Kuti tied a five-minute long sex-education lecture (you get better as you get older) with the refrain of a set-capping song: "Don't come too fast." The band clearly behaved with that knowledge in mind, as they sounded more emboldened and experimental as the night went on.

Luke Kalloch, a/k/a the Loblolly Boy, makes a good first impression at a singer/songwriter joint: he has a Moses Atwood-y ugly mustache and anachronistic costume, so you naturally expect something more than standard coffee-shop fare of him. Alas. Kalloch has an agreeable stage presence, but a frustrating habit of prioritizing accessibility over singularity. His rambling, strumming narratives about relationships (and basically life, man) are lacking in detail and nuance, and they're tied together with wan sentiments "we can all relate to." (Unfortunately, this is not a unique approach in Portland.) Kalloch's got an image, I guess, but he could use more personality.

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