Receiving the kind of energy that one rarely feels from a Toronto crowd, Soulive lit up the Opera House last Thursday the 23.
One of the highlights of the evening was the flowing, melodious brass lines from the hearty trumpet player Rashawn Ross, a big daddy with a piece of Miles Davis in him that night. His Hardy was completed by a slightly thinner, sax-playing Laurel in the form of Ryan Zoidis. Their musical jousting produced a back and forth of good soul rhythms, jives and boogies, the order of the night, served up by just two-fifths of the band.
The experience was complete with the original members, the three musketeers of this 21st century soul-jazz funk fusion. The lights were on an odyssey, compounded by a good sound that rose to meet its emphasis.
Lead guitarist Eric Krasno flowed sweetly through sample scores of Hendrix guitar solos and heartfelt covers of Sly & The Family Stone, crowning the performance with presence and raw power, harking back to a time foregone. For anyone that night seeking out a musician who seems right out of this time, and in with the look and feel of the time soul-funk music started, they need have looked no further than the fervent passion and courageous drumming of Alan Evans, always a backbone for his brother, pianist Neal Evans. The band needed no bassist, as the keyboardist created a stirring electric bass guitar line, backing up the lead guitar, adding synth and strings to excite funk in the senses. An encore welcomed the band back on for one more after a mesmerizing two-hour set, and the feverish crowd chanted for more.
