Galactic feat. Mr. Lif and Boots Riley (of The Coup)

w/Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Sat., Jan. 12, Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg

Photo of me and Boots Riley (left) by Phil Bardi. 

New Orleans funksters Galactic made the boldest move of their decade-plus career with From the Corner to the Block. The new disc spotlights acclaimed underground rappers on the majority of tracks, reducing the jam band circuit luminaries to backing players. Galactic brought two of these emcees, Mr. Lif and Boots Riley (of The Coup), on stage with them Saturday at Jannus Landing and audience members witnessed a dynamic mash-up of styles resulting in a show more consistently engaging than any of Galactic’s recent performances at the outdoor St. Pete venue.

After the 2004 departure of vocalist House Man (Theryl DeClouet) Galactic performed instrumentals exclusively. Drummer Stanton Moore led his band mates through Second Line stomps and serpentine grooves that often were gripping but occasionally meandered — their three-hour performances prone to feeling like audience endurance tests. Not the case Saturday.

Galactic opened the show with a pair of taut instrumentals and then were joined by the dreads-and-glasses sporting Mr. Lif. A consummate party-starter, he had the crowd chanting along with him to the refrain of “hip hop.” But when it came to spitting verses, Lif’s flow was hair-trigger rapid, riding over — rather than through — the music. While a bit jarring, this kept Galactic on target and the members of the crowded courtyard locked in on both a visual and sonic focal point.

This article appears in Jan 9-15, 2008.