CRITTERS BUGGIN | 12.7 | SAN FRANCISCO

After a 45 minute introductory set from the guitar and drums duo of John Brion and Matt Chamberlin, DJ Radioactive took the stage by introducing himself as the emcee for the night and informing the crowd, "I AM a human being." This statement foreshadowed the incredible sounds that would emanate from the DJ during his "a capella" set. Kicking off his soliloquoy with a traditional beatbox sound, Radioactive's display morphed in a variety of different directions including old school beatboxing, interpretive theatrical acts and a variety of covers including a loose interpretation of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean seguing into The Elephant Song, aka. the Sanford and Son Theme. At one point, Radioactive noticed Skerik in the front row headbanging to the DJ's act, and Radiodactive started giving Skerik props in beat as the two artists displayed their mutual respect for each other. DJ Radioactive may be human, but the act he puts on is truly superhuman.

As Radioactive showed the crowd in words and gestures that everything must come full circle, the Critters Buggin took the stage amidst scattered cheers from the crowd. The band began to filter their groove over Beatbox's rapping, creating a great support to his solo stylings. Matt Chamberlin on drums, Mike Dillon on percussion, Brad Houser on bass, and Skerik on sax. Skerik quickly donned his customary Transformer Robot mask, a nice compliment to Mike Dillon wearing a white jumpsuit and gorilla mask. In addition to the myriad of pedals surrounding Skerik, he also had a drum and a synth keyboard at his disposal. Jon Brion joined the band on guitar about halfway through the show, adding some great additional texture to the lineup.

Critters' sound oscillated from incendiary grooves to ambient textured feels, often turning on a dime and catching the crowd by surprise. Many times the changes were so abrupt that it was difficult to share in the groove, but the results of their orchestration were certainly powerful in their own right. The freeform jazz was often reminiscent of the stylings of such original jazz influences such as Pharoah Sanders or Sun Ra. The variety of sonic textures were so varied that it's safe to say that Critters Buggin extends itself beyond the repertoire of 99% of the other bands playing live today.

Eenor, one of Skerik's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade bandmates was spotted in the crowd looking to move up front for a good viewing spot, but also noticeably concerned that his looming stature might inhibit others from enjoying the show.

At one point during the night, Skerik noticed someone entering the Justice League, slinging a large duffel over his shoulder and making his way to the front of the venue. Skerik's eyes lit up as he welcomed this guy with a beaming smile. Soon after, Skerik cupped his hands around the mic in his sax bell and started rambling about lasagna which eventually erupted into a chant of, "You can't eat the LASAGNA if you don't have any SPOONS!"

Quizzical stares from the crowd were abound as the gentleman made his way onto the stage...all I could think was, "Holy sh#t, this guy's going to play the spoons."

And play the spoons he did....slinging his bag onto the ground in front of him, Artis the Spoon Man crouched down while the band whittled its sound down to nothing in order to feature his solo. At a furious pace the wooden spoons produced a frantic beat, bouncing from thigh, to armpit, to stomach, to jaw... I thought this guy might knock himself out with the force that he slammed wooden and metal spoons against his jaw! The whole band just sat there mesmerized and eventually Skerik began to bleat loose phrases from his sax, and the other band members joined in filtering their instruments into the groove... AMAZING stuff!

At one point, a slice of terror momentarily erupted through the crowd as a burst of flame erupted from somewhere near the front row and a shout of, "OK, everyone just get the hell out of his way!" was heard. The band, who were sharing in a drums/percussion only jam at the time gave a couple of glances in that direction, but continued their percussion as a dancer slung 3 foot chains with blazing fireballs at the end around in each hand. The floor cleared as the dancer wheeled in and around producing great sweeping motions in time with the drums beat. Apparently this is normal fare for the Justice League, because the management didn't seem to care and he was allowed to continue through the end of the drums jam.

Towards the end of the Critters Buggin set, Skerik repeatedly rumbled through his microphone "Remember to go celebrate with John Coltrane on Sunday." Certainly referring to the Church created in celebration of John Coltrane's spirit and music that was once located on Divisadero St., just a few blocks from the Justice League. Hmmm...could Skerik be planning an appearance to play with the parishoners on Sunday?

This was in due contrast to the drummer, who later in the show began screaming over and over, "We play the devil's music!" Haunting to say the least but it was evident that the spirits of good and evil held presence over the atmosphere of the Justice League on Thursday night.

During the Critters' encore, Skerik announced that DJ Radioactive would be closing the show and as Radioactive made his way to the stage, Skerik started beatboxing through the microphone in the bell of his sax. The two traded their phrasing back and forth for 10 minutes, Skerik switching from synth vocals to sax squawks until at 1:40 AM he reservedly retreated from the stage and allowed Radioactive to round out the night leaving the promise of the circus returning to town the next day in the minds of the faithful.

Lee Bouyea
JamBase Bay Area Correspondent
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