Tuesday night I went to see Robert Randolph and the Family Band at the National, a new-ish venue in Richmond. The National is definitely as posh as advertised -- beautiful restoration and lots of bars and lounge type spaces to relax between sets.
DFF, Former Neighborette, and I arrived towards the end of the DJ Williams Projekt. That was a darn shame because they had some excellent trumpet and sax action and the decent sized crowd was moving happily. On the plus side, we found out that they play every Tuesday at a bar four blocks from my house, so we can see them again.
This being Richmond, when we wandered upstairs to check out the venue, we ran into the brother of another neighbor. Turns out we had plenty of time for talk because the next band was either very mellow or the bar was soundproofed because nothing we heard made us head for the dance floor.
Fortified in numbers and hops, our group headed back down for the headliners. I have seen Robert Randolph and the Family Band before and knew I was in for a funky good time. I was not disappointed. Switching frequently from steel guitar to a standard guitar, Randolph keeps the music flowing. There are definite gospel moments but the joy in the air comes from Randolph himself and his beaming smile which never wavers -- even when some overly zealous female fans were grabbing the merchandise. "Ain't Nothing Wrong With That" from the album Colorblind was an amazing encore. You couldn't help but dance, no matter how crappy your shoes were for dancing. Trust me.
I highly recommend attending a Family Band concert. It isn't just gospel, it isn't just Bonnaroo jam band, it is just damn fine music.
Tell all your single friends, only 30 days until the English Beat show!!!!!
XO, JamieSmitten
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