Jason Ricci and the Bad Kind – Live: Dirty, Down, and Out There!

Jason Ricci and the Bad Kind – Live:

Dirty, Down, and Out There!

Review of Jason Ricci: Friday, October 6^th, 2017 – Live at The Alley, Sanford FL.

Story and photos by Ray Proetto of Blues Power Photo

 

Arriving at my sixth or seventh Jason Ricci performance, I knew what to expect. He puts on a masterful, jam heavy, rock and blues show. There is no question he is one of the top harmonica players in the world. Despite knowing all of this, nothing prepared me for the spectacle of this brilliant but brutally emotional train wreck!

Debuting new songs of his personal ordeals, Jason took the stage after his band mates appearing somewhat unhinged and out there. He bounced around the stage looking as if he were going to jump out of his skin before the music even started. He sucked on his vape as if his life depended upon it. Adding a Red Bull to the mix seemed to render him a frenetic jumble of tattered nerve endings. Thin, pale, and with his fried bleached ends pushed straight up, his appearance was alarming. After seeing him look remarkably healthier two years earlier, the road seemed to be taking its toll on Jason Ricci.

Despite these impressions, this would be hands-down the best performance I’ve seen this year!

 

A Great Start

Jason kicked off the show with the R.L. Burnside number “Jumper on the Line.” This version bore little resemblance to the original or the many amplified versions you might hear in Mississippi. As Jason writhed around the stage singing and blowing his harmonica, he made it all his own. The basic structure of the original was there but little else. Early on, John Lisi played a guitar solo which was so delicate, graceful, and stunningly beautiful; for a moment it was easy to forget this was a Jason Ricci show. Throughout the song I was caught up in the artistry of the entire band. Sam Hotchkiss also impressed with a smooth guitar solo that ended in a roar. Jason performed multiple harmonica workouts within “Jumper.” The first had an acoustic sound during which he mesmerized the entire audience. As it ended we were all simply breathless. Just as we would be every time he picked up a harmonica.

Later in the song he used a special harmonica microphone. This mic combined with an entire board of foot controls provided him with the ability to create any type of effect. Jason used this device to his full advantage throughout the evening and ended “Jumper on the Line” with a hurricane of sound.

After at least fifteen minutes, the song ended. I had a sense of complete satisfaction; as if in one song I had experienced all the joy, power, and emotion one band could muster. I could not have been more mistaken.

As the first hour ended the crew had played only four songs. Each contained extended jams by multiple band members. The skill and quality of playing by all the current members of The Bad Kind was off the charts. The rhythm section consisted of “Evil” Andy Kurz on bass and Adam Baumol on drums. After “Jumper On the Line,” they performed nearly all of their new CD entitled “Approved by Snakes.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bad Kind Were Bad Ass!

No matter what genre of music these boys played, they nailed it every time. The piece “515” was a fantastic rock jam with dark inexplicable lyrics and an intermittent jazzy feel. Next, the extended funk vehicle, “Listen Here” gave drummer Adam Baumol and bassist Andy Kurz extra time to stretch out. Of course the guitarists had their turn as well. Later in the song Jason repeated the line, “every little thing I do gonna be funky, from now on.” Then he added a sixty second rap about God-knows-what and his own blistering harmonica solo to round out the song.

Before singing the tortured song, “My True Love is a Dope Whore”, Jason rambled about how this piece was a true story. And how his “True Love” landed him in prison where he was forced to admit he was also, a dope whore! Here was Jason wearing his heart, soul, and demons on his sleeve for all the world to see.

While singing “Dope Whore”, Jason spoke, whispered, screeched, screamed, moaned and howled into the microphone. One would never accuse Jason Ricci of being an accomplished singer. His voice is rough sandpaper mixed with the moans and death cries of a werewolf. It can sound raw, emotionally fragile, and brutally frightening all at once! This performance and many others throughout the evening brought to mind the sheer ferocity and haunting vulnerability of Janis Joplin… with an occasional dose of Jim Morrison’s evil. His lyrics and singing often leave you feeling violated and dirty. Think Lucinda Williams at her most pathological.

“Dope Whore” had a plodding beat accented by Jason’s most strikingly evil and assaultive singing of the night. The lyrics included a graphic rant about stabbing a dope dealer. The song ended with a long instrumental jam of fantastic guitar attacks alternating with Jason’s harmonica blitz. “Dope Whore” has got to be the most vitriolic evil onslaught of depravity since the 1956 version of “I Put a Spell On You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. (Give me more!)

Next up for the band was the eerily drifting, “Demon Lover.” Each musician softly conjured the evil sounds of the demon world behind Jason’s subdued singing. As the song neared conclusion the band launched into ballistic hellfire with Jason’s harmonica leading the way.

The comedic “I’m Too Strong for You”, featured Jason talking and rapping satirically about just how amazing he is in between harmonica and guitar work.

Jason changed things up with a straight blues tune by Charles Brown entitled “Drifting Blues.” He explained how Paul Butterfield’s version was the first he had heard and was the inspiration for this live version which featured the usual jamming plus that bluesy feeling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Personal Nightmare

Singing “Broken Toy”, Jason projected an intimate agonizing pain so deep I wanted to look away. This may be the most tormented account of self-loathing ever put to music. With a mid-tempo beat, Jason sang of how he doesn’t fit in anywhere and is “broken to the core.” His voice was the embodiment of torment and misery. It slowly morphed into what brought to mind, a vulnerable and broken Jim Morrison wailing away at the misery of his “misfit” life.

On the first break of “Broken Toy”, the guitar work was exceptional as John Lisi let it rip with a stinging metallic guitar solo. Jason put in his usual breathtaking time on harmonica before finishing the lyrics. Just as “Broken Toy” appeared to be ending, it shifted into a surprise attack of a blaring fast-paced techno sound with savage guitar and harmonica. During this musical storm, Jason intermittently imitated what sounded like a squeaky European accented woman. Again and again he repeated the line, “I think you’re freaky and I like you a lot.” Suddenly the music stopped as Jason whispered one last time, “I think you’re freaky and I like you a lot.” I didn’t know how to feel after this strange trip of personal anguish combined with such a bizarre ending.

 

More Unexpected Directions

“I Turned Into a Martian” is not on the new CD. It was a barn burning punk rock piece demonstrating the band’s mastery of yet another musical style. “I-55” turned in one more direction as Jason’s harmonica launched the band into a fun Texas Swing number.

Jason Ricci and the Bad Kind closed the show with the slow lament, “Terrors of the Nightlife.” It began with Jason singing the first few verses sounding dejected and hopeless. John Lisi followed with mournful slide guitar building the song to its climax. Jason jumped in again singing powerfully before dropping it down and moving into a melancholy harmonica run. Then he quietly sang the final despairing verses of the night. After an incredible evening full of both hard rocking and heart crushing music, “Terrors of the Nightlife” was the coupe de grâce of emotional desolation.

This song and every other one in the set displayed the impressive skill of Jason’s band. This is certainly the most talented group he’s taken on tour thus far. As they did with each and every song, Jason Ricci and the Bad Kind literally blew the audience away. If the road appears to be taking a toll on Jason, his performances have yet to suffer. The direction of his new music is more authentic Jason Ricci than any of his previous work. It is painfully personal, nastier, funkier, and has more passion than anything you’ve heard in years.

I bought the new CD at the show and began listening the next day. I was blown away all over again! The CD is nearly as fierce and insidious as the live show.

 

You Can’t Resist

Jason Ricci has conjured the dark recesses of his soul to create this latest collection of songs. You experience them as though whipped in the face with a cat-o’-nine-tails as he exorcises his personal demons on stage. Watching him perform these songs puts you in the unsettled position of seeing something has gone horribly wrong, but you simply cannot look away. You don’t want to like a great deal of this music. It assaults you and seems too graphic, vile and deranged! Yet you can’t help yourself. Jason Ricci and the Bad Kind’s fierce power, laid bare emotions, and virtuoso performances will be your dirty little pleasure.

 

Story and photos ©Copyright Ray Proetto/Blues Power Photo – 2017

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