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JezebelMusic.com @ Root Studios
October 24, 2009 | Almighty Defenders

There’s always been an element of the religious cult to rock ’n’ roll; just watch the great shaman King Khan swoop his cape above a crowd, or witness Jared Swilley of Black Lips step out onto the shoulders of his fans, gliding across a sea of devotees. Those false, filthy idols! Both Black Lips and The King Khan & BBQ Show have always had an uncanny feel for the devotional rapture of a crowd, so it only seems natural that someday they would join forces, cut an album, buy some matching choir robes and get downright Eee-van-gelical.

“In the name of the father,” glug, “in the name of the son,” glug glug, “in the name of the Ho-lee Spirit!” Glug. Glug. Glug. Cole Alexander of The Almighty Defenders leaned over the crowd, bottle of Jameson in hand, administering the Unholy Sacrament to three sweaty Root Studio parishioners just before the Black Lips/KK&BBQ supergroup launched into the swanking bassline of “She Came Before Me.”

The Topman & Jelly NYC-sponsored revival, and first East Coast appearance of The Almighty Defenders, was held in the slick, minimalist warehouse of Root Studios, where concertgoers were met with complimentary Svedka and granola bars. Before the set, as the CMJ photographers and most devout fans milled around the stage, we watched as King Khan and BBQ zipped each others’ white and purple choir robes (with cross ’n treble clef hybrids emblazoned on their fronts). Soon enough, the band climbed onstage and launched into the hoarse-voiced call and response of “All My Loving.” Let the wiggling begin!
More on CMJ 2009: The Almighty Defenders @ Root Studios | 10.24.09

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HOLY MUSICIAN, BATMAN…
“Larry Williams, Johnny Watson, Sam Cooke, Joe Tex. All my good friends are gone. I guess I’ve been left behind to turn out the lights.”
- from the liner notes of Hannibalism

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the relevance of old school soul to today’s music and nightlife. Walk into a reeling spasmodic party where DJs Jonathan Toubin or Josh Styles are spinning wild soul 45s all night, or peruse the Norton reissue section at Academy Records, or listen to the banged-up remnants of doo-wop on your latest Black Lips or King Khan & BBQ Show album, and you might agree with Shirley Ellis: “Baby it’s time to soul time!”

You could argue that rock ’n rollers have always appreciated soul music, or that I’m just focused on folks with tastes similar to mine, but when you overhear a couple of young girls at the bar in Greenpoint bitching about being “sick of all this soul music everywhere,” you can assume there’s some sort of resurgence going on. And I ain’t talking about silky Aretha or buttery Sam Cooke songs, either. I’m talking about the real nitty gritty: hip huggin’, jerkin’ the dog, and shakin’ and vibe-a-ratin’ music. I’m talking about King Coleman, Andre Williams, and the Mighty Hannibal, baby.
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