BLK JKS LIVE

I had the opportunity to check out Johannesburg's BLK JKS a couple weeks ago at T.T. the Bear's Place in Cambridge with support from SuperVolcano and Art Decade.

I can't really stress how cool it is to see a band from half-way around the world, especially when they won't be around these parts for another while (not until March 2010 or so) and by then they'll probably be playing a bigger stage with a bigger ticket price and a bigger fan base. The four-piece's new album After Robots (Secretly Canadian) was recently named one of SPIN's "30 Best Albums of 2009... So Far" and with good reason. While the album is solid, certainly nothing to scoff at, their live show was brilliant, a psychedelic passageway in which globetrotting pop sensibilities were mashed with traditional African vibes to create something quite unique.

I believed I arrived right as Art Decade got going, each of the three members sporting a different David Bowie album cover/image on their matching white t-shirts. I've seen the band enough times to be able to tell that they're truly getting better with age [full disclosure: I'm good friends with Benny (guitar/vocals)]. Maybe it was because they had some major Berkelee College student support in the house (these dudes attend Berkelee and love to self-promote), but the three seemed the most comfortable and relaxed I've ever seen them. The set included a cover of Bowie's "Let's Dance," complete with an electric clarinet solo from none other than "King Clarinet" himself, Felix Peikli.

SuperVolcano never really seemed to settle into any consistent groove, so luckily BLK JKS did.

What I dug most from BLK JKS' set was the intoxicating and entrancing use of a vast dynamic range, largely controlled by the drummer who hit his drum set with so much force I would imagine he needs new heads pretty often. I'm talking battering ram power mixed with an indelible sense of groove, like he could keep up with some classic prog-rock percussion guru. The two guitars never dueled, rather wove layers of wild tones into and out of each other, topping off the impressive loud/soft range. Check these guys out if you get a chance.