The 9's, Shudderbug
the Hurricane
July 29, 1999

Review by Duff Martin

Want enough groove to get your butt shaking? Omaha's The 9's stong bass line and funkadelic songs will get you moving to tunes that are both soulful and jazzy. At times down right James Brownish. The next time this band comes to town do yourself a favor and go. The group with the crooning lead of Jason Birstihl takes the dramatic pause in a song to an ultimate, obviously much practiced stop, leaving those bopping along with the tunes in mid-move for a full 5 seconds.

The variety of instruments and sounds used were refreshing, although they could have utlized the sax and had a solo to spice up the music between the overused organ sounds by the keyboards. For flavor, The 9's, had a humpty hump rapping moment that seemed entirely out of style with the rest of the smooth jazz vs. gospel songs. By the end of the set, it was almost too much of a good thing.

On the other hand, Shudderbug, a well-known Kansas City band was a big disappointment. Why has this band been around so long in the scene? No answer to be found here. With a Rage Against the Machine sound, this band has a straight rap duo with an extra electric guitar, bass and rock beat. It was an interesting idea, and it's good to be experimental.

Without the rock band behind them though, the lead vocals would have cleared the Hurricane leaving only themselves mumbling away blissfully unaware no one was there. Every song sounded the same as the last and they just kept coming until the audience was numb. The incoherent babbling was just a constant noise above the tight band beneath.

The cover of "Brick House" was just too funky for their own good and was one saving moment in the otherwise "why are we here?" set. I guess every town needs and has a band that sounds like this one. What's next a Slim Shady cover?

--Duff Martin